Now that I have a motorised mower I can agree with a certain amount of complacency that a lawn like the surface of a billiard table should be the aspiration of every British gardener who has more space than a window-box. If I still relied on a hand mower I should have given way to the temptation of astro-turf long ago. I once received some rather ingenious advice on the subject of lawns. 'Add a little brandy to your watering can,' counselled a gardening friend. 'That way you can be sure your lawns will come up half cut'.
