Lawnmowers
The best lawn mower for your garden is one which is large enough to easily maintain your lawn and at the same time small enough to fit your budget.
There are various types of lawnmower:
Cylinder Mower: They come with three main types of power source - petrol, electric and battery. Petrol cylinder mowers are the most powerful and they are free from electric cords. Electric cylinder lawn mowers are better suited to smaller lawns. Battery cylinder lawn mowers are suitable only for very small lawns.
Cylinder lawn mowers give the best finish to all lawns although they are generally the most expensive (bar ride-on). They give the traditional stripped effect and cut the grass very cleanly without ripping it.
A 12 to 16 inch cutting cylinder is about the correct size for an average lawn. Smaller sizes take longer to cut the lawn and larger sizes begin to reduce the manoeuvrability of the lawn mower. When selecting a cylinder lawn mower, take into account the number of blades on the cylinder. Around 5 blades is common on inexpensive models and is quite adequate. 8 to 10 blades are found on more expensive models and these give the finest finish.
Rotary Mowers: The rotary lawn mower will not give the immaculate cut of a cylinder mower, but they are easy to use and cut the lawn quickly.
In addition, they are very good at dealing with long or wet grass. They also cut tough weeds and grasses better than a cylinder mower which tends to just flatten them.
They come with two main types of power source - petrol and electric. Petrol rotary mowers are the most powerful and they are free from electric cords. Electric rotary lawn mowers are very convenient but better suited to smaller lawns.
Hover Mowers: The principal advantage of a hover lawn mower is that it very light and easy to use. It literally floats on a cushion of air. If you find lawn mowing a tiring exercise, this is the lawn mower for you.
They provide a performance and action similar to rotary lawn mowers. They come with two main types of power source - petrol and electric. Petrol hover mowers are the most powerful and they are free from electric cords. Electric hover lawn mowers are very convenient but better suited to smaller lawns.
Ride-On Mowers: For the large garden a ride on is often the most practical solution. They are able to cover large lawns, quickly. Whilst often considered expensive, over recent years lower cost models have become available, giving them a wider market appeal.
It should be noted, however, that a ride on lawn mower will not be ideal for reaching into confined areas. For this you may need to combine with a trimmer or small hover mower.