You’ve made the investment to create a gorgeous landscape, now it needs to be maintained to keep its beauty. We are happy to help of course, but we find that many of our clients still like to work in their backyards. Or, perhaps someone you love is always pruning, digging, or planting and a new tool would make the perfect holiday gift. Below we offer our tried and true list of must-have tools for the home gardener:
Pruning/Shaping Tools:
1) Hand Pruners – First and foremost, every home gardener must have a quality pair of hand bypass pruners. Quality is key here – investing a bit more will serve you in the long term; well-made pruners last, the blade will remain sharp over a longer period of time, and they are easier on your hands. You do not need the most expensive pair, but don’t skimp either. Gardeners use these to properly prune bushes, shrubs, and perennials; dead-heading of old flowers; and light trimming.
2) Garden Knife – Another must-have on our list, this multi-purpose tool is used to dig out weeds; plant small annuals, perennials or bulbs; and cut back plants (We use ours to shear back our Hosta in late winter). Finding one with a serrated blade adds to its usefulness. We find a garden knife can replace a hand trowel most of the time and offers more functionality.
3) Hedge Shears – If you plan to get into more intense landscape maintenance, you will want a pair of hedge shears for medium-duty pruning and shaping of your shrubs and broad-base deadheading.
4) Lopper – These long-handled pruners are perfect for heavy-duty cutting, such as small branches and thicker stalks. Their length provides leverage and reach, making them a versatile tool.
5) Small Folding Hand Saw – Finally, for landscapes with older plants and shrubs, a handsaw can be a big help in cutting bigger branches to help rejuvenate growth pattern.
Digging Tools:
1) Hand Trowel – This light digging tool allows you to create small holes perfect for installing small plants and popping out weeds.
2) Round Point Shovel – This shovel is helpful if you like to add new plant varieties to your landscape. If you are only planting intermittently, the basic quality will serve you just fine.
3) Tools for the Serious Home Gardener – If you plan to be doing the majority of your landscape maintenance on your own, we suggest a few more tools: a pitchfork for picking up debris and spreading mulch, a scoop shovel for moving piles of dirt and a spade for medium-duty digging and crisping your lawn edges.
Other Must-Have Tools for the Home Gardener:
1) 5-gallon buckets – Once you have a set of these basic, multi-purpose buckets, you will find a bunch of uses for them. In our garden, they carry our small hand tools around and make a great seat while working or pulling out weeds.
2) Knee pads – Being uncomfortable while you garden will keep you from doing it. There are many styles of knee pads that will help you enjoy your experience. There are varieties that attach to your knees, or are simple pads that you plop on the ground in front of you, or are full-on benches that can have handles to help you get up off the ground (some of us need this!).
3) Gardening gloves – Dirt is not easy to get out from under fingernails, and scratches and cuts hurt. Avoid those inconveniences by investing in some gardening gloves. We suggest going for the inexpensive vinyl-clad style. They are usually made out of a nylon or cotton mesh with vinyl on the fingertips. This design offers good protection with a bit of waterproofing. What tends to wear out even on expensive gloves are the fingertips, so we tend to buy less-expensive gloves, use them until they wear out, and then get another pair. The wet-dry conditions of gardening do not lend themselves to leather or cotton.
4) Eye Protection– Our motto when it comes to landscape safety is: Just One Oops Causes a World of Hurt. Oops do happen. Pruning a shrub usually means sticking your face in it – perfect for an eye poke. Digging usually means something pops out of the ground unexpectedly – perfect for something flying into your eye. Protecting yourself with some clear glasses, or sunglasses for sunny days, or yellow-tinted for overcast days, will help keep the world of hurt at bay.
Finally, don’t forget your sunhat!
Whatever tools you use in your home gardening, remember that the tool cannot discern between cutting off a branch and cutting of a finger! Be careful and make sure you are using your tools correctly. Also, check out our blog for pruning for best practices.
Happy Gardening!
