On the face of it, it would seem that there is little difference between most lawn mowers, but there are major differences in the capacity of different mowers. The first choice will come down to how the mower is powered. A mains-electric lawn mower is easily powered and is clean, but has the annoyance of a trailing electric cord.

A petrol lawn mower will generally be louder, dirtier and heavier, but is also more powerful and can handle larger areas without breaking a sweat. For smaller gardens, a cordless or battery powered lawn mower will do the job, but batteries rarely last for long so they are not ideal for a expansive garden.

An automower is a relatively new innovation in mowing grass – a robotic mower that cuts grass without human intervention. Initially, installing an automower requires demarcating the area of lawn that is to be cut by laying guide wires, either just below the ground or resting on top.

When your garden gets covered in leaves, a blower can be used to blow them away. These tools are also often frequently able to vacuum up debris too. Blowers come in three types – hand-held, backpack, or wheeled sweepers, which are designed for use over large areas.

The edges of lawns are usually made perfect through the use of a strimmer, grass trimmer or line trimmer. These tend to be different only on how versatile they are and how heavy they are, with some models also being able to be used as brushcutters to cut bushes and hedges.

The perfect garden machinery tool for cutting a hedge is a hedgetrimmer. These range from small electric trimmers with a 16” blade, through 500 watt mid-ranged electric trimmers, to heavy-duty hedge trimmers with a 28” blade. Hedgetrimmers are available in both electric and petrol variations.

A chainsaw can make light work of some common garden tasks, but they don’t need to be huge, heavy tools. Err on the side of practicality. The smallest petrol chainsaws, at around 30-40cc, will be able to handle cutting most tree limbs. Semi-professional chainsaws are also available, for those who are looking for something with a bit more bite, without purchasing a fully-fledged chainsaw.

Petrol chainsaws can be pretty loud, and as with all garden machinery generally choosing an electric powered option will be quieter. Electric chainsaws still pack a punch, and will be able to handle most tasks around the garden.

For every garden task, there is a tool designed to ease the workload. Garden shredders will splice up your waste into a manageable form, lawn edgers will perfect the edge of your lawn and there are even flame guns you can use to fry unruly weeds. Garden machinery can take all the drudgery out of owning a garden, and make chores simple and quick to complete.