So many gardeners, when looking to get a lawnmower, immediately think that an electric or other power mower is the only choice. This is very far from being the truth. Especially in the case of those with a modest area of lawn to cope with, a push mower (for example the Qualcast Panther) must not be dismissed when looking around the garden centre.
Gardens are getting smaller – of that there is very little doubt. Land is getting even more high-priced, so it is no shock that the land available to every new house is being reduced. Along with this, there has been an increasing fashion in garden design towards hard landscaping, removing the lawn from the scheme completely.
This is all very well and good, but the awkward fact remains that for a lot of people, a lawn is an irreplaceable feature in a garden. It’s wonderful to have a soft place to lie and enjoy the sun, and without having a lawn – well many people feel that it’s not a proper garden.
But there are undeniable problems. Quite apart from the expense of getting a mower, you have to get a place to store it and you have to maintain it. The power cable of an electric mower gets in the way, If you have a petrol mower you continually seem to be running out of fuel, and for just a modest area of lawn it barely seems worth all the trouble.
But just think for a minute how a push mower gets over all this:-
- They are generally a lot less expensive to buy
- There’s no fuel or electricity to be concerned about
- Storage is easy as they are light and usually dismantle
- They are quiet – except for the fairly gentle sound that many people actually love to hear
- Being cylinder mowers, you get a nice stripe on your lawn.
If you choose to invest in a quality push mower, such as the Qualcast Panther, you get all the advantages detailed above, at about half the cost of a good electric rotary model. The Panther is also available in 2 sizes – 30 cm and 38 cm – which means that there is a model that will cope with more than purely a postage-stamp lawn. So the advantages are not confined to the small-garden owner alone.
So it seems to me that there’s a clear message here. A power mower is not the only option if you have a modest garden, and don’t feel that you have to get rid of the grass either. A push mower such as the Panther could well solve many of your difficulties.
Stephen Bailey is a keen gardener who writes extensively on gardening and gardening equipment. You can read more of his articles at Tern Gardening Reviews.