Every lawn has its own approach

Different owners have different approaches to forming lawns in their gardens and caring for the grass. Some lay a roll turf and cut the grass as short as possible to resemble the surface of a golf or football field. Some people prefer an ordinary medium-height lawn of mixed grass, the composition of which corresponds to the climatic peculiarities of a certain region. It happens that lawn owners do not take good care of their lawn, but simply mow it from time to time to prevent the grass from growing. And some people only take a scythe in their hands a couple of times a year to get rid of the thickest. In all of these cases, the right garden tools can save time and effort spent on mowing the grass.

A lawn mower is the main tool for mowing lawn grass

The term “lawn mower” comprehensively describes the main function of this device. It is not intended for making hay or fighting weeds, but for caring for the lawn — a specially formed lawn that is watered and mowed regularly. It doesn't matter whether it's a short and perfectly mowed English lawn, ordinary lawn grass, natural herbs, meadow and marsh grasses or even a lawn overgrown with dandelions. The main thing is that the height of the plants does not exceed the maximum mowing height specified in the technical specifications of the lawn mower. Otherwise, long strips of cut plant stems will wind around the blade and drive shaft and may damage the mower.

Spacious and level lawns with regularly maintained grass are the domain of lawn mowers.
Popular lawn mowers

A grass trimmer is a tool for tall grass, thickets and narrow places

Grass trimmers, unlike lawn mowers, are better suited for cutting tall grass. They are often used as the primary tool for dealing with dense stands of tenacious weeds that crowd out cultivated plants. Particularly interesting in this regard are powerful petrol and electric trimmers, in which the head with spool of line can be replaced with a paddle blade or saw blade. This technique not only easily copes with plants that have thick and succulent stems, but can also cut off branches of bushes and young shoots of trees as thick as a finger.

Advantages of lawn mowers over trimmers

The main advantage of a lawn mower over a trimmer is the ability to accurately maintain the required mowing height. Unlike trimmers that may require adjusting height visually, mowers eliminate such concerns. The wheeled chassis maintains a specific height for the lawn mower and its cutting mechanism above the ground. This height, typically ranging from from 20 to 50 and sometimes 80 millimeters. The height adjustment mechanism can be implemented in different ways: for each wheel separately, for each axle separately or synchronously on all wheels using one lever. Regardless of the chassis design, moving the lawn mower across the lawn ensures an even cut at a consistent level. This feature prevents even inexperienced users from creating uneven patches or waves on the lawn.

A grass trimmer is better for cutting tall grass, but it is difficult to achieve a perfect lawn.

The second important factor is the load on the user. Even the lightest trimmers, which weigh less than 3 kg, tire the hands after 20 – 30 minutes of using. With lawn mowers everything is much simpler. Although they weigh 15 – 30 kg, you don’t need to carry them around. Moreover, many lawn mowers are self-propelled — they don't even need to be pushed, just follow behind them, controlling their trajectory.

Moreover, lawn mowers have the capability to tidy up by gathering cut stems and leaves into a grass bag during operation. This eliminates the need for additional time and effort spent manually raking and collecting mown grass from the lawn using a wheelbarrow. Certain lawn mowers even offer a mulching feature, which finely shreds grass clippings, transforming them into organic fertilizer beneficial for the lawn.

The ability to collect grass directly into a bag greatly simplifies lawn care.

Advantages of trimmers over lawn mowers

Lawn mowers are rather clumsy devices. They drive perfectly well in a straight line, but they may have problems with tight turns, passing through narrow places or traveling over bumps. That's why lawn mowers are mainly used to take care of fairly spacious and relatively flat areas. Trimmers are a different matter. Areas with uneven terrain - it's their domain. With a trimmer is much more convenient to cut grass on slopes, and other uneven surfaces. Due to the compact size of the head, the trimmer is more maneuverable and can reach places where the wide body of a lawn mower can't.

Trimmers with adjustable mowing units are particularly fascinating. The tilting feature enables the tool to reach under low-hanging branches, navigate beneath benches, tables and trampolines without the need to move the garden furniture. Additionally, the 90-degree swiveling head facilitates precise lawn edging along borders, paths, or flower bed perimeters. Many trimmers also include a bracket, allowing for close grass cutting around flowers, tree trunks, fences, and walls without catching them.

A trimmer with a swivel head can do things that a lawn mower cannot do.
Popular grass trimmers

Brief summary

With all of the above in mind, let's summarize the results and we'll take the liberty of giving a couple of tips. To care for a spacious area, it is worth buying a petrol lawn mower with a large cutting width and a spacious grass bag. Due to its size, power and autonomy, the process of mowing grass will take less time and effort. And if the area is small, and there is access to electricity, then you can take a small electric lawn mower and an extension cord. For a tiny lawn, the area of which does not exceed a couple of dozen square meters, an inexpensive trimmer operating from the network is quite sufficient. It will also be an excellent partner for a lawn mower, because with its help you can trim the edges of the lawn and mow small areas and strips of grass in places where large device cannot get through. It’s worth considering buying a petrol trimmer when the main goal is not to create an ideal lawn, but to fight weeds in the garden. And cordless lawn mowers and trimmers, given the fairly high cost of batteries, make sense to buy if you plan to acquire several types of garden equipment and power tools that can be powered by the same battery.

Cordless mowers are beneficial to buy when one battery can be used for multiple types of equipment.

Useful information about lawn mowers and trimmers

After reading this article, you've probably already decided what's best for your lawn maintenance. In this case, you should continue reading and familiarize yourself with the articles “How to choose a lawn mower” and “Useful tips for choosing a lawn mower”, which reveal in more detail the process of selecting each type of equipment for mowing grass. It also makes sense to look at the section with texts about garden equipment. There regularly appear reviews describing the top 5 lawn mowers and trimmers in different categories and price ranges among the models on sale in online stores.