Mechanical Gardener

I often think that gardening would be a lot easier if the lawns grew at a slower pace, that the weeds were not as prolific in the places that matter and the hedges and shrubs didn’t grow at such an alarming rate. But for every garden task, mowing, pruning and weeding there’s a gadget or gizmo on the market to assist, and many are powered too. Powered tools are always useful to have and can save a tremendous amount of time, effort and frustration, so it’s tempting to dash out and equip the shed with a multitude of machines. Racks of bright and shiny machines at the DIY store can be hard to resist – but which are best? Petrol, electric or rechargeable? I’ve seen lots on the market recently varying in price and quality and all aimed at the weekend gardener. In an ordinarily sized domestic garden often mains electric powered machines are more than adequate and with good maintenance last many years. Electric machines (such as chainsaws, hedge trimmers and lawnmowers) have several advantages over petrol that shouldn’t be dismissed: when an electric machine is plugged in it works, there’s no need to buy petrol or oil, change the spark plug or fight for ages trying to get it started at the beginning of the season. Electric machines are generally lighter, quieter, easier and safer to use and cost less to run and maintain. They will make an exceptionally good job in the garden with ease and quality electric tools give quite impressive performance! However alongside these electric machines there are petrol machines too and often at a competing price. I have even seen petrol hedge trimmers cheaper than electric, but the question of price v quality often comes to mind. But if buying a machine for a domestic garden and working within reach of a mains socket then a good electric powered machine would in my view win each time over cheap petrol powered. Once again trying for a bit of attention is the rechargeable range of machines. These have been around since Black and Decker launched the first rechargeable hedge trimmer in 1962. Anything rechargeable will give about 20 to 30 minutes use before it needs plugging in to charge for a few hours. In a small garden this is usually no problem as it gives adequate time, 30 minutes of power to a rechargeable strimmer for the lawn edges is ideal or 30 minutes trimming the front hedge. I reserve my judgement on rechargeable equipment for the time until I have seen and tested the new ranges of commercial/professional machines hitting the market now. If I was buying for a normal garden what would I buy? I’d have to admit to going to a garden machinery shop and buying quality mains electric machines purely because of the convenience of having a machine at hand that can be plugged in whenever needed. Sure it cannot be used when wet but then who wants to mow the lawn or trim the hedge in the rain? Safety with electric always comes first.