Quaker:
What you need is some way to levitate the hose while you're mowing, so it doesn't have to be wound up! I'm imagining some kind of pulley arrangement, so you turn a crank or something, and the hose is lifted up overhead by a series of loops. Don't ask me to design it, though!
--O

My dad told me to sink mine under the lawn a bit if I was sure I wasn't going to move them for awhile. Just enough to avoid the mower blades. They are only about 2" below level. It seems to be working. It also keeps it away from the dog, who is bound and determined to MAKE those hoses give him WATER to chase. (all my hoses are wrapped with that black stretchy stuff cuz he pounces holes in them with his front claws).

On of my biggest pet peeves is a kinking up water hose. DH always makes it worse when he's mowing by just "wadding" them up in the nearest flower bed. If I'm home while he's mowing I will usually stretch it along the border of the flower bed that has the faucet in it. I made most all of my beds around the faucets and nearby for easier access. I will double it up if need be, I just haven't been able to convince him to do this as well. I spray round up along the borders for less weed eating and it keeps him away from my border plants. Trudyjean

RE simple way to wind hose so that it won't get kinked: pull the hose out to its full length, more or less straight. Now stand at the spot where you want the wound hose to lie. Lay the hose there in a figure 8 pattern. Longer loops in the 8 will make it lie more narrowly. Wind the whole thing this way. Next time you go to use the hose, only pull on the spout. It will unwind cleanly. Of course, you have to put it back in a figure 8 for this to work! This is a foolproof way to lay the hose so that it will unwind without a snarl.--becky, who also hates wrestling with hoses

There is a business very close to me that has a car wheel rim mounted on a pivot with a crank in the middle. The hose winds and unwinds very easily.

Many thanks for the excellent suggestions! I think I will try several.

I got tired of the hoses so I ran some more water lines with PVC.After twenty years of using PVC pipe I finally broke down and bought the cutter that looks like pruning shears, they work GREAT. I put a shut of valve where my outside lines begin ,so I can shut them off when it is going to freeze (mabe once a year),or if I want to add to them.PVC is fairly cheap so I put alot of faucets so I don't need long hoses. My next thing is to put one waist high for a drinking fountain for me.Nothing beats a good drink of good well water!!!

Gary, I sure would like to hear more details about how you did that. I am in the yard all the time and unfortunately, the builder (or first owner) of my house only put in two outside faucets(!). I would love to get more hose attachments around the house. How did you attach the PVC to the house? Or did you just lay it on the ground? Did you put in hose bibs at several junctions? How did you attach the PVC to the water line? I added a hose bib to the backflow on my irrigation system last summer because irrigation water is so much cheaper than "house" water, but I've been trying to figure out how to move this water around the house - other than hoses. I'm an accountant, not a plumber, so I need all the help, directions and pointers I can get! Thanks in advance for any suggestions and info you can provide!

We ran additional water lines and added additional sprinklers a coupel of years ago. Rented a trencher and did it - tied it in to the water main out at the edge of our property - used PVC pipe, couplings and all that other STUFF that my husband knew much more about than me. Of course, I STILL have to drag hoses - i want to put in a couple more faucets!

Don't get me started on hoses. I have several very long hoses linked together for both the garden & my horses.

You know the scene in "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" where Chevy Chase is going ballistic with all the electrical cords?? Just substitute a garden hose & that's me - lol!!

I bought one of those 5-way splitters for my back faucet, and I just lay the hoses out close to the base of the house and put them right where I want them to go. That way, there's no winding, rewinding, and in some cases, I get away with a much shorter hose.

I love that Figure 8 winding idea, I'm going to try that.

I pick up fancy hose reels other people throw out when they start to leak. Usually they need a 15 cent O-ring in the rotating seal and they're good to go.

I also use this technique that works instead of winding, if there is a place you can leave a the hose in a 10-20 ft. x 2 ft wide pile, like a patio. With the hose fully stretched out, start from the far end of the hose, pick it up and walk toward where you want to put it. After about 20 ft. you will have a U behind you, 10 ft out and 10 ft. back. Without letting go, grab the hose at your feet again and keep walking. When the new U lines up with the old, grab again. Repeat until you get there. No winding and very little twisting and tangling. And very fast.

we are hoping to put in another spicket when we have the funds to buy it since my garden is nearly 50 feet from water. we had to replace one because it broke off and was leaking into the basement. i highly recomend pex piping its super easy to work with.