Whether your patch is big or small, tackle long grass and tricky corners with our tester’s pick of the top cordless and corded models. Plus, how to protect wildlife when trimming
• How to create a more eco-friendly lawn
You can mow your lawn as little or as often as you like, but it won’t look truly perfect until you’ve neatened up the edges. As with most garden tasks, you can do this manually, using a decent pair of edging shears – or, if you’re not a fan of manual labour, you can use a grass trimmer instead.
Rather than traditional cutting blades, grass trimmers usually use one or two lengths of nylon string about 1.6mm thick. A motor spins this so fast that it stiffens and can shear through light vegetation such as grass and weeds.
Best grass trimmer overall:
Stihl FSA 50
Best budget grass trimmer:
Mac Allister MCI1198GGT