Best garden tools for landscape maintenance

We have asked our clients what tools they like best for doing yard work. Here are some of their recommendations...

Yard work is more than just being outdoors, enjoying our beautiful weather, and making your home beautiful. It is also about finding the right tools to make the work easier. Don’t let a sore back or stinging nettles spoil your gardening fun. Here are a few favorite garden tools our clients have recommended for landscape maintenance:

The plastic garden stool on wheels looks like a child’s toy, but we have been told it makes all the difference when working in the garden -- it lets you sit down while pulling weeds or planting, relieving a lot of back strain. There is also a place to store your small tools, cell phone, and water bottle. It is called the Step2-Garden-Hopper and can be found at amazon.com and other websites.

Some of clients have said that the Step2-Garden-Hopper seat is best suited for level walkways and patios. They have said that if you aren't careful it can roll out from under you. A similar type seat made by the same company, also made of light-weight plastic, that does not have wheels. It sits a bit higher is ideal for weeding the garden bed. It does not get stuck and is easier for those who have trouble getting up from a lower seat.

An adjustable aluminum rake allows you to increase or decrease the width without changing to a new rake. Sometime a narrow, stronger rake is what you need in certain areas and sometimes you need to expand it. Also recommended, an extra wide plastic rake for leaf removal. These two rakes make yard clean-up a lot easier.

The UpRoot weed remover was a favorite too. We have been told that it works great for pulling small weeds and dandelions without having to bend over. You can find this garden tool and most any hardware store.

Here is a unique idea... One of our clients said she wears rubber kitchen gloves under a pair of strong leather gloves when going out to pull blackberry vines or remove nettles. She said, “This way I can yank harder on the blackberries and my arms are protected from nettle stings.” She admitted that her hands did get sweaty, but that was an acceptable trade-off.

We have to chime in with our favorite gardening/pruning tool. At Environmental Construction, we like to use the bypass pruner for trimming various types of bushes. We have found it to be effective for small to medium branches and provides a nice clean cut, which is important when pruning.

We hope these garden tools make your fun in the garden even that much more enjoyable. Write to us and let us know your favorite garden tool for landscape maintenance. We will pass it along.

If you are unable to maintain all of your gardening chores, contact us about our Garden Stewardship Program. We will assist you in making sure all your outdoor maintenance needs are taken care of at the right time of year.

Category: Landscaping Ideas