CHICAGO – Powerful, loud mowers have been showing lawns who’s boss for decades. But now contraptions that couldn’t cut butter without a good shove are quietly – really quietly – making a comeback.

Natalya Lowther uses a manual reel mower to cut the grass at her home in North Lawrence in this June 2008 photo. Lowther grew up using a manual-style mower, and she said it's cheaper than a ...

Powerful, loud mowers have been showing lawns who’s boss for decades. But now contraptions that couldn’t cut butter without a good shove are quietly — really quietly — making a comeback. Manual lawn ...

What’s low-cost, environmentally friendly, virtually maintenance-free and quickly reclaiming its place on our lawns? (Hint: It’s not those plastic garden gnomes.) It’s the manual lawnmower, and it’s ...

What’s low-cost, environmentally friendly, virtually maintenance-free and quickly reclaiming its place on our lawns? (Hint: it’s not those plastic garden gnomes.) It’s the manual lawnmower, and it’s ...

A push mower is any lawn mower that is not propelled by a motor or engine but is pushed by someone on foot. Most push mowers have a power source that turns the blades that do the cutting, but that’s ...

CHICAGO — Powerful, loud mowers have been showing lawns who’s boss for decades. But now contraptions that couldn’t cut butter without a good shove are quietly making a comeback. Manual lawn mowers, ...

Some mowers on the market still do that (you can buy a manual reel mower for about $100). But why work up a sweat when you can lie on the hammock, cool drink in hand, and cut the grass with a ...

CHICAGO - Powerful, loud mowers have been showing lawns who's boss for decades. But now contraptions that couldn't cut butter without a good shove are quietly - really quietly - making a comeback.

CHICAGO — Powerful, loud mowers have been showing lawns who’s boss for decades. But now contraptions that couldn’t cut butter without a good shove are quietly making a comeback. Manual lawn mowers, ...