''I’m a husband and dad of 3 under 8. I have always had an interest in grass and lawn care.  I’m a keen golfer and it has probably stemmed from there but in the last 2 years since I moved into this property it has taken off. I started an Instagram page (thelawndad.irl) to journaled the progress of my lawn and from there I’ve found there is a great little community online. This year I did a complete renovation on this lawn and used Johnson Premier Pitch seed and I am delighted with the results. I generally cut every 2/3 days  to keep it looking sharp. The Design was one I had seen on another instagram page (credit: thelawnmowerdan) and I thought it looked great. It took a couple of weeks to burn in . And when the fertiliser kicked in it looked great.  The height of cut is 24mm. It gets regular verticutting with the Allett cartridges which seems to be really improving it. Delight with 6th place as it’s only my second year entering and I'm already looking forward to having another go next year''

 

 

In 5th Place this year is Alexander Cox from Edinburgh in Scotland

''Without a doubt a creative use of different techniques and methods to put down this unique design''

 

 

Allett Comments: 

The Allett panel enjoyed this design. This lawn design stands out with its intricate and maze-like pattern which creates a sense of depth and complexity. The alternating lighter and darker grass stripes are laid out in a way that draws the eye inward almost like a puzzle or geometric labyrinth. It’s a unique and bold design, reflecting both creativity and a high level of skill in lawn care.

The backdrop of trees and garden beds enhances the pattern’s complexity adding a natural contrast to the sharp, angular lines of the lawn. The design itself gives off a modern almost architectural feel and the subtle variation in the tones of the grass provides a sense of movement across the space. This pattern is an innovative and fun approach to lawn art!

It must have taken a lot of effort to do and its certainly very creative! We love the use of different heights of cut and the British theme with the castles! His lines are super straight and the turrets must have taken a while to do! We love the effort that Alexander has gone to to take his photo too!!

 

Alexanders comments: 

 

 

4th Place

 4th Place this year is Ian Carter from Cambridge (UK).

Tim Sanken's comments: ''The use of arcs and zig-zags makes for a pleasing aesthetic in this elongated space''

 Allett comments: 

The design is well-executed and visually appealing with the different patterns creating a unique and interesting element to the lawn. The overall maintenance of the garden is evident and the stripes are consistent and well-defined. The curved pattern is visually engaging and the lawn appears to be very healthy with a lovely green colour. How good would this lawn be to mow daily!

 

Ian's comments: 

I found interest in lawn care in 2020 after buying a bag and fertiliser out of pure boredom. This was when I was 22 and didn’t think I would find it exciting but how I was wrong.

I did a renovation last year and used a1 premiership pro. I feed every 6 weeks with a granular feed and use liquid seaweed once a week. If I can find time I aim to verticut every 2 weeks.

 My inspiration of design was totally random as I like to try different patterns every time I cut just to see what works best.

 I appreciate the 4th place as I didn’t know anything lawn related 4 years ago. Hopefully I can inspire others to follow suit.

 

 

3rd Place

Third place this year goes to Carl Kent from Leicester.

Judges comments: ''Sports logos can be risky.  They can be dauntingly intricate and the love/hate between the loyal fans and the fierce opponents can put emotions in overdrive.  That said, I think we can agree the skill and dedication needed to do this in a modest size garden is impressive''

Allett comments: This design certainly has the wow factor reflecting the days when Leicester City introduced creative patterns onto their pitches- surely an inspiration for Carl's design as a Leicester City fan. The fox is done perfectly as well as the writing which must have been difficult to do! The circles are a perfect shape. It really shows what can be done with the smallest of lawns! Carl- your grass quality looks impeccable!  This competition is all about being creative and leaving people wondering how the patterns were achieved- this certainly does this! 

Carl's comments: 

 I am a self employed Floorlayer for the last 31 years but was once a apprentice groundsman for Leicester City football club when I left school for nearly 3 years, I got my 2 years nvq’s in horticulture at Brooksby agricultural college but left the job disheartened and not enjoying it and got a job floor laying.

I was never interested in gardening or cutting the lawn but years later my daughter asked how the grass on Tottenham’s pitch was different shades of green, I explained that they would cut/brush/roll different ways to create the colour patterns and said I would show her with our lawn, as soon as I started brushing and rolling the grass I felt all the passion I had some 16 years previous and started looking after my lawn like it was filbert street.

The idea of the design came from the then head groundsman at Leicester city John Ledwidge when he posted a picture of the club badge in the centre circle of the pitch.

I got a print out of the badge in black and white and got 2 sheets of plywood and started trying to draw the badge on the plywood. Once I was happy I cut all the letters and foxes head out. I measured how wide the badge was and fixed a bit of timber to a brush , found out where the middle of the lawn was and pinning one end of the timber in the middle point and brushed the circle pattern in, once I had the first circle in I could then go the opposite way making my way to the edge of the lawn. Once the circles were in place I put my stencil in the middle of the lawn and with a little brush I brushed the grass that is exposed i.e. the fox and the letters the opposite way creating the dark green effect. I sprinkle water over over the stencil first so when I brush the grass it will hold it in place and gives it a glossier effect.

I look after my lawn as a hobby and destress after work. I only have a small rotary flymo because of the size of my lawn and cut it about 3cm so there’s a lot of brushing and rolling to get my stripes right.

 

 

 

 

2nd Place

This years runner up is Dan Milne from Ontario, Canada.

Tim Sanken's comments:

''Bold, distinctive, and creative on an envious parcel of turf.  This design displays a simultaneous sharpness of how some stripes abruptly end contrasted with the seamless fading away of others.  A masterful display''

 

Allett comments- Dan is a popular instagrammer on our Allett channels. He is a paramedic by day and uses lawncare as a way of switching off after stressful days. This is another example of incredible grass quality and Dan has used his Allett Stirling to create the design- the neighbours must be jealous! The tree shadows do block you from seeing the full design however it's taken quite some skill to get a pattern like that.

Dan's instagram

 

Dan's comments:  

 

Hello friends! my name is Dan (Level.up.lawn) from Ontario, Canada. I fell down the rabbit hole of lawn care about 5 years ago. I have a 100% perennial ryegrass with a recent incorporation of obsidian ryegrass blend. Over the years I've continued to learn more about soil chemistry and analysis which has dramatically improved the quality of my lawn. Each year I specifically target nutrient deficiencies and adjust for pH. 90% of my fertiliser program is liquid based and applied 3-4 times a month in small quantities. 

 For this years pattern I wanted to incorporate some waves that came into a spiral, like an ocean wave breaking, Using the natural curvature of my lawn to my advantage. The height of cut was set at 22mm on the Allett Stirling and took over 2 weeks to "burn" the pattern in mowing everyday. I used a drone to capture multiple angles during noon when the sun was at its highest and the pattern was most visible. 

 For next years competition I will have to start planning earlier and perhaps use some software technology to map an intricate pattern. Thanks again for the continued support and congratulations the top 6, excited to see next years entries. 

 

 

2024 Champion

This years 2024 Allett Creative Stripes Champion is Benjamin Fry from Essex!

Talk about stripes!  The favourite entry in the ALLETT votes!

Tim Sanken comments: 

''Just a unique design and creative incorporation of the contours of the surrounding landscape.  This design literally and figuratively embodies the essence of the “Creative Stripes” competition''

 

Allett comments: 

This is such an impressive design! The precision of the zebra pattern formed by alternating lawn stripes, is both creative and visually striking. The way the darker and lighter grass tones are used to create the zebra's face and stripes is highly artistic and it's clear that a lot of effort went into the layout and execution.

The design is really well integrated into the garden space framed beautifully by the flowers and the surrounding pathways. The pattern looks almost like a shadow or a three-dimensional illusion which makes it stand out even more. Congratulations to Ben—this is well-deserved for its originality and flawless presentation!

 

Ben's comments:

 

About Myself

I am a 27 year old from Basildon in Essex, England. I am a civil servant and I enjoy looking after my lawn in my free time. I have been into lawn care for over 12 years. My dad took pride in looking after our lawn and would tell me and my sister off if we damaged it when playing on it! I, one day, had the urge to have a go at cutting the lawn, and if I remember correctly, it was a Qualcast 12” mower with a roller on the back, similar to my current Allett Classic 12E. From that day on, I caught the bug for lawncare and have looked after our lawn since. I entered the Allett Creative Stripes Competition back in 2017 where I came in the top 6. That caught the eye of the, then, head groundsman at Arsenal who offered me a job as a matchday groundsman at the Emirates Stadium which I did for one season alongside my civil service job. In recent years, a big inspiration for taking my lawn to the next level has been Daniel Hibbert who regularly uploads videos about lawncare and has a range of products that help to achieve a fantastic lawn. In 2023, I fully renovated my lawn by spraying it off, digging it over and putting fresh seed down. This year, I am reaping the benefits of all that hard work which has helped enable my design to stand out.

 

About my entry

The inspiration actually came from my mum when we were discussing potential patterns for the competition. I looked-up some pictures of zebra heads and eventually came across a photo that I liked and merged it with a picture of my lawn. When creating my pattern, I had no practice runs and just went for it first time. I started early morning on Saturday 27 July by firstly using string and pegs to create an outline of the head. I always video a timelapse of cutting my grass, but on this occasion, I was using my phone to facetime myself from a bedroom window to get a real-time picture of what the design was looking like. The previous day, I had cut my grass at 18mm so by this point the grass was probably at 20mm as it was growing rapidly at the time of year. I used my Allett Classic 12E lawn mower to roll the parts of the lawn that weren’t being used for the head so it was all the same shade. I used a small household brush, usually used for sweeping crumbs, to outline the shape of the design. Next, I laid down the stripes for the neck of the Zebra and also the mane at the top of the head. All that was left was the intricate details of the head, with the ears, eyes, mouth and nose and the striped markings on the rest of the face for which I used a garden broom and the small household brush. Thankfully, I finished just before noon after spending nearly three hours creating my design, so I had time to prepare for taking my picture. I wanted to take the picture as close to noon as possible because that is when my garden is in full sunlight with no shadows and, therefore, the grass will look its best.

 

Finding out about winning

I had been closely following the results being announced and thinking how brilliant the entries were. With such a high standard of competition, I did doubt that I would get a call, but just after 2:30pm on Tuesday 17 September, Austin phoned to tell me I had won the competition. I was at work in my office, so I immediately shared the good news with colleagues around me as it was impossible to contain my excitement. I then rang my parents who were thrilled at the news that I had won! My parents had previously promised that, if I won the competition, they would buy me a new lawn mower, since our current model is over 10 years old. So, after telling them my news, they soon realised their bank account would be taking a hit for a new mower! I have since shared the news on many different social media platforms and with friends and family. I have been overwhelmed by the tremendous number of supportive comments I have received, for which I am truly grateful! I would like to offer my congratulations to those who entered and finished in the top six and top three for the respective competitions, and particularly to the winner of the sports pitch category. And finally, my thanks go to Allett Mowers for hosting such a great competition and for all the support they have provided to me over the years.

 Ben's instagram