Keep your greenery on the cutting edge

Dyann Espinosa
Special to FineLife Home
Photos submitted

The trick to a beautiful lawn is regularity. A weekly schedule is the most effective lawn maintenance regimen. If you wait too long, or cut your lawn by half or more – especially in hot weather – it can produce root shock and a yellow tinge in your lawn, which may take weeks to recover.
What equipment you use to cut your lawn is determined by your terrain, your environmental concerns, pollution requirements and your enthusiasm for the task. Options range from a simple and functional manual push mower through the brawny, motorized models and whisper-quiet, electric or battery-powered robots that do the work while you watch contentedly from your hammock.

It mows. You don’t.
Robomow RM400
A fully automatic lawnmower that cuts the grass all by itself, Robomow comes with a base station from which it departs at pre-set scheduled days and times and then returns to the base for charging. Your lawn can be maintained even when you are away from home. Robomow is a mulching mower that eliminates the need to collect and remove clippings and can save up to 25 percent in irrigation and fertilizing costs. Sensor-equipped bumpers identify trees, rocks and obstacles. A tilt sensor stops rotating blade instantly when mower is tilted. Includes child lock, user controlled theft protection and an alarm system. Price: $1,699
www.probotics.com

Self-propelled yard “work” buddy
Poulan Pro 625
If your yard is large or hilly, a self-propelled mower can be the right choice. The durable and reliable Poulan Pro utilizes Briggs & Stratton 4-cycle and 2-cycle engines for long-lasting and powerful mowers. Easy key start, front wheel drive, 3-in-1 side discharge, rear bagging, mulching mower. Front wheel drive. Two-year Consumer Warranty. Price: $299
Friedman’s Home Improvement
1360 Broadway
707.939.8811

Real men use reel mowers
Sunlawn LMM40 Reel Mower
Reel mowers snip the grass, cutting each blade like a pair of scissors with a precise, clean cut that makes for a healthier lawn. Reel mowers create a fine spray of clippings that act as a mulch and decompose quickly, releasing nitrogen into the lawn, the equivalent of a free application of fertilizer over the course of a cutting season. The Sunlawn LMM40 five-blade, non-contact cutting system gives long years of full performance and requires no sharpening. Light, quiet, easy to maneuver; no other manual mower is so well matched to the human power source. Price: $179
www.sunlawn.com

Home Tech Grand Award Winner
Cub Cadet I1050 Zero Turn Tractor
Popular Mechanics declared the Cub Cadet a Grand Award Winner in its Best of What’s New in 2007. This easy riding mower combines the maneuverability of a professional, zero-turn mower with the drivability of a traditional lawn tractor, introducing the homeowner to the pleasure of zero-radius turning, which allows it to turn in place with a simple steering wheel. The mower won’t slip on steep hills and has the traction and power to haul attachments like clipping bags and trailers. Price: $3,499
www.cubcadet.com

Way before You Tube
First film of a remote controlled lawnmower.
1948, Portland, OR.
www.americanjuniorclassics.com/Lawnmower/lawnmower.htm