As the holiday season reaches its height you could bet the weather would turn, and so it has.
Most parts of the country has torrential rain excellent for making the grass (and weeds) spring into life but not good if you’re on a beach holiday with fractious youngsters.
Those who stayed at home will be faced with vigorous growth from brambles and nettles, hedges putting on a spurt of autumnal growth and lawns looking their best but in need of a cut, possibly twice a week.
So to give you a helping hand in the garden, here are 10 top pieces of machinery to keep the autumn garden in check. And to make it look its best when, yes when, the sun returns.
The first is new and exclusive to MowDirect – in fact we helped to develop the range – and uses the latest battery technology.
The Redback E137C Cordless Mower has a 37cm working width ideal for small to medium-sized lawns and will charge up in 70 minutes.
It has a 40-litre grass box and five cutting heights from 25mm to 75mm and has a handlebar display to indicate the amount of charge in the battery.
It costs just £229 compared with the recommended price of £347 and is delivered free of charge the next working day with a three-year warranty.
The next is a very solid mower, sturdy and reliable and built for a long working life.
The Morrison Surecut 3-in-1 Petrol Push Lawnmower has an easy-starting Briggs & Stratton 1125cc engine low on vibration levels and noise and lets you either collect the cut grass, mulch it or discharge it at the back.
The grass box holds 42 litres and it will cut right down to 15mm for a really tight look to the lawn.
Being a push mower it is easier to negotiate flower beds and odd-shaped lawns and it has large rear wheels to make it more comfortable on uneven ground.
It has a five-year warranty and we deliver it free of charge the next working day.
The price is £219, £50 off the recommended price.
The next is a long-time favourite, from one of Britain’s best brands and exclusive to MowDirect.
The Mountfieldl SP533 Self-Propelled 3-in-1 Petrol Lawn Mower has a wider, 51cm, cutting width making it suitable for larger lawns, say around 1200m2.
Powering it along is a 160cc Mountfield engine giving it enough power to tackle the rough and the smooth.
It has a 60-litre grass box an cutting heights from 25mm to 90mm.
The steel cutting deck has a powder coated finish to resist scratches and corrosion and give it a long life.
When conditions allow – when it is dry – you can fir the mulch plug and deal with the clippings that way.
This mower costs £329 compared with the recommended price of £459 and it has a three-year warranty.
We deliver it free the next working day.
The hedges by now should have had their main trim on the year but some are starting to look a bit straggly with brambles poking their stems through so it is a good thing to give another quick, light trim.
This machine, the Redback e522d Cordless Hedgetrimmer is ideal for this as it is light and easy to handle yet has plenty of power to deal with even thick growth like that from thorn hedges or holly.
It has a pair of 56cm double-sided dual-reciprocating blades to give a sharp neat cut and a rotating rear handle so you can tackle the more difficult shapes and hedges sides.
The price quoted is for the cutter only and you will need to buy a battery and charger although it is compatible with other Redback products.
It also has a large trigger switch so it is easy to use while wearing gloves and it has a deflector to push the cut twigs out of the way so you can see what you are cutting – although this can be removed if you prefer to working without it.
It costs £69, £30 off the recommended price and has a three-year warranty with free next working day delivery.
A more powerful machine and a long-time favourite is the Mountfield MHJ2424 Double-Bladed Petrol Hedgetrimmer with a 61cm blade.
This is an ideal machine for people who have a longer, thicker hedge to keep under control with a 24.5cc engine giving bags of power and starting easily.
The double-reciprocating blades have a tooth gap of 28mm so it can easily tackle thicker growth.
The rear handle has three positions to let you cut hedges sides and tops more easily and it weighs only 5.5kg.
It has a one-year warranty and is delivered free the next working day and costs £139, £40 off the recommended price.
‘A Beast of a Machine,’ commented one recent purchaser.
This one is from a Japanese manufacturer of garden machinery and one which is increasingly the choice of the professional.
And this one, the Tanaka TCH22e-CP2 (78) is also ideal for the owners of gardens with long thick hedges.
It weighs only 5.2kg and has a 21.2 Tanaka PureFire engine, powerful yet low on fuel use and emissions. The vibration levels are also low with a series of sprung damping mounts.
It also has a front positioned exhaust and effective silencer and recoil starter which needs just a light tug.
Extra-long 78cm blades means you can cut large areas quickly and a tooth gap of 35mm lets you tackle thick, established hedges.
It costs £369, £120 off the recommended price and has a five-year warranty with free next working day delivery.
Many of you will have noticed the prolific growth of bramble this year and this machine from a leading European maker has a free safety kit with it.
The Einhell GH-BC Petrol Brushcutter is a powerful little machine with a 25cc easy-starting engine powering a 23cm blade with three mean teeth.
For lawn edges there is a 42cm nylon cutting head which automatically feeds out more strimming line when needed.
With its chopper handle bars and supplied shoulder harness it can be used in a sweeping motion to cut large areas quickly and efficiently.
The free safety equipment consists of a helmet with a face guard and ear defenders and work gloves. There is also a free fuel mixing bottle.
It costs £129.95, £70 off the recommended price and we deliver it free the next working day with a two-year warranty.
‘Can’t Be Beaten ForThe Money,’ is the comment of a recent purchaser.
Back to Tanaka for a really powerful machine suitable for keen amateurs with large gardens or professionals.
The Tanaka TBC-4200DX Petrol Brushcutter is designed for long use cutting back thick undergrowth and has chopper style handlebars and a shoulder harness for prolonged use.
It has a 40cc engine and extensive vibration damping and a large fuel tank and a clutch which stops the head from revolving at low revs.
A line trimmer is also included for lighter stuff and lawn edges.
It costs £429, £150 off the recommended price and has a five-year warranty. We deliver it free the next working day.
And this is another very popular machine for cutting large areas of overgrown land.
Rugged and versatile, the MD Tondu Wheeled Trimmer Mower has a 160cc engine to drive thick trimming line at the front of the machine which will cut through really substantial undergrowth.
Invaluable when cutting weeds and brush in orchards and alongside walls and hedges it is very easy to push along under low branches.
And it can also be used on verges and the banks of ditches where the ground slopes and is uneven.
The working width 56cm and the height can be adjusted from35mm to 70mm.
A dead man’s handle cuts the engine as soon as it is released, a useful safety feature.
It costs £299, £100 off the recommended price and is delivered free the next working day with a two-year warranty and five sets of trimming line.
‘Excellent Machine, Easts Weeds At Speed,’ said a recent customer.
And finally, a cracking little ride-on made for lawns around 2000m2.
Easy to drive, the Lawnflite 2-in-1 Ride-On Mower has a 190cc Briggs & Stratton engine started with a key and lets you mulch the cut grass as well as discharging it to the side.
It has six gears changed on the move and is very easy to drive and manoeuvrable and with a working width of 60cm can pass through many garden gates and is easy to drive around trees and the like.
Cutting heights are from 38mm to 95mm making it an ideal little machine for small paddocks and orchards.
It costs just £1099, £300 off the recommended price and is delivered free within two to three working days. And for an extra fee you can have it the following day if you order by 3pm – even on a Saturday.
For a wide selection of garden machinery bargains have a look at our great summer sale and if you can’t see what you want or are not sure which machine is right for your needs just give us a ring on 020 3026 8712
