TOP TIPS FOR THE ALLETT 2020 CREATIVE LAWN STRIPES COMPETITION
If you think that striped lawns are limited to the homes of the British, you need to look at some of the past entries. Striped lawns used to be the preserve of the British garden, but now keen gardeners from around the globe compete each year for this coveted green award.
The 2019 competition attracted entries from ten different countries including; England, Wales, Netherlands, Scotland, USA, Sweden, Hungary, Ukraine, Denmark and France.
This year’s prize is as follows; a Liberty 43 with ALL of its cartridges and 2 cartridge stands. We will be hoping for MORE entries from MORE countries!
This year's judge is Edgbaston Cricket Ground's Head Groundsman Gary Barwell who knows a thing or two about creating a beautiful surface
TOP TIPS
- Your photo is so important. Make sure you take your picture with the sun behind you- this will help achieve the strongest stripes possible.
- Take your photo from an angle that really shows off your pattern- can you get up in a bedroom window and look down?
- Make sure the area around your striped lawn is free of clutter e.g washing on the line/weeded paths etc- If you win your photo will appear in magazines/online websites/social media etc
- Go over your pattern a few times to make it stronger and make sure you don't have little footprints all over your stripes!
- Keep your lawn well watered and thatch free to keep it looking as green as possible
- The perfect strong stripe is achieved between 20-30mm. When mowing make sure that the current stripe, slightly overlaps the previous stripe so that you do not have thin strips of uncut grass left between the stripes.
- Keep taking your photos regularly incase we get a drought (or a herd of cows trample your lawn - yes this has happened!)
- THE MOST CREATIVE PATTERN WILL WIN. Straight stripes just wont cut it! We are looking for creativity? Can you use a theme for your pattern or use garden features to design your pattern around?
- Drafting out your design on paper would be a great start. You can work out the width of your mower and the area you’ve got to cover etc. A larger open area with the lawn in a square, rectangle or circular shape will lend itself to creative stripes more than a lawn with beds and borders cut into it, or one that’s an awkward shape- be imaginative! Make use of any garden features in your lawn. Is there any patterns on old stone work you can copy into your grass?
- To enter this competition, participants must submit their entry to competition@allett.co.uk
- You DON'T have to use an Allett mower to enter!
- You can enter from anywhere around the world!
- Have a look at previous lawn stripes competition winners for inspiration -photos can be found on Allett’s social media