Historically, the formal lawn was functional -- enclosing horses and livestock on grand estates. In the 18th century, it became a design element in its own right, as French landscape architects began designing crisp, geometric gardens.

Shape Shifters
Lawns can be cultivated into just about any shape you can imagine. Some of the most classic shapes include the cloverlike quatrefoil, the notched rectangle, and the ellipse, as well as circles and rectangles, which have a geometric purity. In the past, classic and formal French gardens tended to emphasize skillful artistry and offered rigid symmetry and straight lines, while the picturesque landscapes of 18th-century England emphasized more natural, curving lawns and S-shaped designs.

Use a series of garden hoses to map out your own garden plan. Survey it from a second-floor window or from a distance, and if it suits your taste, mark the design with spray paint or survey flags.

How Green Was My Terrace
Shaped grassy areas can also enhance terraces. Thick bands of grass around the perimeter of an outdoor terrace offer a gentle transition between the hardscape and softer plantings, such as flower beds. Tracing the outline of a terrace with thin ribbons of grass is equally effective in emphasizing its stylized shape.

Embedding a Zenlike carpet of green grass in the center of a terrace provides a peaceful focal point, especially if ornamented with a sculpture or fountain. A round, oval, or half-moon pad of grass close to the house can perform double duty as an informal terrace-cum-lawn and as a gathering place with several pieces of garden furniture arranged in a conversational grouping.

Splendor in the Grass
Fanciful patterns of alternating grass and pavers add graphic style to a terrace, the base of an outdoor staircase, or a parking court. Checkerboard or lozenge patterns scattered around the rim of a swimming pool present a cool alternative to hot pavement under bare feet.

For an even more personal touch, grass may be shaped into decorative medallions, including monograms, a family crest, or classical forms such as the fleur-de-lis.

One caveat: Ornate grass patterns that are embedded in hard surfaces such as parking courts require heavy fertilization and ample irrigation to be maintained.

Driveways can be embellished in several ways. One of the most popular devices is to insert grass strips up the median. Old-fashioned two-tire-track driveways are also back in vogue, with grass planted in the approximately 2 1/2-foot-wide strip between the tracks.

Mowing Mastery
Designers occasionally experiment with more sophisticated decorative treatments, such as attractive diamond cutouts around the bases of trees. The cutouts, implemented with a machete or a razor-sharp spade right after the tree is planted, are maintained with a line trimmer.

Another design technique, derived from American golf courses, is to create contrasting mowing bands by using a lawn roller (available from a specialty golf-supply shop or as an attachment for a riding lawn mower). By pressing and flattening selected sections of grass, the tool allows you to make elaborate patterns, such as crisscross basket weaves, or more streamlined designs, such as long horizontal stripes. This technique is particularly effective for expansive lawns. When the morning dew spangles the contrasting bands, the effect is dazzling.

By thinking creatively and using historical precedents as a starting point, you can transform even the most prosaic lawn into a canvas of (literally) cutting-edge garden design. Just keep your blades as sharp as your imagination.