Must Have Gardening Tools to Make Your Yardwork Easier

Written by Kelsey W.

Gardening is one of those activities that we often associate with individuals who are retired or who enjoy spending relaxing days out in the yard with their plants. However, you can actually work up a sweat and get your heart rate going with some gardening activities.

It’s all too easy to put off doing some necessary gardening maintenance and updates when you’re looking at a whole afternoon of hard work, despite the beautiful rewards you’ll receive when all the work is complete.

But never fear, there are some tools and implements you can use to help you get things done with just a little more ease. Not only can these tools help you complete your gardening tasks with less effort, but they can even make the job a little safer.

Here are some of the tools you may want to bring with you to the yard the next time you engage in some weeding, cutting, planting, and pruning.

Things That Reach a Long Way

The tree where the branches are just a little too tall for you to reach for pruning or some flowers that are just a little too far away for you to water easily with your watering can aren’t the easiest things to maintain. A few of the handiest and simplest items you can add to your gardening repertoire include tools that have long handles.

For example, did you know there are multiple types of watering cans and wands that make it easy to reach faraway flowers and things in hanging pots? These wands can attach to your hose and make it easy to ensure the water is getting into the pot rather than splashing out everywhere.

There are also watering cans with long spouts, which make it easier to reach potted plants in strange places and avoid spilling water everywhere. It’s far too easy to end up with a puddle of water under the hanging geraniums you’re trying to water when you don’t have a watering can with an appropriate spout.

There are even tools you can use for trimming plants where the handles are long – sometimes two or three feet long – which makes it possible to trim and cut branches without having to use a ladder to reach higher branches. Long handles can even make it easier to cut things because they increase your mechanical advantage (leverage) while cutting.

Pruners and Knives with Added Ratcheting and Spring Mechanisms

A simple knife is a good, basic tool, but it can take a lot of sawing and effort to actually use a knife when you’re trying to cut a plant back or do something related to pruning. Instead of using a simple knife, you might try to find a set of clippers or choppers that have some springs.

A pair of unassisted clippers will get the job done, but having a little extra “oomph” from being constructed with spring-loaded tension will make it a lot easier to repeatedly cut small branches because you won’t need to work to open the clippers over and over again.

Sometimes, it isn’t actually the force it takes to cut a branch that makes the job difficult. It’s the heft it takes to open the clippers over and over again after you’ve made a cut. These days, there are even power-assisted tools that will make the job even easier, but those tools do come with a little extra weight from the machinery, so there’s that trade-off.

Use Carts with Four Wheels Rather Than Three

There’s a classic scene of a gardener pushing a wheelbarrow through the yard or field, filled with weeds, tools, or something related to gardening, but if you’ve ever actually pushed a wheelbarrow, you know that they’re not actually that easy to wield.

These days, it’s pretty easy to get a little trolley or cart with four wheels that you can easily pull around without having to worry about tipping over. Realistically, a wheelbarrow is great for transporting a bunch of soil because you can just tip it over to dump the soil, but it’s not really that handy for anything else.

Not only can your cart carry all of the tools, little bags of soil, or pots that you might need when you move around your garden, but it can also serve as the storage unit for those items when you’re not using them. You can simply pull it out of a closet, the garage, or wherever you store your gardening things whenever you’re not using it.

Sharpened Tools for Easier Cutting

No matter how many power-assisted tools you might have, the job will always be more difficult if those tools aren’t sharp. Dull tools are the bane of every gardener’s existence, and it’s worth investing in a tool sharpener, particularly if you regularly use clippers and shears to cut back those boxwood hedges in your front yard.

It’s quite remarkable how much easier it is to cut small branches and conduct activities like pruning when you have a set of sharpened tools. Rather than sawing on a small branch for what seems like eternity, a sharpened tool will cut right through the branch with very little effort.

Sharp tools are also a safer way to use tools because there’s less of a chance that the dull blade will get caught on something or become immobile while you’re trying to saw through a branch. Just as every chef knows that sharp tools are safer tools, every gardener should operate under the same guidance.

If you’re not comfortable sharpening your own tools, it’s usually pretty easy to find a professional to handle the job for you. While you’re there, you might think about bringing all the knives you have in your kitchen, too, just to make sure all the sharp implements in your home are as sharp and safe as possible.

Use Some Handy “Gadgets” When You Garden

Using basic tools for gardening will always get the job done eventually, but there are some neat inventions out there that can make things easier for you. There are also certain tools out there that are constructed in a certain way so that they last longer or work better than the tools you might already have in your home.

For example, when selecting a rake to get all those leaves up on your lawn, make sure to choose a rake on the heavier side, so the tines (those are the springy legs that pull on the leaves when you pull the rake across the yard) don’t wobble and fling leaves all over the place. A heavy rake is an effective rake.

Another tool that you should purchase in a strong form is a shovel. Some shovels are actually made of plastic, and there’s no easier way to have a rough time gardening than to use a plastic shovel or one with a plastic handle. Get a sturdy shovel that will allow you to get great leverage when digging in the ground.

Another tool you might want to include in your repertoire is not exactly a tool but a piece of furniture. You might want to invest in a stool or a small bench, so you don’t have to bend over at the waist to handle the pruning and deadheading of your flowering plants. There’s no reason to stress your back out more than necessary when you can get comfortable on a little stool instead.

A final item that could make your gardening life easier is a cordless leaf blower. These days, the battery-powered options are quite strong, and the batteries last for more than one round of leaf blowing, so you don’t need to feel tethered by a cord anymore. Eliminate the risk of tripping on the cord by eliminating the cord entirely when you’re cleaning up the leaves from your coast live oak.

Make Gardening a Breeze with Advice & Help from Green Thumb Nursery

Is it time to start pruning the bushes? Do you need to get some raking done? Are the flowers in desperate need of deadheading? If you’re in need of some implements, there’s no better place to find the perfect tools and gardening help than Green Thumb Nursery, your Southern California gardening experts. Drop by a SoCal location today to get started making your garden, yard, porch, and patio a beautiful place.

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