Lawnmowers

A well-cared for lawn is something avid gardeners pride themselves on. A plush, bright green lawn can make a huge difference to the appearance of a home, a park or even a roundabout. Creating and maintaining a healthy lawn would be practically impossible without using a lawnmower. They are essential when trying to achieve the traditional striped finish or even just to prevent gardens resembling a wilderness of knee-high grass in which small dogs could instantly disappear.

The lawnmower was originally invented by Edward Beard Budding in 1830. Inspired by a machine he saw in a cloth mill used to create a smooth finish after weaving, he thought that something following a similar concept could be used to cut grass. He went into partnership with a fellow local engineer, John Ferrabe, and together they made mowers in Stroud.

The early lawnmowers were made from cast iron. They had a large rear roller with a cutting cylinder situated at the front, very similar to the rear roller lawnmower seen and used today.

The lawnmower comes in a number of different styles to serve and meet different needs. The cylinder lawnmower can cut at a very low height. They have a spiral blade wrapped around a cylinder. It gives one of the closest cuts to the ground and certain brands and models will provide the coveted striped finish.

The rotary lawnmower is a popular choice. They have a horizontal rotating blade which makes them a good choice if the lawn that needs to be cut is on an uneven surface. The height at which these cut tends to be higher than the cylinder mowers. It leaves a torn finish to the grass as it tears at the blades. To achieve the striped finish with a rotary lawnmower it will need to have a roller on the back.

For those who have particularly uneven lawns to mow a hover lawnmower could be a good choice. They can be very low in cost and ‘hover’ over lawns when they are used as they ride on the air created by the rotating blades. It means that they can be used from side-to-side, not just forwards and backwards. Some downfalls of the hover lawnmower can be that the striped finish isn’t possible to achieve. Also, opting for a really cheap model often means that the cut grass isn’t collected by the lawnmower.

For price reasons, many people will opt for an electric lawnmower to cut their lawn. They tend to be cheaper and readily available. They can be quiet to use and easier to maintain than a petrol lawnmower. They are great for the smaller garden, but those with a larger garden may struggle as the cable may not stretch as far as needs be.

For the reason above, a lot of people will opt for a petrol lawnmower as they are not restricted by the length of a cable. They also tend to be very powerful making them good for use on lawns than can get out of hand in terms of length and thickness. They are more expensive than electric mowers however, and can be very noisy.

Other types of lawnmower include recycling or mulching mowers. This type of lawnmower leaves behind very fine, shredded lawn clippings that are left on the lawn. These lawn clippings are left to wilt and decompose and help lawns retain moisture and feed the soil from which the lawn grows. It also means that there is no need to empty and dispose the collected grass clippings as with other mowers.
Although lawn scarifiers are not lawnmowers as such, they are essential in good lawn care. Lawns can take a bit of a beating and even though the regular use of a lawnmower will keep them looking neat, it doesn’t provide all the care lawns need. Using a lawn scarifier removes the dead material that can gather around grass roots. Although in theory this isn’t all bad as it will eventually decay, it doesn’t always decay as quickly as it gathers. Using one of these will remove the build up and help in the prevention of lawn diseases.

Give your lawn some TLC by using the appropriate well-maintained lawnmower and lawn scarifier and it will soon be looking in tip-top condition