Five top leaf collectors for small and medium-sized gardens

Pretty aren’t they? Leaves golden and deep reds and yellows gliding down in the light breezes.

Yes, well maybe they are to a poet, but to a gardener they are wretched nuisance.

Last weekend we talked about some serious leaf clearing equipment for larger gardens and parks, you can read about them here.

But not all of us have domains of that grandeur, so here are five machines to clear the leaves from smaller gardens and paths.

First is the Cobra BV2600 Electric Blower-Vac, a great value piece of kit from an English company.

The 2600W electric motor delivers a 270km/h blast of air to pile up the leaves and is small and handy enough to let you use it on flower beds and around garden furniture and those awkward corners outside the back door.

You can also flick a switch and it instantly becomes a vacuum, sucking up the debris and shredding it into a collecting bag.

This mulch can then be used around tender plants and shrubs or deposited on to the compost pile.

Best thing is that it weighs only 5kg; and you can also vary to motor speed to suit the leaves and debris and the surface being cleared.

It costs £42.95, £7 off the recommended price and is delivered free the next working day with a two-year warranty.

The Greenworks 24v Cordless Two-Speed Leaf-Blower (2400007-A) is light and easy on the arms and gives 25 minutes continuous use, enough for most small gardens.

The lithium ion battery will also fit other garden equipment like a hedgetrimmer and pole pruner and won’t lose power when the machine is not being used.

This one gives a 145km/h or 209 km/h blast of air – there are two settings and it is supplied with the battery and wall-mounted charger.

It costs £99.99 and is delivered free the next working day with a 2 year warranty.

The Toro 51594 Ultra Handheld Electric Blower-Vac has a 1450W motor giving a maximum velocity of 350km/h.

To switch from blowing to vacuuming you just change the tube on the front of the machine – it just snaps into place.

The impellor will shred the debris by one sixteenth into the 53 litre collecting bag.

Light and easy to use it costs £99.95 compared with the recommended price of £119, is delivered free within two to three working days and has a two year warranty.

Now a neat little machine which has proved a best seller for some time.

The Agri-Fab 26″ Push Lawn & Leaf Sweeper (45-0218), on special offer, is a simple way of clearing leaves over quite large areas.

It has 66c-wide brushes whish sweep up the leaves as you push it along and which turn four and a half times for every rotation of the wheels.

Their height can be adjusted so you can sweep drives and paths as well as lawns.

The collector can hold a massive 200 litres and is easily detached when full for emptying on the compost heap.

It costs £139, £30 less than the recommended price and has a five year warranty and free next working day delivery.

And this last one has been a favourite for some years.

The Einhell BG-PL 26/1 Petrol Garden Vacuum / Leaf Blower is a petrol-powered machine which lets you change from blowing to vacuum modeds just by flicking a lever.

It has 210km/h a blast of air and when in vac mode will shred the debris to a tenth the original volume. The collection bag holds 55 litres.

And there is a handy carrying strap and a front handle for easier use. It weighs in at 7.5kg.

It costs £139.95, is delivered free the next working day and has a two year warranty.

We have a huge collection of leaf and debris clearance machines on our site on these pages and remember you can give us a ring with any queries on .