7 tips to mow your lawn like a pro

There's something satisfying in seeing a freshly mowed lawn. To make your lawn mowing more effective, easier and safer, follow these tips.

• Prevent mower damage to trees by putting attractive stones over a layer of landscape fabric at their bases.
• You can also use mulch or a collar for low-growing groundcover plants.

Change the direction you travel with the mower each time you cut to prevent soil compaction and visible wear patterns.

• Alternate north to south and east to west with diagonal mowing patterns, which often look especially attractive.

• Lay a mowing strip of bricks at grade level along bed edges for the mower wheels to ride on.
• You can also make a strip with stone, railroad ties or other flat materials.

This gives the lawn a clean edge and serves as a barrier to keep grass from creeping into flowerbeds.

• Never mow barefoot; wear heavy shoes or work boots to lessen the risk of accidents.

And don't wear light-coloured canvas shoes unless you like green footwear — grass can leave permanent stains in some fabrics.

• Wear golf shoes to aerate your lawn the next time you mow.

They'll also help you get a firm grip on the ground if you have to push the mower up a hill.

• Dig a furrow five centimetres wide around your lawn.
• Fill it with compost and plant with clump-forming lawngrass seed, such as perennial ryegrass or turf-type tall fescue.

Even if the rest of your lawn is bluegrass or another creeping type, the thin edging of clump-forming grass will slow its spread.

• Tidy the edges around flowerbeds, fences,walls, paths, and trees with a string trimmer, which can reach where mowers can't.
• Keep the cutting head level so you don't scalp the grass and be careful not to damage bark on trees and shrubs.
• Use an edger if you want an especially clean cut along edges that adjoin sidewalks or other hard surfaces.