Gardening Tools for Spring

A leaf blower can be a great way to tidy up your garden without needing the rake!

Spring is just around the corner and it is time to get those garden tools out, get into the garden, tidy up and get ready for the new sowing season. Preparation and practicality are the key themes, so the good old style format of making a list, at least a mental one, is always useful for gardening. It is also a good time to have a really good look through the garage at all the gardening tools and gadgets that have been acquired over the years and assess what you will need for the coming season.

Most gardeners will have key tasks for this time of the year such as tidy the main garden area, remove any dead plants, leaves, trees etc. Plan for planting and sowing, many seeds in green houses will be sprouting and will require setting out or moving on.

At this time of the year the work is quite labour intensive and can be heavy going so devices or gadgets that can reduce the effort or improve the results are surely worth investment. Are there any must have garden gadgets? My personal ‘must-haves’ include a:

• Leaf blower – remove the light debris such as leaves and dead plants. Enables the gardener to
  

  Garden shredders are great for breaking up stray branches and organic garden waste

  have a really good tidy up. Useful for larger gardens, or clearing walkways / driveways.

• A good spade – sometimes there is no other way to work than brute force, unless the area is very large and some sort of plough or rotivator could be used. A good dig over of the ground is essential before the soil can be fed and have manure added, the soil needs to be well prepared before any planting even of lawn grass.

• If there are trees, bushes or high plants then a chain saw or other form of lopper would be needed to get at those high branches.

• A good quality garden shredder, this will enable the gardener to cut down material small enough to be transported or to be put into compost bins.

• A set of good quality, heavy duty gardening tools such as trowel, fork, and decent pots. These items should be well maintained and cleaned to enable long usage and to ensure they are effective to use.

Gardening demands commitment and some investment but the return on anything purchased can be long lasting. Once the preparation is complete the benefits will be seen with healthy hearty plants, flourishly flower beds and delicious vegetables.