Mower choice for a small garden

[Mathew Newton]

I shall be shortly turfing a small (5m x 5m) area of our garden and am cons idering options regarding the most appropriate mower to buy.

I'm not bothered by stripes; I more just want a decent cut from a mower tha t is easy to use. This latter requirement will presumably be significantly impacted by the small area as there will be plenty of turning involved!

Can anyone offer any advice? I've been considering a Flymo Easi Glide 300:

However that was when I assumed that a hover mower could be used side-to-si de, however Flymo say you should still mow in the 'conventional' forward/st raight motion so whilst it might be a bit easier than a conventional cylind er/rotary mower it is still perhaps not ideal. Also, I do wonder about the effectiveness of grass collection given the nature of operation.

My other consideration was for a hand mower such as the Al-Ko 38HM:

Given the significantly simpler design/build, yet the same approximate pric e (~£85), I'm wondering if I'm getting a higher quality product in terms of performance? I've never used a hand mower before, and indeed have scoffe d at what I assumed were compromises of design in every respect, but I can' t help but feel that their continued availability must say something..?

Any comments or suggestions?

Mathew

[Chris J Dixon]

I have one similar to this, and have found it efficient and highly manoeuvrable. There is a whole range available, but I think this is the cheapest.

Chris

[stuart noble]

I still think a cheap metal blade flymo hover is the best for small gardens. Do it regularly and you don't have to collect the cuttings. The big advantage IMO is you can mow when the lawn is wet

[Chris Hogg]

My elderly mother has three small lawns, but the electric rotary mower she had was eventually just too heavy for her to manage. Got her one of these from B&Q (or an earlier version)

Very light, can easily be carried about with one hand, does the job and still going strong after several years regular use (now by me, as she can no longer do very much at all in the garden). Cheap, too. Only disadvantage is it's electric, with a traily cable, which I hate!

[DerbyBorn]

Mathew Newton wrote in news:3587bfe4- [e-mail]:

I've never understood why people apot the side to side action with a hover unless you deliberately want some lower back exercise. Walking up and down

- with a swing around at the end of thetrack is easiest. The only time a bit of swinging is preferred is when the grass is wet and I want to minimise how much I walk on it.

[Mathew Newton]

My assumption as to why I'd be doing it side-to-side is that with such a sm all garden I figured I'd be doing more turning than straight mowing! I figu red that a side-to-side, or rather more likely some sort of haphazrd approa ch akin to vacuuming, would likely make the job easier. With a long thin ga rden I wouldn't think twice about up-and-down being the most sensible optio n.

[Mathew Newton]

Many hover mowers purport to collect the cuttings however I don't know how well they do in practice, particularly at the cheaper end of the scale.

As you say though if done regularly it shouldn't matter so much, and with all the work I've put into preparing for this lawn I'm going to be keeping it in as good a condition as I can!

[Rick Hughes]

I would never buy another hover .... just find them poor performers. A small rotary would be the answer ... cheap enough if you just get 4 wheel version (no power roller drive) Good on all length grass, even if damp.

The cylinder version you show are good as long as you don't mind pushing, you need to be mowing often as they don't handle long grass well, and also not good on damp grass.

[Mrs Bonk]

I have that one, it's not a bad little mower, very light and easily managed. My only problem was getting the bag put together. Thought I was being thick but lots of others said the same, however once done it was obvious!

[Mathew Newton]

I've added it to the list (thanks Rick). I'll have to make my decision soon as Rolawn say that I should be looking to mow the turf within only a few days of have laid it so there'll be no hanging around 'umming and ahing'!

[Mathew Newton]

Oops; I mean Chris. But thanks to Rick also for you input! Indeed thanks for all the comments - they've been most helpful.

[larkim]

considering options regarding the most appropriate mower to buy.

that is easy to use. This latter requirement will presumably be significan tly impacted by the small area as there will be plenty of turning involved!

o-side, however Flymo say you should still mow in the 'conventional' forwar d/straight motion so whilst it might be a bit easier than a conventional cy linder/rotary mower it is still perhaps not ideal. Also, I do wonder about the effectiveness of grass collection given the nature of operation.

price (~£85), I'm wondering if I'm getting a higher quality product in te rms of performance? I've never used a hand mower before, and indeed have sc offed at what I assumed were compromises of design in every respect, but I can't help but feel that their continued availability must say something..?

Presumably the problem with a hover generally is that the downdraft of the air curtain pushes the grass blades away from the cutting blade, thus defea ting part of the object of the exercise.

Now a MagLev mower would be excellent...

[Nick Odell]

I've got a postage-stamp size lawn and an al-co clone hand cylinder mower and it's a perfect match when conditions are absolutely right.

But right now the grass is sprouting everywhere but it's been wet and foggy for days and I just can't get out there with this mower. It's useless on wet, long grass. Maybe I should get a cheap strimmer to see me past this "damp patch" for now, but if I were choosing again then I'd want something I could use in the wet or the dry.

Nick

[PeterC]

So passe - antigrav is in.

[Peter]

nsidering options regarding the most appropriate mower to buy.

hat is easy to use. This latter requirement will presumably be significantl y impacted by the small area as there will be plenty of turning involved!

side, however Flymo say you should still mow in the 'conventional' forward/ straight motion so whilst it might be a bit easier than a conventional cyli nder/rotary mower it is still perhaps not ideal. Also, I do wonder about th e effectiveness of grass collection given the nature of operation.

ice (~£85), I'm wondering if I'm getting a higher quality product in term s of performance? I've never used a hand mower before, and indeed have scof fed at what I assumed were compromises of design in every respect, but I ca n't help but feel that their continued availability must say something..?

Would recomend a hand mower; I used to use a small Flymo but they do not cu t cleanly, forcing flat even slightly damp grass and ripping it up. With su ch a small garden there is no need for electricity / leads / petrol to comp licate things. My hand mower is a Qualcast cheapie but works fine. The one you ref. looks really good. Everyone can enjoy the peace and quiet too. Peter