Interesting grass

[diane1]

I've never had a lawn before but having just moved I now have the space to create one. I really don't want the usual green patch I really fancy having those stripes on the lawn but how on earth are they done? what kind of mower will I require? should I use any sort of special grass seed? please help I'm such a novice!!!!

[sft42]

You don't need any special grasses at all (though if you aren't going to have any great amount of traffic on your lawn then a blend of grasses with a high rye grass content in will produce a nicer finish)....all you need to produce "bowling green" stripes is a traditional cylander mower with a back roller and to mow every 2 to 3 days in the heavy growing season (ie Now). The best thing to do is visit a DIY shop like B&Q which have a very good range of freebie leaflets which will guide you through the whole process of creating a lawn from scratch step by step.

[sddsddean]

As sft says, the green lines are created by the mowing. If you are laying a lawn from scratch, don't rush it. Like most things, laying the turf (much simpler than growing it from seed) is the easy bit. All the work is in the preparation. My wife and I spent about 6 weekends levelling, raking, de-stoning and treading the subsoil before the actual 4 hours of turf laying(approx 100 sq. m.). Persevere;it's worth it in the end. Also, don't buy your turf from your local DIY, you don't know how long it has been there. Turf should be laid as soon as possible after cutting. I would recommend Rolawn, who are based in Yorkshire but have depots all over the country. You should be able to order it fresh cut to your door. It is worth the extra �1/sq.m. to have it fresh. Any other advice on turf laying, post on here and I'll be happy to give you any pointers.