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Picture Perfect: Mowing Techniques for Lawns, Landscapes, and Sports
"Some artists use canvas to create a work of art. David Mellor uses a baseball field. His patterns are so precise and imaginative, I call him the Rembrandt of groundskeeping."
--Bob Uecker, Milwaukee Brewers Broadcaster Now you can transform your sports field or clubhouse lawn into an envy-grabbing work of optic art. In this book, David Mellor shares the turf mowing and maintenance secrets that have made him one of the leading creators of elaborate patterns used on athletic turf nationwide. Articles about Mellor's work have been published in the New York Times and USA Today, and he is currently the director of grounds for the Boston Red Sox Baseball Club. In Picture Perfect , Mellor gives you the benefit of his years of experience along with simple-to-use techniques for creating playing fields that are without doubt a cut above the rest.
--Bob Uecker, Milwaukee Brewers Broadcaster Now you can transform your sports field or clubhouse lawn into an envy-grabbing work of optic art. In this book, David Mellor shares the turf mowing and maintenance secrets that have made him one of the leading creators of elaborate patterns used on athletic turf nationwide. Articles about Mellor's work have been published in the New York Times and USA Today, and he is currently the director of grounds for the Boston Red Sox Baseball Club. In Picture Perfect , Mellor gives you the benefit of his years of experience along with simple-to-use techniques for creating playing fields that are without doubt a cut above the rest.
160 pages, Hardcover
First published June 15, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 25, 2019
This is a surprisingly great book.
Let me start by saying that I am not a lawn enthusiast. I do not intend to ever "pattern" my lawn, and, in fact, I don't even like grass lawns.
But this book is better than expected!
Mr. Mellor begins by providing a solid introduction to lawn care, including more than I ever needed to know about seeding, sodding, fertilizing, watering, and mowing. He takes care to address potential pitfalls you may encounter in a hypothetical endeavor to maintain a perfect lawn, including weeds, weather, and foot traffic.
The last part of the book is focused on "patterning" - installing fancy patterns in the grass. It is marginally interesting to learn how this is done, and the color photographs of example patterned lawns (mostly baseball fields) are actually quite beautiful and interesting. I am never going to do this, but it was fun to see how it is done.
In addition to the useful basics and pretty pictures, I also enjoyed the handful of anecdotes sprinkled throughout - cute stories about the author's daughters and interesting circumstances he has come across during his career maintaining baseball stadium lawns.
My only real criticism of the book is that it could have used a decent editor - the chapters were somewhat disjointed and they did not flow particularly well, and often had repetitive information. This short book needed to be a little bit shorter.
Overall an enjoyable short read that will make you appreciate the work that goes into making athletic fields functional and, dare I say, beautiful.
Let me start by saying that I am not a lawn enthusiast. I do not intend to ever "pattern" my lawn, and, in fact, I don't even like grass lawns.
But this book is better than expected!
Mr. Mellor begins by providing a solid introduction to lawn care, including more than I ever needed to know about seeding, sodding, fertilizing, watering, and mowing. He takes care to address potential pitfalls you may encounter in a hypothetical endeavor to maintain a perfect lawn, including weeds, weather, and foot traffic.
The last part of the book is focused on "patterning" - installing fancy patterns in the grass. It is marginally interesting to learn how this is done, and the color photographs of example patterned lawns (mostly baseball fields) are actually quite beautiful and interesting. I am never going to do this, but it was fun to see how it is done.
In addition to the useful basics and pretty pictures, I also enjoyed the handful of anecdotes sprinkled throughout - cute stories about the author's daughters and interesting circumstances he has come across during his career maintaining baseball stadium lawns.
My only real criticism of the book is that it could have used a decent editor - the chapters were somewhat disjointed and they did not flow particularly well, and often had repetitive information. This short book needed to be a little bit shorter.
Overall an enjoyable short read that will make you appreciate the work that goes into making athletic fields functional and, dare I say, beautiful.
Want to Read
January 10, 2011lawn care and how to get those cool patterns in your grass
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews