Turfing

The shape of the lawn can greatly affect the amount of time and effort needed to maintain a lawn. A square or rectangular lawn shape is the easiest to maintain. 

Mowing in straight lines to achieve a striped lawn effect is often desired. Having objects placed in the lawn such as statues, shrubs, swings and seats can mean that a curved mowing patch must be taken thus impacting on any uniform stripes.

Maintaining neat well-formed lawn edges can be a lengthy task. The more curves and complicated edges that your lawn design includes, the longer you will have to spend time in maintaining the lawn edges.

If you have a blank canvas for your garden then you may wish to lay the whole site to lawn and then as you decide upon features you would like in your garden you can remove the appropriate layer of turf by digging it up. This approach can be easier than laying a small lawn and then trying to add new sections to the existing lawn at a later date.

The function(s) of the lawn will influence the space that is required. Square and rectangular lawns tend to emphasise space more as they are continual unbroken lines of grass. Lawns with spurs that branch out can form interesting avenues for the eye to be drawn down.

Carefully planning the design of your lawn can reveal some key criteria that you need to take into consideration before committing to the hard work of preparing the soil for a new lawn. The design plan will include your properties boundaries, any outbuildings such as the shed, garages, greenhouses, the house outline and any existing trees and shrubs that you wish to remain in their current position. You should then plan the shape and size of the lawn, taking into account the factors mentioned above. Assessing the position of paths around or across the lawn is also an important part of the planning process. The amount of use the garden receives will be an influencing factor here. Try envisaging how the lawn will appear when you are positioned in the gardens seating area, how the lawn fits into the garden design when viewed from the kitchen window etc.