Six years ago, we bought our first house here in Antipolo. Although it was not the house that we were dreaming about, it had vacant spaces in the front and rear which was perfect for the gardens that my wife and I were planning to set up. In fact, even before we moved in on May 27, 2001 we had already bought a couple of trees to be planted in the front garden. Some of the trees we bought in Laguna when we were having those family picnics at U.P. Los Baños.

After moving in, one of the very first things we did was to plant those trees and have the vacant spaces planted with carabao grass. For weeks, I watered the front and back lawns so that the grass would start to grow roots. Eventually it did. It was cool to the eyes but not for long.

The grass grew and grew because we became too preoccupied with work that the only time we would be able to see the garden was in the morning before going to work and at night after arriving from work. We saw the garden slowly transform itself into a forest. At first, when I had time, I tried using a grass cutter to trim the grass but it was really too much for me. I even borrowed an electric shrub cutter from my brother, but it was not the equipment for the job.

It was then I decided to look for a lawnmower. After several price comparisons from different hardware stores and D.I.Y. stores, I purchased a “Bohrer”, an American brand. It’s simple to assemble and easy to maintain. Is has settings for how high you want the grass to be cut and these settings could easily be adjusted by just turning some bolts and nuts. Although a lawnmower is not the total solution to your growing wild grass problems, it is the easiest way to manage your lawns especially the straight aways. You’ll have to use a grass cutter for the sides and edges and for hard to reach spots.

Storing the lawnmower is easy. Just wipe off all the excess dirt or blades of grass from the mower and apply WD-40 all over to protect the metal parts from rust and keep the moving parts lubricated. Store it in your garage or somewhere dry. This equipment is not a toy. Toying with it can dismember a finger so please use caution while operating a mower.

It’s not cheap to hire a gardener for 500 php to cut the grass and trim the plants. Buying a lawnmower isn’t cheap either but if you consider the rate of return on your investment, you’ll be happy to know you bought one.