Yes, grass is the plant du jour. And amid all the lawn mania this summer, it's time to claim your turf -- or rather -- your mower. The powerful, loud mowers of recent have been showing lawns who's the boss for decades. And, bigger has always been better.

Until now that is.

If you haven't noticed, manual mowers are pushing their way back into our lives ... yes, even I jumped on the band wagon (no those aren't my legs, they're my husbands.) This is lawn mowing the old-fashioned way, but with modern appeal; especially for you fitness fanatics. Far less complexity than other mowers, the blades are attached to the wheels cutting the grass as you push the mower over it -- and according to many horticultural experts, these models are the way to pamper your lawn.

Today's manual mowers are light, quiet, and virtually maintenance-free. The mowers are environmentally friendly and have no noise or fumes. They do take some effort, but they aren't any harder to push than an 80-pound gas mower that isn't self-propelled. In fact, they are easier and that's probably why more women are using them. Two out of three people buying manual mowers today are female ... which means men are getting a break from the yard work and that gives them something to smile about too.

Just as significant, many people are finding that they just don't need a power mower because they have less lawn to mow ... a push mower is a great choice if you have 8,000 square feet of grass or less. But if you have much more grass than that, then it's probably not a good choice. As enjoyable as it is to use a manual mower it gets old mowing for three hours or more.