Cylinder Cut - Narrow or Wide Stripes?

Do lawn stripes being Narrow (say 24") or Wide (say 3 widths, i.e. 72") make any discernible difference to appearance, or have any other side effects / gotchas?

Any views / opinions / gotchas?

I cut my lawns with a 24" Atco Royale cylinder - which I've had for a decade or more. It does a good job, and I get nice pin-stripes. Don't get me wrong, it ain't a bowling green, and although I use a selective herbicide there are weeds in it (which I don't seem to be able to kill). It gets some fertilizer, when I remember, and its not as flat as it should be. But people who visit thinks it looks nice, so I guess its OK ... personally I think the stripes could have a lot better "definition".

But ...

It takes 3 hours to cut, and I would prefer to a) take less time and b) to be in a position to cut it twice a week when it needs it.

So ... I'm thinking of buying a 3-gang type mower instead. The sort of thing that Parks and Highways use; I reckon they would cut the lot in an hour max (based on being three times the width of my mower, but they probably "Motor" more quickly too, so might be even quicker). The Ransom's Triples come up on eBay regularly for a few hundred quid, and I'd only be putting 50 hours or so a ear on the clock, which will be peanuts on top of the 1,000 - 2,000 hours they will already have had.

So ... to help me decide I've started cutting "Regency Stripes" on my lawn - 3 rows adjacent in each direction, so where I had light-dark-light I now have light-light-light and vice-versa.

I'm not sure about the wider stripes, but Mrs Kristen says she thinks they are just as attractive. Its a big garden, but even so I think it looks less "smart" than before.

Any opinions?

Only other thing bothering me is that the Ransom's type of triple-mowers don't collect the grass, although the ones used on Golf course (like the Toro) do. Is grass collection important?

I would also prefer "rear ejection" from the cylinders, which I don't think these guys do (otherwise when it is long the grass clippings thrown forwards contributes to the amount "still to mow")

Ransom's Triples look like this:

newer (above) and older (below)


The Toro, with collection boxes, looks like this:


Here's some of the bits of my lawn that currently have narrow stripes:

 

when wet, the grass clipping will stick to the wheels of the mower, and then your get lumps of grass, and the clipping will stick to your shoes/boots, i can see you have a nice drive, wouldn't look good with grassey wheel marks going across

 

I think we should call you Lord K from now on

Very nice

Spruce

 

Thanks, but 'tis very easy with Photos - they always look better than the real thing in my experience. Plus I don't photo the gaps, dead bits and bad bits, of course !!

I look forward to the day I post a video of a walk-around-the-garden, that will be warts-and-all so will be an indication that I am chuffed with the whole garden, as compared to just "selected highlights"

 

I've been mowing 3x strips in each direction, as an experiment, to make "Regency Stripes". People who visit like them, but I'm still not sure ...

(You can still see the original "Middle" stripe, that went the other way, but obviously that won't be there from next season if I get a "wide" mower; the lawn is not quite as "lush" as it was in the earlier photos)

Front lawn:




Back lawn




Long walk:




Any preferences?

 

The wider stripes make it look smaller, (me thinks)

 

Hadn't thought of that, but I agree.

 

I don't like the wider stripes Kristen it looks like a football pitch. I opt for the traditional narrow ones, the finish looks smarter.

 

Narrow Kristen. Gives it the classic English lawn look.

 

Blast! I wonder if the photo exagerates it? as everyone who has been here has preferred them. Personally I think the narrow ones look "more traditional" and I'm reluctant to give them up, but having been mowing the wide stripes, and living with them, for a month now I'm am getting to like them - or perhaps just getting used to them.

In reality a "wide" mower will probably be a bit less than 3x as wide, so the effect would not be quite as bold as the experiment - although sounds like opinion is not based on the additional 6" !!

Perhaps the:

will have to be THIS year so you can give an on-the-ground opinion. And then repeated next year for you to check how it has turned out? ... and no doubt there will be a further reason for the party the year after that ...