The Illusion of Color
When you see a beautifully striped lawn, you are not looking at different colors of grass. You are looking at an optical illusion caused by light reflecting off the grass blades. When grass is bent away from you, it reflects light and looks light green. When it is bent toward you, you see the shadows under the blades, making it look dark green.
The Equipment You Need
You cannot stripe a lawn with a standard, cheap rotary hover mower. To get those sharp, defined lines, you need a mower equipped with a heavy rear roller.
- Cylinder Mowers: These are the gold standard. They cut the grass like a pair of scissors and feature incredibly heavy steel rollers that iron the grass flat as they pass over it.
- Rotary Roller Mowers: A more affordable option. They have a standard spinning blade underneath but feature a heavy plastic or metal roller on the back.
The Technique
Start by mowing a 'header strip' around the absolute perimeter of the lawn. Then, simply mow up and down the lawn in straight lines, ensuring your wheels slightly overlap the previous cut so you don't leave any untidy Mohawks of uncut grass between your stripes!