What is the Allett Creative Stripes Competition?
For over a decade now Allett have been running the Creative Lawn Stripes Competition inviting lawn enthusiasts from around the world to showcase their artistic talents on their beautiful lawns. With each passing year the competition has grown in popularity attracting more participants eager to transform their lawns into mesmerising works of art.
Over the past decade the Allett Creative Lawn Stripes Competition has evolved into a global sensation. This annual event has seen hundreds of entrants from countries as far as Australia all united by their love for lawncare. The competition is open to individuals aged 18 and above with the exception of Allett Ltd employees, agents, distributors, and dealers.
Previous Winners
2024 Winner
Ben Fry, UK
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!
2023 Winner
Tim Sanken, USA
Director of Safety for a beer, wine, and spirits distributor by profession, our 2023 winner turns lawn care into an art form. What started as a relaxing hobby evolved into intricate designs shared under #grassterpiece theatre.
Inspired by a farmer’s figure-eight ploughing pattern, he transformed his lawn into a connected triangle design that revealed an incredible 3D effect from above. Cut in a single session with a Honda HRX rotary mower and striping kit, the result impressed judges for its precision, creativity, and the optical illusion that kept them guessing.
2022 Winner
Ed Aitken, UK
Cornbury House (situated in Charlbury, England) is approximately 15 miles from Oxford. Ed Aitken won our 2022 competition after entering three years in a row consistently ranking among the Top 6 before finally claiming victory. Our 2022 judge Dennis West was impressed by his ''expansive design featuring a combination of radiating, straight and angled stripes reminiscent of the aerial view of the English countryside. The flawless transition from curved to straight stripes demonstrated Ed's exceptional expertise and attention to perfection''.
Regarding the lawn, Ed had been renovating it to raise it to a higher standard. For inspiration, Ed drew from the centre circle where a chequerboard design marks a helicopter landing area creating a visually captivating sight for family and guests arriving in helicopters.
The lawn was meticulously divided into different sections to ensure a picturesque view from various angles including the outdoor eating area outside the house. Ed's dedication to maintaining the lawn was evident cutting it once a week throughout winter with certain areas receiving biweekly attention.
2021 Winner
Dennis West, USA
Hailing from Utah in the USA Dennis West's artistic journey began when he moved into a new house with a bare lawn. Inspired by the 2018 Allett Creative Stripes Competition winner (Keith Smith) Dennis decided to venture into lawn artistry himself watching hours of YouTube videos to learn his craft. With determination and creativity Dennis crafted a mesmerising Zen garden-inspired design using CAD with meticulous measurements and heights of cut. Dennis was not without his troubles smashing his drone into a tree while trying to take his final photo. Dennis like many of the other winners entered several times before he was finally crowned champion. He used his Kensington 20H to create his winning design.
2020 Winner
Andrew Wain, UK
Andrew Wain from Chippenham in England secured 1st place in 2020 with a stunning tribute to the NHS after a tough few years of the pandemic . As the Head Gardener of Euridge Manor, Andrew had consistently performed well in previous competitions despite challenges from weddings hosted on the lawn with marquees blocking the sunlight.
In 2020 he creatively incorporated various patterns to represent the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. His design featured a butterfly as a symbol of gratitude to the NHS and to honour his relatives who battled cancer. Andrew's dedication to the competition has turned Euridge Manor's lawn into a work of art showcasing the power of creativity in lawncare. Edgbaston's Head Groundsman Gary Barwell judged our 2020 competition and praised the exceptional standard and effort put into Andrew's entry commending his craft, flair and knowledge.
2020 Winner
Erik Czako Hungary
The 2019 competition was won by Czakó Erik of Hungary with a stunning and technically difficult pattern on grass of a quality normally seen in a national football stadium. Erik uses Johnson's Premier seed on his lawn which is used by most premier league sports clubs. Erik used his Allett Kensington to mow his design.
'I wanted to mix circles and squares in such a way to show both of them. It's a simple pattern but hard to make it accurately because of the contact points of the mower. It took me three hours to complete in total using an Allett Kensington 14K. I work for a delivery food company and play football in league four. When I was a child I watched English premier league football matches and dreamt of playing on amazing pitches like the ones I saw on TV. In Hungary the pitches aren't as high quality as UK pitches so I decided to make a lawn like one. Hungary’s gardeners told me it wasn't possible due to our climate however I got advice from English groundsmen and my dream came true (Erik's comments).
2018 Winner
Keith Smith, UK
Keith Smith from the UK won our 2018 competition. Keith works as a volunteer groundsman for premier league club Aston Villa as well as running his own lawncare business.
After a dry hot summer with gardeners and groundsman up and down the country struggling to keep their lawns watered the 2018 creative stripes competition came to a close with Keith Smith from Birmingham being crowned our 2018 Creative Stripes CHAMPION. Keith was luckily able to avoid any hose pipe bans and managed to water his lawn daily to keep it looking green.
Keith had finished in the top 3 for the past two years and had been working hard each year to win the competition. 273 hrs of hard work went into his winning design with Keith using his two 1940's push mowers to imprint the pattern. He is one of our favourite designs in the past 10 years.
2017 Winner
Dave Yates, UK
Our 2017 winner was professional gardener David Yates. Dave heard about our competition reading a magazine at one of his customer's houses. He renovated his lawn from ''an absolute jungle'' into the masterpiece you see below. Dave's design idea came from the fact he got bored of doing straight stripes in his lawn so he decided to imprint two circles and join them together with stripes.
He used two different sized rotary mowers to create his design over a period of two to three weeks using a bag of topsoil on the mowers to add extra weight to strengthen the stripes. Dave's photo nearly had him off the ladder!
2016 Winner
Jonathan Thompson, UK
Our 2016 winner was Jonathan Thompson who was the gardener at a private estate in North Yorkshire. He first imprinted the design with a ride on mower the year before and decided to copy it in 2016 for his competition entry using his Allett RM34 rotary mower. He found out about our competition whilst scrolling on social media. Jonathan won himself an Allett Kensington with all the cartridges.
2015 Winner
Pallav Shah, UK
Pallav Shah won our 2015 competition. He is one of the UK's leading lung surgeons and loves mowing his lawn to switch off after work from a super stressful job.
2013 Winner
Mike Lee, UK
Our 2013 competition was won by Mike Lee.
Insight from a winner!
Gather additional insight from Andrew Wain on what it's like to enter and win the Allett Creative Stripes competition. Learn what it takes the #AllettStripe
Use the button below to view a playlist of all our previous winners.
View PlaylistTHE PRIZE
The winner of the Allett Creative Stripes Competition will take home the incredible Allett Cambridge 35, a premium lawn mower worth £1,900! This top-of-the-line machine is perfect for achieving professional-quality lawn stripes.
Meanwhile, the runners-up won’t leave empty-handed—they’ll receive a gift card as a reward for their creativity and effort. Don’t miss your chance to showcase your skills and win big!
The Cambridge 35 is a brand-new 14” self-propelled cylinder mower in our battery-powered range, offering a quiet, cable-free mowing experience. Equivalent to the Kensington 14B, this mower delivers professional-quality results with a 6-bladed cutting cylinder providing 78 cuts per metre.
Powered by a 40v Lithium-Ion battery it has infinitely variable micro-cutting height adjustment ranging from 1/4 inch to 1 1/4 inch (6mm-32mm). The height of cut dial is shown in mm instead of 1,2,3,4 like on our Kensington model. The Cambridge 35 takes ALL the RC35 cartridges in the Allett range for additional lawn care tasks.
- Overall width is 530mm
- 14″ cutting width (35cm)
- Suitable for lawns up to 350m2
- Takes ALL the RC35 cartridges in the Allett range including; Aerator, Lawn Brush, Dethatcher, Scarifier, Verticutter and 10 bladed cylinder- must have a conversion kit with safety guard and grass bag connector if using existing QC cartridges.
- NEW Rapid cartridge change- no need to remove belts or the side cover! All you need to do is remove one screw either side of the cylinder
- 6 bladed cutting cylinder- Height range 6-32mm (Stepless)
- Adjust the cylinder to bottom blade IN THE MOWER
- 6 speeds
- Powered by a 410W motor and 4Ah 40v Lithium-Ion Battery- charge time of approx 1hr45.
- How long does the battery last on the Allett Cambridge 35? The 40V 4Ah battery provides 30-40 minutes of mowing time on a full charge.
- Push-button start – really easy to start!
- Cordless- no dragging of cables- Freedom to move!
- Noise Levels- Quiet! 92dB. Mow during the evening without upsetting the neighbours
- Single section rear roller- great for striping! No wheel marks!
- Steel front roller with the option of a grooved front roller.
- 38.5L Wire frame and mesh material grass collector. Better fill, lighter and easier to empty.
- Handlebars- three height positions plus folding for storage (suitable for the taller operator) Ergonomic handle bars with twin bale bars and comfort foam grip
- Fixed grass rake behind steel front roller for standing up grasses prior to cutting- also strengthens the stripe
- Comes with auxiliary wheel kit
- Weight 38kg with grass bag and battery, 36kg without grassbag but with battery in (cartridge in in both)- Battery 1.24kg
- 2 Years (24 months) parts and labour for homeowner use.
TOP TIPS
- 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
- Have a look at previous lawn stripes competition winners for inspiration -photos can be found on Allett’s social media
- Keep your lawn well watered and thatch free to keep it looking as green as possible
- You DON'T have to use an Allett mower to enter!
- You can enter from anywhere around the world!
- 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.
- Your photo is so important. Make sure you take your picture with the sun behind you- this will help achieve the strongest stripes possible.
- 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?
HOW TO ENTER
Entering the Allett Creative Stripe competition is easy! You can fill out the form below and upload your photos, or send your submissions directly to competition@allett.co.uk
All entries to the Creative Lawn Stripes competition should be with your full name & email by 31.08.25, and the winner will be announced towards the end of September.