Your lawn mower can be much more than just a tool for cutting grass; several people have put theirs to good use in creating grassy masterpieces. A group of Volkswagen enthusiasts at an event in Despatch, South Africa, wanted to recreate the iconic logo for their VW Logo and Parade Day, but getting 84 vintage vehicles into the right position was never going to be easy.
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Event organiser Hennie du Toit worked with VW historian John Lemon to mark out the area for the vehicles to park in. The first task was to get the outer circle marked out, so with the help of du Toit’s father acting as a human pair of compasses they used a rope and a lawn mower to mow the first circle. The inner workings of the logo could then be marked out inside the circle, and du Toit also mowed these lines into the grass. When the time came to get everything into place it took just ten minutes for all 84 vehicles to get into position, as the spaces had already been marked out with help of du Toit’s trusty lawn mower.
It is not just large events like this that warrant the use of the lawnmower to create something spectacular. In America two fans of the baseball team the Chicago Cubs have used their lawn mowers to create tributes to their favourite team. Tammy Miller of Glen Ellyn, Illinois, has made her support for the club well known by mowing their logo into her front lawn, then dyeing the grass in the team colours. The lawn mower was used to create a circle and the first ‘C’, and then Miller cut the rest of the logo in by hand before colouring the grass. Her tribute is not expected to last for ever; she has previously celebrated historic wins in the same manner. Although the paint stands up well to rainfall, eventually the grass will grow out and the logo will be mown off, surely to return the next time the Cubs win a big game.
Another die-hard Cubs fan from Naperville, Illinois, also cuts his grass into the team logo whenever the team makes it into the play-offs. Robert Radasevich has gone one better than Tammy Miller, as his logo can be seen from aircraft flying over due to it being a whopping 55 feet tall.
He started the tradition in 2003 when he decided to show his support for the Cubs in the National League Championship Series and now repeats the task whenever he feels the Cubs might need a little luck. He starts by mowing the whole lawn, and then using his push along mower to cut the ‘C’ into the lawn with the mowing deck on the lowest possible setting. Rather than colour his grass, Radasevich uses the natural colour difference between the green grass and the brown dried grass that results from very close mowing. The other letters are then mown in very close to the ground, and the whole task takes around half an hour. This year, Radasevich came close to not mowing the logo in at all following shoulder surgery, but after begging his doctors they agreed to let him push the mower for half an hour, which was a lucky break as that is the exact amount of time his logo-mowing takes.
Perhaps next time your team makes it to the final stages of a tournament you will be inspired to show your support with some lawn art? It is worth bearing in mind that Radasevich’s 55 foot creation is in his back garden, as some people may not appreciate a huge tribute to a sports team. If your favourite club is one that could be contentious, it might be best to keep your grass art in the back garden to avoid any fallings out with the neighbours.