Pushing my way to a well-kept lawn

Thanks to all the rain we've had lately, the combination of (mostly) weeds and grass that I call my lawn has been growing like crazy. And, because Mr. Speedy and I have never had a yard of any sort before, we had to buy a mower.

After some discussion, we decided to join the trend and go for a reel mower. (Read more about reel mowers currently on the market). We wouldn't need to worry about plugging in - a challenge on our odd shaped lot - or worse yet, struggling with schlepping home fuel (we don't have a car) for a gas mower. It would be eco-friendly and quiet. And it would give us some extra exercise.

So, we went shopping. While I've previously written about the fab Brill model, its $265 price tag was a little over our just-bought-a-house budget. So, we went with a cheaper, but still easy to push, model from Scott's.

We've mowed the lawn several times now with it, and it seems like every time we have, some kind neighbour has offered us the use of their powered mower! I don't know if we look like we're struggling, but people do seem to take pity on us!

But, all in all, it's not so bad. Our yard is fairly small and can be done in a few passes. You do need to move at a decent clip, and reel mowers seem to have a knack for passing over long weeds, which bend over and evade the blades. It seems like no matter how many times you push the mower back and forth over it, that one straggler in the middle of the lawn just won't die. It's more efficient to just pull it out.

Our yard also has a few very uneven patches, and the mower will sometimes bottom out on the hilly bits. I'm very glad that we went with a model that has wheels in the back, in addition to those by the reel, to help keep it a little more stable and make it easier to push.

And, finally, we've learned if you are going with a push mower, you've got to keep it short. These things just can't handle super long grass, so we've been careful to take ours out for a walk about once a week.

I like our push mower, and I'm still happy with our decision to go the eco-friendly route - though I don't know if I would try it on a larger, less flat lawn. And, as an added bonus, all the sympathy has helped us to meet our new neighbours!