Groundcare: I've got the power

Brushcutters are used for clearing and cutting back heavy vegetation, while its baby brother, the grasscutter, is usually seen tidying up around verges of lawns or spots where the lawnmower missed.

Grasscutters can be purchased cheaply, with the modest Flymo Speedy Trimmer retailing for as little as €30. This machine is electric and only has a cable length of 12m, but it is useful for leaving a tidy finish on your lawn.

Anything in the price bracket of less than €100 is designed for light work with grass and will struggle to clear strong weeds or shrubs.

Also, with their plug-in cable, they are limited to use in a very small garden or patio.

Grass trimmer heads use a strong cord that is only suited to trimming grass so if you want to work on heavier vegetation, get a machine with a changeable head, allowing you to work with a stronger blade.

Battery-powered machines such as the Husqvarna 115iL (€200) are very convenient. They are very quiet, light and comfortable to use and work well on grass.

With a battery life of about one hour, it is suited to small- to medium-sized gardens. With that said, working on anything heavier than grass, battery time will be greatly reduced.

If you have a large working area, you should consider investing in a petrol-powered brushcutter.

These machines are more powerful and heavy-duty, and will tackle most vegetation from grass and weeds to hedges and bushes.

With a simple two-stroke engine, there is a wide range of brushcutters retailing in and around the €300 mark, such as the 32cc Draper Expert 45576.

There are plenty of added extras and gadgets to make your life easier. A proper harness costs about €100 and with its wide, padded, body-hugging straps will add comfort and reduce stress on the upper body and shoulders.

An extension attachment is also a useful purchase. Husqvarna’s shaft extension costs €100 and gives you an additional reach of 80cm.

With blow speeds of up to 400km/h, blow vacs certainly reduce the need for a rake. Used for rapidly assorting leaves, shrubs, grass and cuttings, these machines greatly reduce labour time for keen gardeners.

Blow vacs, by their very name act as both a leaf blower and a vacuum.

Eighty euro will get you a high-performing plug-in Black and Decker Blow Vac, although the cable means reach and manoeuvrability are not its strong points.

If you are looking for a portable blow vac, but don’t want a heavy, noisy petrol machine there are battery-powered alternatives

You will get a decent-sized petrol blower only for in and around the €120 mark, but if you are looking for the full blow and vacuum you will need to stretch your budget an additional €80.

If you are looking for a portable blow vac, but don’t want a heavy, noisy petrol machine there are battery-powered alternatives.

The Stihl BGA 56 (€200) is a more than capable blower but is only suitable for a small garden, with a battery life of 20 minutes.

A potential option would to be to invest in a backpack type blow vac. These type are seen more as a commercial machine, with much more power and a larger vacuum bag increasing work capacity.

You will have to splash out however as such blowers will set you back upwards of €500.

While a brush and shovel can do a good cleaning job around your house, they don’t compare to a pressure washer.

Saving you time, labour and back injuries, a pressure washer can also physically remove dirt and grime you never knew was there.

Electric pressure washers are very common and basic models can be bought for as little as €80 for a 2000W model from Rok.

As you go up in price the main extras you will get are an increase in power and a longer hose, with reels reaching up to an impressive 12m

However, for an additional €60, you can get the whole cleaning kit, giving you the choice of a spray gun or longer-reaching lance as well as a detergent tank for hygienic washing.

As you go up in price the main extras you will get are an increase in power and a longer hose, with reels reaching up to an impressive 12m.

Petrol pressure washers are dearer at a price of €500 for basic models.

At a greater cost to run, petrol power does trump an electric washer on power, and you can expect up to 3,000psi (twice that of electric) from even the most basic motors.

Along with the pressure washer, the hedge trimmer is one of the more established tools on our list and for anyone with a lot of hedges and shrubbery, they are an essential weapon in your arsenal.

Battery power is common with prices starting at €80, which is not bad if you only have a small garden to cater for.

For more power and battery life you can expect to pay up to €200 with the 18V Black and Decker pole hedge trimmer a good option at this price.

Battery life reduces significantly if you are working on heavy material so if you have a large area or strong hedges you should consider a petrol machine, which is more suited.

There are a host of hedge trimmers retailing between €200 and €400, but if you are expecting to use your machine for long periods of time you should think about weight (should be <4kg) and vibration (anti-vibration dampeners).

Often used for garden clean-ups and for condensing contents before composting, electric shredders are perfect for immediate disposal of nature’s waste.

The device works by grinding and shredding materials using a seies of fast high-powered rotating blades.

Starting at €100, you can get a 2500 W Mac Allister cutting shredder that can easily dispose of branches of up to 45mm in diameter.

With a workload capacity of up to 80 kg of material an hour, this modest machine is ideal for domestic use.

If you’re looking for something a little more heavy duty machines such as Bosch’s AXT 25 will set you back four times this price, but has a capacity of 230 kg/hr.