Which Lawnmower Is Right For Your Garden?
May 9, 2016 | Gardening Tips | No comments
A regular trim is good for your lawn and healthy for you too. Anyone who’s pushed a heavy lawnmower around on a hot day knows that it’s a sure fire way to get the heart rate up! But if mowing your lawn is really, really hard work you could be using the wrong lawnmower. Not all mowers are alike, so it’s worth doing your research. Especially if you’ve just moved to a house with a bigger or smaller garden, or if your current mower is on its last legs.
Before you choose your lawnmower you need to ask yourself two important questions. What’s your lawn type? And what’s your mowing style?
Lawn Type
Small Lawn
If you have just a modest patch of grass it’s good news all round. There’s a mower for your lawn that’s easy to move around, relatively cheap, quite compact and easy to maintain.
We won’t keep you in suspense any longer; the lawnmower for you is… an electric hover mower!
Hover mowers work in a similar way to hovercrafts moving over the lawn on a cushion of air (impressive right?) which makes them easy to push, especially around curved areas of the lawn or when manoeuvring around trees or shrubs. They have a horizontal rotating blade to cut the grass to your preferred height and are usually inexpensive. Electric models are also easy to maintain, there’s no need to change the petrol and oil – just plug in and go!
Medium Lawn
You can use a hover mower if you have a larger, typical family sized garden too, but hover mowers are usually quite compact so it could take some time to mow your entire lawn! In comes the rotary lawnmower to the rescue. Rotary mowers are similar to hover mowers in their cutting style; they cut with a horizontal spinning blade, but are usually more robust and have wheels to push them along rather than hovering. If you have a sloping or bumpy lawn a rotary mower is an especially good buy as it’s so versatile, handles uneven lawns better and may even have a roller at the back. You can get models with an electric cord, battery or petrol motor, whichever your preference.
Large Lawn
For really keen gardeners with a hefty outside space a petrol lawnmower is best. You don’t want to get halfway through your lawn trimming and find your electric cord doesn’t reach the rest of your garden or your mower’s battery has run out of juice. Most large lawnmowers will have a roller to help flatten the ground and give that lovely striped finish.
A larger mower with wide cutting width is a good idea too, to make the job easier. You could even invest in a lawn tractor or ride on lawnmower if you have several acres of lawn (AKA a garden of a size which could be described as “grounds”).
Mowing Style
Some people just want their grass trim with minimal effort, whereas others won’t be happy unless they have perfectly manicured lawns. What type of gardener are you?
Petrol Rotary Lawnmower
Sporadic Sam
He mows his lawn only when it grows up past ankle height – it’s getting annoying getting damp feet from wading through it. If you’re a Sam you need a rotary lawnmower; they cope with long grass or damp grass best. We do recommend cutting your lawn regularly though rather than letting it get too long, it’s healthier for your grass.
Electric Hover Mower
Regular Rachel
She’s happy with her lawn as long as it’s reasonably neat and tidy and she mows regularly throughout the mowing season. If you’re the same as Rachel and have a modest sized garden, a hover mower with a grass box to collect grass clippings is ideal for a neat finish. If your lawn is bigger a rotary mower will also leave it tidy.
Meticulous Matthew
He wants his lawn perfectly manicured at all times, ideally with a classic striped finish. If you think Mathew’s got the right idea a cylinder mower could be for you. Cylinder mowers have a spinning blade moving against a static blade for low and very evenly cut grass. They’re only good for flat, trim lawns as they don’t work well on long grass, wet grass or bumpy lawns, but if you take real pride in perfection they’ll give you the best finish. Look for a model with a roller to get that striped effect and help keep your lawn even.
That’s the lowdown on different types of lawnmowers. Now go forth and choose the right one for you! Or if this article has confirmed that you’ve already got the perfect mower (hooray!) brush up on your mower maintenance instead to keep it running like new.
Tags: appliance tips, cylinder mower, grass cutting, hover mower, lawn tractor, Lawnmower, rotary mower
