Picture Perfect - Mowing Techniques for Lawns, Landscapes & Sports [Hardcover]

Review: Mr. Mellor is the Director of Grounds for the Boston Red Sox and is thoroughly knowledgeable about grass. His advice is sound, thorough, and easy-to-follow. He has you begin by testing your soil to see what it is missing, establishing your turf properly, fertilizing appropriately, fighting off weeds and disease, mowing properly with the right equipment, and solving problems.

Once that grass is in place, he moves on to explain the art of adding patterns to the grass by using rollers with the mower to push the grass down. The color plates show many examples of this art form, which will intrigue you. If you are like me, you expected to see only geometric shapes using straight lines. Instead, you find gentle waves and delicate crossing patterns of all kinds.

Having worked in my father's gardening business when I was a youngster, I wish I had known about establishing these patterns. It certainly would have helped to relieve the boredom of cutting the same yards in one of three patterns time after time.

The directions are very helpful for how to deal with special problems, like temporary damage, making a mistake in the pattern, and repeating a pattern (you are encouraged to photograph your work to learn from what you have done).

Picture Perfect also has a long list of resources you can access, especially from the Internet.

Although the quality of the design and the printing are not as high as the contents deserve, the material is strong enough to carry the result to five star level. One does hope, however, that a future printing will create a version more like an art book to better feature the examples.

After you finish becoming an expert on turf design, I suggest that you think about where else you can exercise your creativity in your yard. Have you considered sculpting shrubs like they do in the Disney theme parks? How about designing a sculpture garden? Do you have a Zen garden area yet?

Create a better balance between the views in your yard and the thoughts in your mind. Let the reverbrations of inspiration take you to new heights of thought and harmony!

Picture Perfect will show you how to mow the classic "checkerboard" and also arches, circles, diamonds and more. It will also show you the secret techniques of the pros for more advanced pattern-making -- using rollers and brushes.

According to Bob Uecker, Milwaukee Brewers Broadcaster: "Some artists use a 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. He's a cut above the rest"

From the Commissioner of Baseball, Bud Selig: "I had the privilege of working with David Mellor for many years and he is one of the most resourceful and creative people in his field. His work is extraordinary and he is one of the finest young men I know"

If you know anyone who fits that description, buy them this astonishing book. It is amazing what can be created with a little patience, know-how and practice. Some designs are quite simple, others a little more complex, but they are very eye-catching. The book would be ideal for any yard or community with large greenspace. The larger the area, the more dramatic the design becomes. If you are zipping around on your trusty mower at home, just make sure you move the dog....before he has the most stylish haircut of the year!