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Lawn mower for a small garden

Updated: October 2026

The lawn is the square behind a terrace, the shed is shallow, and you have to lift the mower over a step. A lawn mower for a small garden in this set means a stated width of about 33 cm or less, a weight you can pick up, and a check on whether a box is stated at all. The [lawn mower comparison](/hub/lawn-and-garden-equipment/lawn-mower) is the eleven-row table. Peter F. used the saved amazon.co.uk weights on 22 October 2026. Nothing here was mown in a lab, and a qualifying Amazon purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.

The lawn is the square behind a terrace, the shed is shallow, and you have to lift the mower over a step.

Our top picks

swift swift EB122C 22 cm

Best overall

swift swift EB122C 22 cm
9.0/10about £134.99
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What small means in this set

The swift is 22 cm and 5.2 kg at about £134.99. The Hover Vac 250 is 25 cm and 6.9 kg at about £75, with a 15 L box. The BLACK+DECKER is 30 cm and 7.52 kg at about £49.99. The Ark Mat is 32 cm and 8 kg at about £59.95, and the Hyundai HYM3313E is 33 cm and 7.5 kg at about £59.99, each with a 30 L box. A 22 cm deck is slower than 32–33 cm, and you then carry the bag. The swift seller’s up to 50 m² is a seller sentence. Do not send a larger lawn there because the mower is pleasant to lift. Five kilograms with no box is not the same tool as 8 kg plus a 30 L bag of wet clippings.

An uneven lawn and a hover

The RHS and Wickes point a hover at bumps and an irregular small lawn, and a rotary at grass you want to collect more cleanly. A hover does not stripe. The two you can lift are the Hover Vac 250 and the BLACK+DECKER. The Hover Vac states a metal blade, 11–31 mm, a 15 L box, a 10 m lead and 4.1 from 5,387 reviews. Reviews like it on a small lawn and also mention a tight blade bolt and a box that fills quickly. The BLACK+DECKER is the cheaper uneven-lawn option, at about £49.99, score 84 from 4.2 and 1,041 reviews. Height is 20–40 mm. Ten spare plastic blades are stated. The lead is 10 m and reviews say it is black, so you can lose it in the grass. No box is stated. You trade a metal blade and a 15 L box for a lower price and blades that reviews say wear out. A fuller air-cushion table is the hover mower comparison.
swift swift EB122C 22 cm

Testsieger

swift swift EB122C 22 cm
9.0/10about £134.99

A box, or mulch and no box

The swift does not collect. It states mulch, one 40 V 2.0 Ah battery, a fast charger, and 30–50 mm. One trigger failed after 13 months of light use. A Gardena HandyMower, which is not this listing, has the same 30–50 mm floor. The 30 mm floor is the limit people miss. The RHS ordinary summer height is about 2.5 cm. The swift cannot reach it. The Hover Vac’s 11 mm minimum can. The BLACK+DECKER stops at 20 mm, which can meet 2.5 cm and cannot do a fine lawn. If you want a scatter on a tiny lawn, the swift is the lightest row. If you want a box, it is the wrong one.

The mower that is too much machine

The Litheli is 43 cm and 14.9 kg at about £249.99, with two 5.0 Ah batteries stated and no grass box in the bullets. It scores 86. It is the wrong default when you are lifting the mower over a step. If 33 cm now means too many passes, look at 36–38 cm in the main table, including the Speedi-Mo if you can live with litres and lead length unstated. The Litheli states vertical storage and is still 43 cm.

Common questions

Hover or a small wheeled rotary?
Choose a hover if the lawn is uneven and you can accept the BLACK+DECKER’s missing box or the Hover Vac’s 15 L box. Choose a wheeled rotary if you want a stated 30 L collect on the Hyundai 33 cm or the Ark Mat, and you have read the lower scores and the cut-out reviews. The swift is wheeled, cordless, and it mulches. A hover will not leave stripes.
Will a small mower collect the clippings?
Only where a box is stated. The Hover Vac states 15 L. The Hyundai HYM3313E and the Ark Mat state 30 L. The BLACK+DECKER does not state a box. The swift states mulch and no box. You will empty 15 L more often than 30 L, even on a lawn that looks too small to fill anything. A seller’s area line does not add a bag the bullets never mention.
Is the 43 cm Litheli too much?
For the lawn this page describes, yes. It is the widest and heaviest row, at 14.9 kg and about £249.99, and it does not state a grass box. Self-propelled drive helps when the lawn is no longer small. A round-up that prefers more width is describing a faster pass on a larger plot. If you are lifting the mower over a step, start with the machines under about 8 kg.
Will a 22 cm mulcher cut a short summer lawn?
Not to the RHS ordinary summer height of about 2.5 cm. The swift’s stated range is 30–50 mm, so the floor is 30 mm. The same floor shows up on other 22 cm mulchers, such as Gardena’s HandyMower, which is not this listing. The Hover Vac states 11 mm if you need to go lower, on a collecting hover. The swift’s up to 35 minutes line does not change the height stop.
Which small mower has the largest review count?
Among the narrow rows, the Flymo Hover Vac 250 prints 4.1 from 5,387 reviews. The BLACK+DECKER prints 4.2 from 1,041. The swift prints 4.5 from 330. The Hyundai HYM3313E prints 3.6 from 416, and the Ark Mat 3.8 from 141. The biggest sample is not the highest score. Count does not replace the litre line.

Related pages

Sources

Public UK sources from the research digest. amazon.co.uk prices, stars and review counts are the saved listings for this set. No lab test was run.

  1. GOV.UK outdoor-noise guidance
  2. Schedule 3, Noise Emission Regulations 2001
  3. GOV.UK Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008
  4. Electrical Safety First: lawnmowers
  5. HSE electrical equipment
  6. RHS: lawn mowing
  7. RHS: how to mow a lawn
  8. GOV.UK noise nuisances