Maintaining a Garden Is an Art and Here Are 4 Tools to Help You Do It

Most of us love growing fresh flowers and trees in our home gardens. These plants refresh the air and improve health.

So, if you’re new to gardening, you probably know that growing plants require soil, fertilizers, water, and seeds. However, you will need a few tools to maintain your garden and keep it fresh and clean. Nowadays, different varieties of tools are available in the market but it can be overwhelming to choose the right tools according to your garden and plants.

Here’s a list of a few tools you must add to your gardening kit to maintain your garden.

1. Pruning Shears

Pruners are the essential hand tool that every gardener must have. It is used to cut shrubs and branches of trees. They can also be used in shaping trees and trimming them. The pruners come in three different designs. It includes an anvil, bypass, and parrot-beak. Anvil pruners use to cut thick stems but they can crush the stem during cutting. So use anvil pruners for only dead branches. Bypass pruners are like scissors and do not crush stems like an anvil, which makes them preferable for cutting live branches. And lastly, parrot-beak pruners have concave cutting blades, and they can be used for narrow stems.

Pruning shears also have different varieties according to handle length and the type of material used to make blades. Choose bypass pruners if you have short hands. Their blades are available in stainless steel and carbon steel. Stainless steel is a better option as it prevents rusting of instruments. It is better to invest in a good quality pruner so that it can last longer.

2. Chainsaw

If your garden has large woody trees, the chainsaw is a must-have. It’s a portable tool used to cut woody trees that are difficult to cut with an electric trimmer. Also, you can use it to cut fallen trees and convert them into firewoods. If you want to take advantage of this battery-driven device, invest in the best chainsaw brand and choose according to your specific requirements. They have different types, which include gas, corded electric, and battery models.

Gas models are heavy and produce loud noises but perform heavy-duty tasks. Electric or corded chainsaws are lightweight and cause less noise. But they require an extension for charging. It leads to the evolution of a battery or cordless chainsaw that you can charge beforehand. But their battery ran out during tasks. So you may have to stop working and recharge them.

3. Rake and Hoe

The hoe is an ancient horticulture tool used for various purposes. It can be used for cultivation, removing weeds, and edging the soil. This tool has two types according to its shape and function: scuffle hoe and draw hoe. 

A scuffle hoe is used for weeding and ventilating soil. And draw hoe used for multi purposes like cultivating and loosening the soil. You do not need any other digging tool if you have one hoe in your garden tool set. 

A toothed rake comes in handy to collect grass, leaves, stones, and mulch from the garden. You can also use it for leveling soil surfaces and light weddings. Historically their teeth were made from metal. Modernrakes teeth are made of plastic which makes them lightweight and can be used to collect leaves and cut grass. And for soil and stony ground, heavy-duty rakes are needed. You can choose one according to your needs.

A shovel is a hand tool used for many purposes in the garden. They’re used to dig big holes in the soil and to remove gardening materials like fertilizers, mulch soil, compost, etc. They have various handle sizes to best suit specific functions. Shovels with larger handles can be used for digging, and smaller ones are used for precise tasks.

There’re many types of garden shovels available in the market. But how will you know which is best suited for your requirements?  

• Use a square pointed shovel for lifting and moving material. You can also use these shovels for smoothing soil.
• Use a round pointed shovel with a solid blade for digging.
• Use a trenching or drain shovel to dig the ground for irrigation.
• Use a scraper for weed removal or to clean lawn edges.
• For all purposes, the best type is a rounded, long-handled shovel with a metal, pointed blade that can be used for all purposes. 

Gardening is an art that requires effort and the right tools to get the best results. Use garden pruners to remove extra shrubs, dead leaves, and branches. Keep them hydrated with a water hose. Cut any dead branches of large trees with a chainsaw and use them for firewoods.