The Bank Holiday weekend signals traffic jams and crowded beaches as families take the last chance to celebrate summer before the kids go back to school.
These next few weeks are traditionally a full frontal assault on finances, so to help the family purse, here are ten top garden machinery bargains.
First is the Mountfield HP454 Petrol Rotary Hand-Propelled Lawnmower, ideal for smaller lawns – say around 800m2.
This is a solid little mower, from one of Britain’s favourite manufacturers, with a 140cc engine which fires up reliably.
We think this mower is great value for money and with its 45cm cutting width it is easy to navigate around garden furniture, bushes and trees.
Weighing only 22kg, with larger rear wheels and a specially designed cutting deck to increase airflow, it is a good collector of wet grass, always helpful give the British weather.
The grass box holds 55 litres but there is also a mulch-plug included in the package. By fitting this, clippings are kept in the cutting deck and shredded down to very small pieces before being dropped back on to the lawn where they rot away.
But only use this in dry weather as it is difficult to mulch wet grass.
The cutting heights are easily adjusted from 20mm to 70mm with five positions easily set with one lever.
This mower costs £199, a full £100 below the maker’s recommended price and is delivered free the next working day with a two-year warranty.
If you have a slightly larger lawn this one is worthy of any short list.
The Oleo-Mac G53-TK Comfort 3-in-1 Petrol Self-Propelled Lawn Mower, another one-off special from a leading European manufacturer based in Italy.
Another rugged mower, this one has a 51cm cutting width and lets you collect the clippings, mulch them or discharge them at the back – this last option for rougher areas like small orchards.
Powering it along is a 159CC Emak engine – the ground speed is a comfortable saunter of 3.6km/h. The larger rear wheels means it can tackle the rougher stuff more easily.
Aimed at people with larger lawns – say up to 1200m2 – it has cutting heights from 28mm to 75mm and it has a powder-coated steel deck which resists corrosion and the inevitable scratches.
This one costs £249.95, £150 under the recommended price, and that includes the mulch plug.
There is a five-year warranty and we deliver it free the next working day.
Have a quick walk around the lawn and you’ll probably find a few weeds and dead grass spoiling the look.
The rubbish needs to be teased out to let moisture penetrate the roots and give new grass more room to grow.
This machine is the answer. Exclusive to MowDirect, the Einhell GE-SA 1335P Petrol Combi Scarifier / Aerator has a roller with 26 spikes to ease out the rubbish (it is especially at getting rid of moss) to let the lawn breath more easily. A popular machine, customers have been saying nice thins… “Good machine – build and performance with robust German Engineering.”
There is also a roller with 20 knives which cut small slits in the turf allowing moisture to get through more easily.
The rollers are very easy to change over.
The 53.2cc engine provides plenty of power to drive the rollers and as these revolve it has the effect of pulling the machine along.
There are three working depths so you can be as aggressive or gently as you like but when you first use it set it to the highest setting as the effect on the lawn with the scarifier can be a bit alarming if the lawn has not been treated for some years.
It will very quickly grow back much more healthily, however.
The machine costs £249.95, £150 off the list price and is delivered free the next working day with a wo-year warranty.
Now three great garden tools new for this year and exclusive to MowDirect relying on the latest lithium-ion batteries for their power.
As a result they are very light and at a very keen price as one battery will fir them all.
But the equipment below are priced for the tools only and don’t include the battery or charger.
First the Redback E312D Cordless Grass-Trimmer (Tool Only), a little machine for trimming lawn edges and those awkward bits close to walls and garden sheds.
This one relies on a 40V battery pack from Samsung, one of the world leaders in this technology.
This machine has a tilting strimming head to get into the nooks and crannies and is fitted with an aluminium shaft to give it strength and keep the weight down.
It also has a protecting guard so you can cut the grass you want without destroying the plants.
The cutting head has a bump feed system so you simply bump the head on the ground to feed out more line.
It costs £69, £30 less than the price recommended and is delivered free the next working day with a two-year warranty.
The Redback E522D Cordless Hedgetrimmer (Tool Only) makes hedge trimming a much easier task than lugging around a petrol-powered machine.
This too has a 40V battery from Samsung which powers 56cm cutting blades and can cut through even thick growth leaving a neat, clean cut.
It is fitted with a rotating rear handle so you can tackle complicated hedge shapes in comfort.
It also has a deflector for pushing clippings to one side – this can be easily removed if not wanted on some jobs.
The price for the tool only is £69, £30 off the recommended price, is delivered free the next working day and has a three-year warranty.
And it won’t be that long before the leaves start to fall and this machine will save hours of raking.
The Redback E435C Cordless Leaf-Blower (Tool Only) is much quieter than petrol-powered machines and is much lighter and less tiring to use.
Again it has a 40V battery from Samsung and has four settings for the air speed so you can put it on maximum for the matted leaves on the drive and take it down a setting or two for other areas.
It weighs only 2.5kg without the battery pack.
This one costs £89, £30 off the recommended price and is delivered free the next working day with a three-year warranty.
Now some more serious pieces of garden machinery.
And this first one is at a great price at the moment and is great for larger lawns where there are narrow gates and paths to negotiate as it has a working width of just 60cm.
The Lawnflite 2-in-1 Ride-On Mower is designed for areas around 2000m2 and is powered by a very reliable 190cc Briggs & Stratton engine started by a key.
This mower mulches the clippings but can also discharge them to the side in areas where a smart finish is not so important, like small paddocks. Cutting heights are from 38m to 95mm.
Transmission is via a six-speed Transmatic drive which lets you change gear while on the move and the driver’s seat is adjustable.
It is currently excellent value at £1149, making it one of the cheapest ride-ons on the market.
We deliver it free within two to three working days and there is a two-year warranty from Lawnflfite, one of the leading manufacturers of garden machinery in the USA.
And this one from the same manufacturer represents another excellent deal as there is a free trailer worth £199 in the package.
The Lawnflite 380 GT-X 2-in-1 Lawn Tractor has a Briggs & Stratton 344cc engine designed to limit fuel use and vibrations and to have a long working life.
This one drives much like an automatic car with infinitely-variable transmission which also makes it easier to drive in restricted areas and around trees and garden chairs – the turning circle is just 46cm.
Clippings are discharged to the side and there is also a free mulch plug for the more formal areas.
There are five cutting heights from 30mm to 95mm and even headlights to keep you working when it gets murky.
The two hitch is supplied and you can buy a grass box and front bumper as optional extras.
It costs £1549, £250 off the recommended price and we deliver it free the next working day with a two-year warranty.
However for an extra sum you can order by up to 3pm Friday and be mowing on Saturday.
Another great garden tractor is the MTD Direct-Collect Lawn Tractor.
With this one, the twin cutting blades create a very strong current of air which blasts the clippings into the close-coupled grass box and so minimise blockages and unslightly clumps of grass left on the lawn.
It has a 420c MTD engine and an extra-large 3.8 litre fuel tank and a grass box which holds 240 litres and can be emptied from the driving seat.
The cutting width is 92cm and the cutting deck has anti-scalp wheels which follow the contours of the lawn and eliminate scalping the uneven areas.
This one, too, has Transmatic transmission and a 46cm turning circle which make it easy to drive in restricted areas.
A mulch kit and a rear deflector are available as optional extras.
This one is priced at £1599, £300 off the recommended price, is delivered within two to three working days and has a two year warranty.
For an extra fee the tractor can be ordered up to 3pm Friday and delivered Saturday.
And for those areas of semi-wilderness which nevertheless need cutting back, have a look at this.
Al-Ko BM5001R-II Powerline Scythe Mower (Delivered Assembled) is a seriously mean machine with cutter bars out front which will hack through the thickest banks of weeds, gorse and bramble and even small saplings.
The power is from a Briggs & Stratton 190cc engine designed to start easily and has a mechanical torque control to increase the power when a tough area is encountered.
It also boasts a reverse gear to get you out of a tight sport and an adjustable deflector so you can put the debris where you want.
Fitted with large-diameter tyres it can tackle wet conditions and slopes and has a cutter head which is adjustable.
There are a number of attachments available to increase the use of this machine.
It costs £1209, almost £100 off the recommended price and is delivered free within two to three working days with a two-year warranty.
Keep an eye on our pages which list lawn mowers and lawn tractors as they contain a huge selection.
And please ring us on 020 3026 8712 if there is any more information you need.
