Re: The gardening thread

[Butterfield]

I mowed the front lawn today - I'll do the two lawns in the back garden hopefully tomorrow (Saturday), weather permitting.

It's probably the earliest in the season I've ever mowed, but it was mild and the lawn looked just so tatty and with what I think are hundreds of little sycamore saplings growing all over the place from the millions of seeds which get dispersed each autumn. Plus, the green bins get collected for the first time this coming week so I won't have to store the clippings for long.

The front lawn looks so much better now.

[The Call of the Wendigo]

It's too wet to do lawn massacring, here.

[The Call of the Wendigo]

In other news, I'm thinking of getting a manual lawn mower for the steeper bits of my garden but am scared I'll have to spend ages getting rid of every single twig before I can start.

[Fangirl Three]

I used to have a manual lawnmower (back when I had a lawn, and a garden, and a house ) and it had no problem with twigs.

[The Call of the Wendigo]

[Butterfield]

I used a push along manual mower for a bit and it did okay on short grass but not so great on longer grass - which kind of defeated the whole object. Also, the cut grass clippings would miss the plastic tray which was supposed to catch the clippings so it was easier to use without the tray and just have the clippings land directly back on the lawn - which meant one had to spend ages raking up afterwards.

Needless to say, this was replaced with a battery-charged electric mower, which along with my first iPhone is one of the most revolutionary things I've ever used - and it's still going after 5 or 6 years!

I mowed the last two lawns today - which was more like mowing moss than mowing grass.

[The Call of the Wendigo]

...this was replaced with a battery-charged electric mower...

I was looking at cordless mowers, a couple of days ago but they seem to weigh tons, and my garden's very steep.

[Butterfield]

...this was replaced with a battery-charged electric mower...

I was looking at cordless mowers, a couple of days ago but they seem to weigh tons, and my garden's very steep.

The one I use is very, very light. Some would find it a bit too light and plasticky, but it's just so nimble and with no dangerous cord, no petrol or anything - it just zizzes along and clips the grass really well.

I think it was about £170 from Homebase a few years ago. It came with two batteries, each one lasting I'd say towards an hour on a full charge.

[Butterfield]

It's this exact one, by Qualcast.




I don't think the exact one is available anymore but there are loads like it available in various stores and online (second hand too) and it looks like they've improved them further in the years since.

Bits are falling off mine now (including the battery cover window which snapped off last year) but otherwise it's still going strong. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another like this!

[The Call of the Wendigo]

Thank you, Buttertubs. I shall take a look at it.

[The Call of the Wendigo]

I've just bought a manual lawnmower and a battery-powered lawnmower.

[The Call of the Wendigo]

Now I have to wait for them to arrive.

[Butterfield]

[The Call of the Wendigo]

Now I'm going to find out which best suits my needs.

[The Call of the Wendigo]

After years of struggling to use my flymo on a ridiculously steep patch of garden, it's suddenly occurred to me that I don't actually have to mow it. I could just leave that area to grow wild and designate it as a, "mini-meadow."

Admittedly, it only occurred to me because, last night, YouTube suddenly started recommending videos to me about the desirability of leaving areas of your lawn to grow wild.

Regardless, it is what I shall do.

That's not a bad idea. Depending on the shape of the lawn you could always mow a pathway through the middle of any "mini-meadow".

Why not scatter some seeds and see which ones take? You may as well experiment, you could end up with an attractive floral meadow, or even a few things that can be eaten.

I've just ordered loads and loads and loads of seeds to fling at my mini-meadow.

I have now flung my loads and loads and loads of seeds at my garden.

[The Call of the Wendigo]

Will any of them turn into flowers?

[Butterfield]

This will be your garden in a few weeks time!

[The Call of the Wendigo]

[Nightjar]

It's like CT's worst nightmare.

[The Call of the Wendigo]

I've just used my two new lawnmowers for the first time. Using of them was way easier and faster than using my old hover mower. In fact, I think I could have got away with doing my big back lawn with the manual mower, and not just my smaller, steeper side and front lawns.

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