Lawnmower/strimmer for bumpy lawn?

charlottesmum_2

I am not greenfingered at all, and have had a series of bad lawnmowers, so need advice please. Have just moved house, and am going to be here for a long time.

My back lawn is approx 10x7m, and is ok but a bit lumpy, not helped by the previous owners having 2 large dogs.

The front lawn is about 7x5m. The main problem is a large ish tree, with protruding roots.

How best to cut the grass? What kind of lawnmower would be best. Hubby seems keen on a flymo hovermower but I am not convinced. I think we might need a strimmer to go around the tree and roots. Threre are also a few wooded raised beds, and some decking in the back garden, which I think a strimmer would be best for, but hubby reckons he would do it with some kind of shears.

Would like to ake advantage of offers at Homebase or B&Q this weekend so any advice greatfully received.
What kind of lawnmower? Any specific reccommendations? Strimmer or shears? Am 7 mths pregnant and 4yr old dd just broke arm, so would really like some simple advice that's easy to follow - my blood pressure can't cope with too much shopping around at the moment!

Many thanks.

WestonDave

Having used a flymo, a wheeled rotary electric and now a petrol rotary, I would never go back to a flymo. The hover is a bit of a gimmick and if the grass is thick or wet it becomes very hard to shove it through the grass - you end up pretty much carrying it.

This is the equivalent to the electric one I had - http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav.jsp?action=detail&fh_secondid=9218991&fh_reftheme=promo_159792088%2cseeall%2c%2f%2fcatal!!!1%2fen_GB%2fcategories%3c%7b9372012%7d%2fcategories%3c%7b9372021%7d%2fcategories%3c%7b9341011%7d&fh_view_size=10&fh_sort_order=1&fh_sort_by=_price_rrp_min&fh_location=%2f%2fcatal!!!1%2fen_GB%2fcategories%3c%7b9372012%7d%2fcategories%3c%7b9372021%7d%2fcategories%3c%7b9341011%7d%2fspecificationsProductType%3drotary_mowers&fh_eds=%c3%9f&fh_refview=lister&ts=1272643564614&isSearch=false I found it much better than the flymo I had used previously. Same thing is £5 more expensive in Homebase - not sure about Argos as they often have the same things.

Strimmer vs shears - a basic strimmer will cost you about £20 and will be quicker if you have a lot to do but it will take time to clean and pack away. Shears is the hard way to do it but depends if you have money left after buying the lawnmower! Maybe let him try it once with the shears if he's determined and get the strimmer next month!

BandJB

If it's significantly bumpy then get a mower with a powered roller rather than just a wheel at each corner. Also, make sure it has quite a powerful engine, say, 4.5hp minimum, and a good-sized grass catcher (70 litres plus).
If it's really bumpy, try to find one with a direct drive rather than a belt drive. They're more expensive but they take all the rocking, rolling, jarring and shaking better. Got my Lawnflite-Pro 553HRS from Mow Direct: bit of an overkill but it copes great with my 'mini field' type of grassed area.