Gardening expert Jonny Hincks, who has amassed almost two million followers on social media, says people regularly fiind themselves making the same mistake when cutting their grass
15:33, 17 Apr 2026Updated 15:43, 17 Apr 2026
A gardening expert says many people make the same mistake when mowing the lawn(Image: Getty Images)
A gardening expert has revealed the common “mistake” people are making when mowing their lawn. Self-confessed “gardening geek” Jonny Hincks had been working as a firefighter when he started his Instagram page dedicated to his passion.
He has since amassed almost two million followers and written a book about gardening. Jonny believes the lawn is a “British thing” and often finds himself admiring the grass whenever he visits manor houses.
During an appearance on Tom Allen’s Pottering About podcast, Jonny revealed how often he thinks people should cut their grass. He said: “Whenever you can. If you’ve got a busy life, as and when you can, once a week.”
It was then he revealed what he thinks is a major mistake that many gardeners make. He continued: “I think the problem [is that] people make the mistake of, is that people mow it too short. It gets dry, it hasn’t got enough leaf to grow again.
“I always have my lawn quite high and that’s the best time to get the lines in there. People don’t understand how to get lines, the amount of questions I get, ‘How are you getting the lines in your lawn?’ Don’t go too short, don’t go too short.”
Jonny keeps his lawn at a “medium” length(Image: Getty Images)
Jonny says he then likes to pull the weeds from his garden. Home horticulturalists looking to get the vertical lines in their garden need to make sure they use a cylinder or rotary mower.
The grass will also need to be well cared for before receiving its trim, reports Express.co.uk . In order to get the stripes, they will need to mow the lawn in one direction, at a width of two mowers.
They will then need to mow the lawn in the opposite direction, again at a width of two mowers. They should then repeat this until their lawn gets the desired stripes.
Fellow garden expert Alan Titchmarsh is also a vocal supporter of a stripey lawn. In a video on his Gardening with Alan Titchmarsh YouTube channel, he said: “I like stripes on mine but I’m organic, I don’t use weedkillers, I do very little to it.
Alan Titchmarsh likes to rake away his moss(Image: Getty Images)
“The stripes come as a result of having a rotary mower with a heavy rear roller. The stripes that look darker are where the mower has come towards you and bent the grass towards you, and the paler ones are where the grass is lying away, it’s as simple as that.”
Alan says he has a “simple” lawn care routine and regularly rakes his moss out and then gives it some food in the spring. After raking out the moss, he likes to leave it out because it’s “great nesting material” for birds.
Gardeners wanting to maintain their lawns have been urged to do some jobs now. According to the Royal Horticulture Society, April is a good time to define your lawn edges by “using a half-moon edging iron or spade , creating a 7.5cm (3in) ‘gutter’ around the lawn. This will prevent grass creeping from the lawn into your borders.”
Another job that can be done now it says is to repair any bumps and hollows in your grass. This can be done “by peeling back the turf, removing or adding soil, then replacing the turf”.
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