How to Choose a Lawnmower for My Size of Garden

 

Of all the garden machinery on the market, lawnmowers offer the biggest choice. In fact, the sheer number of lawnmowers for sale can make choosing the right one a little bit daunting.

Here, we provide all of the information you need to help you make an informed decision on how to select a lawn mower based on the size of your garden. We’ll show you how to classify your garden in terms of size and explain the importance of cutting width. We’ll then take a look at why various types of mower are suited to particular sizes of garden, to help you get a clear idea about how to pick the right lawn mower for you.

So, if you’ve been asking yourself the question ‘what size lawnmower do I need’, please read on to find out…

Classifying Your Garden’s Size

Firstly, let’s take a look at how gardens are classified in terms of their size.

What constitutes a lawn being small, medium or large is highly subjective, so the measurements are certainly not set in stone.

However, we tend to work on the following principle:

Garden Size Classification

 

To help you put this in perspective, a tennis court is roughly 260 m² in size.

The Importance of Cutting Width

A mower’s cutting width relates to the breadth of lawn it cuts in one pass, so it’s an extremely important measurement in determining how to pick the right mower for your lawn. This measurement is sometimes referred to as the lawnmower’s deck or cutting deck size, and is typically given in centimetres.

Naturally, the wider the mower’s deck, the more grass it will cut at any given moment, so it stands to reason that the larger your lawn, the bigger the cutting deck you require.

Again, there are no hard and fast rules relating to matching a mower’s cutting width to a particular size of lawn, but the following guidance may be useful to you, in determining how to choose the right lawnmower.

What Size Lawn Mower Deck Do I Need?

 

So, for a very small lawn, you should choose a mower with a cutting width of 30 cm. But if your lawn is small bordering on medium, you’ll be looking at a mower with roughly a 40 cm deck, and so on.

On our website’s lawnmower category homepage, you can view our range of mowers for sale purely by their cutting width. To do this, simply select your desired cutting width from the appropriate dropdown menu, on the left-hand side of the page.

Different Types of Lawnmower

The main types of lawnmower are as follows: electric, battery, petrol, ride-on, and robot. Let’s consider each one’s suitability to mow different sizes of lawn, which should be another big help in your quest to find out how to choose the best lawnmower.

Electric Lawnmowers

Electric mowers tend to be suited to smaller gardens. This is reflected by the fact that they are generally more compact, less powerful and have narrower cutting widths than other types of lawnmower.

That said, there are certain models available with a cutting width and motor suitable for mowing medium-sized lawns. However, when purchasing an electric lawnmower, always bear in mind that it needs connecting to a power supply. In all but the smallest of gardens, this probably means using an extension cable as well as the mower’s integral power lead.

Discover our full range of electric lawnmowers here.

Battery/ Cordless Lawnmowers

Battery lawn mowers (often referred to as ‘cordless’ mowers) are not restricted by a power lead. This gives them more freedom than electric mowers to cut bigger lawns.

Along with its cutting width, the main feature to look out for with a cordless mower is its battery running time; in other words, the amount of mowing time you get from a single charge. These two factors will determine the mower’s suitability for your lawn.

You can normally find a cordless lawnmower capable of effectively mowing most small and medium-sized lawns, but they are rarely suitable for areas of 1,000m² or more.

View our full range of cordless mowers now.

Petrol Lawnmowers

Of the three different types of handheld mower, petrol models tend to be the most powerful. On average, they also have the biggest cutting width. And, of course, just like battery-powered models, petrol mowers do not have the encumbrance of a power lead.

Bearing the above in mind, you can see why petrol lawnmowers are best suited to medium-sized gardens. In fact, you will find plenty that are capable of efficiently mowing large lawns, providing you’re willing to put in the legwork of pushing them that far.

Along with its cutting width, a petrol mower’s suitability for a particular size of lawn is determined by the power of its engine. If you’re wondering ‘what cc lawn mower do I need for a larger garden’, anything above 160 should be ideal.

You can find all of our petrol lawnmowers here.

Ride-On and Tractor Mowers

If your lawn measures 1,000 m² (roughly ¼ of an acre), you should consider purchasing a riding mower. If it measures closer to 2,000 m² (about ½ an acre), you should definitely buy one.

To answer the question ‘what size riding lawn mower do I need’, just like with standard push mowers, the main things to consider are cutting width and engine size/ battery power.

The majority of ride-on mowers are powered by petrol, although the numbers that are battery operated has dramatically increased in recent years. Many people view petrol riders as being the more suitable for the largest lawns because there’s no need to worry about a battery running out of charge.

That said, cordless technology is advancing at an extremely impressive rate, and this includes the length of the battery’s running time on a single charge. So, certainly don’t overlook battery-powered ride-on mowers if you have a very large lawn.

Also, keep an open mind with regards to whether the machine is classified as a riding mower or lawn tractor, as manufacturers’ marketing and branding teams now tend to use the two terms interchangeably.

For further help in deciding ‘what size riding mower do I need’, why not read Our Top 10 Ride On Mowers for 2024? (If you’ve been asking yourself ‘what size lawn mower do I need for 1 acre’, you’ll find plenty of suggestions here.)

Afterwards, be sure to browse our complete range of ride on and tractor mowers here.

Robot Mowers

Robotic mowers represent the real growth area of the lawnmower market.

Initially, they were only designed for smaller gardens. However, because this technology is advancing so fast, you can now find an auto mower suitable for any size of garden. And with many new models operating purely with virtual boundaries, you don’t even need to worry about installing perimeter wires.

Due to the advanced nature of robot mower technology, and the fact you don’t need to do any actual mowing yourself, a robotic mower’s cutting width is of far less importance than it is with manually operated models. So, to understand whether a particular robomow is suitable for your own lawn, you should always consult its individual product page on our website.

You can find out more about a robotic mower that is capable of mowing lawns up to 15,000 m² in size here.

There are also plenty that are suited to mowing smaller gardens. You’ll find them all amongst our complete range of robotic mowers for sale.

What Type of Lawnmower Do I Need?

So, as a general rule of thumb, when searching for the right type of mower to match a particular size of lawn, be guided by the following:

Other Considerations Regarding How to Select a Lawn Mower

Another thing to bear in mind, when deciding how to choose a good lawn mower for your garden, is the style of your lawn. If it has an intricate design with lots of narrow passages, you’ll need to ensure you choose a mower with an appropriately sized deck, which could well be smaller than you initially had in mind.

Also, depending on your own mobility and level of fitness, you might want to consider a self-propelled mower for medium and larger lawns. These lawnmowers only need guiding, rather than pushing, because they have an integral propulsion system connected to the wheels, so move forwards under their own power. Therefore, they’re far less taxing to operate.

View all of our self-propelled lawnmowers here.

Britain’s Best Lawnmowers for Sale

Here, at Ron Smith & Co., we sell lawnmowers in every conceivable design and size, made by the world’s leading lawnmower manufacturers. You can view our unbeatable full range of mowers for sale here.

And with over 57 years’ experience in the business, what we don’t know about lawnmowers isn’t really worth knowing. So, if you need any further advice on how to pick a good lawn mower, please don’t hesitate to contact one of our friendly, Hereford or Worcester-based Garden Machinery Experts, who will be delighted to assist you in any way they can.