Properly plan an effective shape for your lawn

The trickiest part of mowing a lawn is negotiating curves and corners, whether they're at property boundaries, along a walkway, or at the edge of a house, patio, or deck. We'll give you some tips to plan your lawn's shape properly and save some stress.

• You can sculpt your lawn into several practical and attractive shapes. Square or rectangular panels of grass are most commonly seen, but you can soften the sharp corners by drawing out the edges of adjoining foundation or garden beds into gentle curves.
• Doing this maintains a planned, orderly appearance, but also gives your lawn an informal and inviting air. The curves create more space for lower-maintenance perennial plants and shrubs, reduce the overall area of the lawn, and eliminate tight angles that add time and effort to mowing.
• Circular or oblong lawns do an amazing job of opening up small yards and allow lots of room outside the circle for shrubs and flowers. They're especially well suited to formal design schemes.
• An asymmetrical shape will also work, provided it has broad, flowing curves rather than tight squiggles. Such irregular shapes work best in large areas and can create a pleasing sense of movement.
• To map out a new shape, you can use your mower to cut lines into your existing lawn. You can also lay down a board to serve as a straight edge when defining straight lines, or use a garden hose to plot the contours for curved ones.
• When removing old turf or planting new area, spray the outline onto the grass with white or brightly colored paint or sprinkle flour to mark the shape.

Choosing a sensible shape will not only make your lawn easier to mow and maintain, it will also increase its aesthetic appeal. Use this guide to analyze your options and decide which is best for you and your lawn.