I usually enjoy the workout I get from a bit of brisk mowing with my old push lawnmower, followed by a burst of vigorous raking – so good for the waistline, but recently as my path network through the meadow has increased, the effort has rather overwhelmed me – a battle lost. But a friend gained: a jolly Gtech cordless mower (gtech.co.uk) that folds away small in my shed and doesn’t require diminishing muscle power.
Lawn mowers have always irritated me. In the past our heavy-duty pull-start diesels defeated me. I used to get my husband to start up for me, but every time they cut out, I was left pathetically needing a re-start. How dare manufacturers produce a machine that half the population can’t use?
As our rolling acres increased, my sons grumpily took on the mowing as a way to earn pocket money, and then when they left home, I employed a couple who magically strimmed and mowed their way round the garden in seconds flat.
Part of my reason for downsizing here was to be more self-reliant, so the vintage push mower left behind by the previous owner was perfect. Just a squirt of WD 40 and a sharpening of the blades, and it was good to go. But it had no grass collector at the front, and got easily fouled up by longish grass. So I viewed the prospect of mowing with less and less enthusiasm, the grass grew and then became unmowable.
I borrowed an electric hovermower, but it seemed just a matter of time before I electrocuted myself. So here I am with a state-of-the art battery powered beauty that easily cuts the entire garden with juice to spare, slices through any length of grass and neatly cuts right up to the edges. Hooray!
And Gtech do bikes, strimmers and hoovers too!