Lawn Mowing Patterns To Try

You may have seen a professionally manicured lawn or even a private residential yard in your neighborhood that stuns you with how pretty and clean it looks. Because of the level of care and precision taken, it may seem like those results are impossible for you to achieve. In truth, you can easily mow patterns into your lawn with the right piece of equipment and the right knowledge.

Lawn patterns are primarily the result of reflection; blades of grass reflect light differently when bent in different directions. Wider blades look lighter due to their larger surface area, while the tips of blades look dark because of the shadowing around them and their inability to reflect much light.

FMI Equipment in Spokane Valley is your Washington State lawn mower dealer. Here are some patterns you can attempt when mowing your lawn or mowing for a client to produce more attractive results.

Use Features as Guides

Attempting a pattern without any type of a guide or rubric will lead to sloppy results that aren’t aesthetically pleasing. Make use of the features on your lawn as a baseline when creating your patterns: the straight edges of driveways and sidewalks are perfect for this. Also, make sure that you’re selecting a pattern that will work with what else is on your lawn, such as trees, bushes, flowers, stones, water features and paths.

Grow Grass Taller

A lawn with very short blades of grass is not ready to have patterns cut into it. If you want patterns, you’ll have to let your blades grow longer before you cut them. Longer blades will be able to bend more easily and retain their shape for longer, so your pattern lasts longer. Short blades are liable to straighten out and not behave the way you want them to.

Edge Your Lawn

Prior to using your lawn tractor or riding mower to whip your lawn into shape, you’ll want to go around the perimeter with an edger. You’ll need to do this a few times to get all the grass against fences and buildings. Edging your lawn in advance of cutting it will help it look more even.

Use a Roller

While your lawn mower can generally handle much of the pattern-making work you need it to do, you can make the results pop by using a roller to bend the blades down more. A striping kit attached to your mower can also do this and allow you to mow less frequently as a result.

Plant the Right Grass

If you’re seeding your lawn, try to choose a type of grass that will work better for lawn-mowing patterns. A cool-season grass that grows during the spring will be easier to bend and flex, a quality that is perfect for pattern-making. However, you may find yourself contending instead with warm-season grasses which are tougher and hardier, making them more difficult to bend.

Change Patterns Often

You might have a particular favorite pattern you enjoy using on your lawn, but it’s best if you switch up the pattern every time or every other time. Using the same pattern over and over will result in the tires of your mower pressing down on the same areas, which can result in bald patches, weeds and poor grass health.

If you need assistance with maintaining your lawn mower, get in touch with our service department to schedule an appointment. Searching for lawn mowers for sale in the Evergreen State? Visit our website or contact us about our full stock of new and used lawn mowers for sale at our Spokane Valley, WA, location. You can also talk to our friendly staff about our financing options if you’d like to make use of them. FMI Equipment proudly serves the greater Spokane metropolitan area as well as our neighbors in Coeur d’Alene, ID.