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How to install Gardena boundary wire

Updated: October 2026

The station is in the box and the reel is still coiled. This is how to install Gardena boundary wire on a wired SILENO: where the station sits, how far the wire sits back from a wall, and when a guide wire joins the plan. Choosing minimo, city or life is the [buying guide](/hub/lawn-and-garden-equipment/gardena-lawn-mower-robot/sub/gardena-lawn-mower-robot-buying-guide). Which box includes 150 m and which includes 200 m is on the [Gardena lawn mower robot comparison](/hub/lawn-and-garden-equipment/gardena-lawn-mower-robot). We did not install these loops. Distances come from Gardena's UK planning page and published support distances. The manual for your article number wins if a figure differs. A qualifying purchase through our links can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

The station is in the box and the reel is still coiled.

Our top picks

Gardena Gardena SILENO city 500

Best overall

Gardena Gardena SILENO city 500
9.6/10about £442.77
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Gardena Gardena smart SILENO life 1000

Alternative

Gardena Gardena smart SILENO life 1000
9.2/10about £1,067.21
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Gardena Gardena SILENO minimo 250

Best value

Gardena Gardena SILENO minimo 250
8.8/10about £374.99
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On this page
  1. 1.Put the station on flat ground near a socket
  2. 2.Lay the boundary back from edges
  3. 3.Add a guide wire where the lawn narrows
  4. 4.Peg, run, then bury

Put the station on flat ground near a socket

Place the charging station on level ground, with a straight approach, before you walk the reel around the garden. A station behind a water butt, or on a cross-slope, is a loop you will relay after the first missed dock. Where the listing says UK plug, that station is aimed at a BS 1363 socket on 230 V mains. Where the listing is silent, read the plug on the lead before you drill anything. If you need a new outdoor socket, call an electrician. Call an installer if the loop meets a pond, a drop or a public edge. Flymo's UK page uses the same order: station first, then the boundary. The loop starts and ends at the station. A coil of spare wire behind the station is a fault.

Lay the boundary back from edges

The wire does not sit in the fence line. Gardena's support distances use about 35 cm from a wall that rises more than 5 cm, about 30 cm from an edge of 1–5 cm, and about 10 cm from flat paving the mower may cross. Follow the booklet if your article number prints a different inset. The robot maintains the grass inside the wire. It does not shave the gravel board. Peg the wire so it lies flat. A loop that lifts is a trip, and a cut risk once an edger passes. Islands around a tree or a bed leave the island and return along the same path, so the mower treats the bed as outside the loop. Keep that return pair close together. A wide gap reads as a passage the mower may try to enter.
Gardena Gardena SILENO city 500

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Gardena Gardena SILENO city 500
9.6/10about £442.77
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Add a guide wire where the lawn narrows

A guide wire runs from the station out to a point on the boundary. The UK planning page says CorridorCut starts at 60 cm from wire to wire when the guide wire is installed. Without a guide wire, allow at least 1.5 m. The city example between two walls is 35 cm of inset, plus 60 cm, plus 35 cm of inset, which is 130 cm from wall to wall. Measure the side return at its narrowest point before you decide the guide is optional. Cut what the route needs from the reel, keep the offcut straight for a repair, and do not wind the spare into a spiral behind the dock. The life set still needs this wire. LONA maps zones, and the included line still contains 200 m of boundary wire. A small lawn spends a 150 m reel on insets and islands.

Peg, run, then bury

Peg the whole loop and run the mower for about a week before you bury anything. Flymo's UK page says you can leave the wire pegged for the first weeks, or bury it 1–20 cm if you scarify. Burying on the first evening hides a nick from a spade, a peg pulled at an angle, or a connector short of metal. A loop warning is easier to find while the cable is visible. When that week is clean, bury the same route, still without coils, at the inset you measured. If you scarify each spring, use the deeper end of that 1–20 cm range.

Common questions

Do I peg the wire or bury it on day one?
Peg it, run the mower, then bury it. Flymo's UK installation note says leave the wire pegged for the first weeks, or bury it 1–20 cm where you scarify. A break under turf on the first evening means opening the lawn again. Find a loop warning while the cable is still visible.
When do I need a guide wire?
You need one where the lawn narrows below the width Gardena states for a loop alone. CorridorCut is 60 cm from wire to wire with a guide wire, and at least 1.5 m without one. A side return near 70 cm is a guide-wire passage. A broad lawn with no pinch point can stay as one loop back to the station.
How narrow can CorridorCut go?
The family figure is 60 cm from wire to wire, with the guide wire in place. The worked example between walls is 35 cm plus 60 cm plus 35 cm, so 130 cm from wall to wall. A gap tighter than 60 cm between the wires is outside that published start. Measure after you have allowed the wall inset.
What happens if I coil the spare behind the station?
A coil left in the signal path confuses the loop. The group quick guide says keep that spare out of the circuit. Cut the unused length off, store it straight for a repair, and let the boundary leave the station and return as one loop. The same rule covers the guide wire. Unused cable is a labelled offcut.
Will the robot cut the strip against the fence?
No. The wire sits back from the fence, so a strip remains. Support text puts that uncut band by a wall at about 20 cm. You still need a strimmer or shears for the edge, on a small minimo lawn and on a life set alike. The boundary wire marks the working area. It does not trim timber or the lip of a path.

Related pages

SILENO city vs life

Gardena lawn mower robot

Best Gardena SILENO: lowest price or the 500 m² city

Gardena robot mower buying guide: area, slope, plug

Gardena robot mower for a small lawn of 250–500 m²

Sources

Public UK sources listed below, plus the amazon.co.uk listings in this comparison, gathered on 22 October 2026.

  1. Gardena UK planning advice for robotic lawnmowers (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  2. Gardena UK robotic lawnmowers overview (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  3. Gardena UK smart SILENO life 1000 set, 19702-68 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  4. Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  5. HSE INDG271, supplying new machinery (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  6. Outdoor noise regulations 2001, Schedule 3 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  7. OPSS product recall: Honda Miimo robotic lawn mower, 6 September 2024 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  8. Flymo UK robot installation (retrieved 22 October 2026)