Time To Spring Into Gardening Action
As the days lengthen and the trees bud, we’re all getting back into our gardens, and local family business Mowerpower has the kit to make gardening easy, writes Catherine Robinson. Photography: Roger Moore
“The pandemic taught us to love our gardens,” says Lynn Webster of Mowerpower, the Claughton-on-Brock garden machinery business she runs with her husband and son: “The family business was started four generations ago in St Anne’s-on-Sea as J Webster and Son,” she explains.
But it is more than the name and location of this thriving business that have changed in the last 75 years. Now easily accessible just off the A6, Mowerpower stocks the latest in high-tech, 21st century garden machinery and prides itself on the combination of old-fashioned values and modern ideas made possible by its multi-generational staff.
“Not only have we learnt to love our gardens, many of us have learnt to love gardening too!” adds Lynn.
Since 2020, there has been increased footfall at the Claughton-on-Brock showroom and now that the days are lengthening, our attention is turning to those springtime jobs: “This is when we should be trimming the hedges, before the birds have started to nest,” advises Lynn.
Flexible office hours mean that households who may once have employed a gardener now take pleasure in styling their own outdoor spaces: “We’ve all started to see our gardens as another room. We use them for summer entertaining and al fresco eating and whether you’re preparing your garden for a family barbecue, a lantern-lit party or an after-work sundowner, up to date equipment makes the work easier and helps you to take more pride in it.”
Mowerpower’s 2023 range of battery powered tools make the springtime jobs of mowing, scarifying and hedge-cutting far less labour intensive: “With no cords to worry about, and no need to store petrol, the job is also much safer,” Lynn explains. “A lot of people don’t realise that the modern E10 petrol has a short shelf life. If you store it in your mower between uses, it’s likely that the engine won’t fire the next time you want to use it. Our battery-operated mowers, hedge-cutters and scarifiers are also quieter and operate with less vibration, making them far more user-friendly and a lot less likely to upset the neighbours on a Sunday morning! Battery powered equipment is very sophisticated these days with longer running times and battery lives well in excess of 1000 recharges. There’s a wide range, so they’re suitable for all gardens. We even have an electric ride-on mower, so if you’re unsure which equipment is most suitable for your garden, just pop into our showroom for a chat.”
The Websters have an extensive knowledge of all the machinery they sell and pride themselves on their accurate and honest advice. Lynn points out: “In many big stores the sales person is just selling you what’s in a box. Whereas, we know every item intimately and will be able to inform you of all its pros and cons.”
However, if your idea of happiness in the garden is lounging on a recliner rather than walking behind a mower, Mowerpower has the solution for you too as the company stocks a range of robotic mowers – the very latest by Stiga, don’t even need a perimeter wire: “They’re like a well-behaved pet!” Lynn chuckles. “They come out when you programme them to, mow your lawn then put themselves away when they’ve finished. Most of our customers find themselves giving them a name. In our family, we have Larry the Lawnmower.”
Larry the Lawnmower, like all the garden machinery sold by Mowerpower, is serviced at Mowerpower’s own facility. Lynn stresses the importance of maintaining all garden machinery with regular servicing: “All Mowerpower’s technicians have been factory-trained by the manufacturers and are therefore experts on the equipment and you won’t be without your machine for very long. We like to uphold the old-fashioned traditions of excellent customer service.”
The beauty of a business run by different generations of the same family, is its ability to combine the old with the new, as Lynn puts it: “We can look forwards and backwards!”
Mowerpower
Garstang Road, Claughton-on-Brock
Preston PR3 0RB
01995 643999
mowerpower.co.uk
