Gardening Tools
There are an enormous number of gardening books and tools in the world, and even for the professional gardener, sorting out which are the best can pose a challenge.
Over the years, I’ve gotten to try the tools that clients, my nursery friends, and other landscapers swear by, and this list is the result. My employees and I have compared pruners during marathon pruning days, seen which hori-horis hurt our wrists after hours of weeding, and generally abused and overused every one of these to see which ones really hold up over time.
Let me save you from the strain of pruning with an inferior lopper or the annoyance of pruning books with no photos – check out this list of my top book and tool picks, and if you want to tell me about your favorites, use the contact form at the bottom of the page to drop me a line!
You can find many of these tools in my OpenSky store or in my “Professional Toolbox” and “Recommended Reading” lists at right, which take you to Amazon.
Gardening tools:
Bahco Pruning Shears – quite simply the best hand pruners available, at a middle-of-the-road price.
You can check out my full review of Bahco, Felco, and Corona Pruning Shears here.
Felco Pruning Shear Holster – to keep those pruners by my side and NOT in my compost bucket!!
Speedy Sharp Sharpener – to quickly keep my pruners and other tools sharp.
Check out my Speedy Sharp video here.
Fiskars Powergear Hedging Shears – the number one hedger EVER. If you think of hedgers as only being good for trimming things into odd and unnatural shapes then you are in for a treat. These guys are invaluable for cutting back perennials, sword ferns, pruning grasses, and pruning heaths and heathers.
Fiskars Pruning Stik – the lightweight pruning tool for getting small branches and vines. I use it to prune out-of-control Cecile Brunner roses and at apple-tree pruning time.
GroundHog Garden Rake – the ergonomic rake for moving soil or smoothing mulch, or for raking up thick, matted layers of leaves. This rake makes spreading mulch a snap and is way easier on my back.
See my review of the GroundHog Rake here.
TubTrugs Flexible Bucket – this is great for pruning and weeding into along the way so you don’t end up with a mess to clean up later, and it’s also flexible enough that it makes a great pouring spout for fertilizing and watering in your plants. I also use it to scoop up chips or compost!
Read my review of the TubTrug and more gardening buckets and bags.
Fiskars Big Grip Soil Knife – this is the cheapest soil knife available and works well for the price.
Stainless Steel Hori-Hori/ Soil Knife – the $20 version which I have not yet tested extensively to see if it lasts (but looks nearly identical to my $35 version), or the $35 version that has held up well for years
Hori-hori/ soil knife review here.
Kneelons Kneepads – washable velcro kneepads that actually stay on! Well, stay on better than the other brands, that is.
Atlas Touch Nitrile Gloves – thin gloves that are great for planting annuals or other work where you need great tactile feedback. Washable. I’m a size small.
Flex Tuff Gloves – the gloves I use everyday – washable and durable. I’m a size small.
Check out my rundown of the protective gear I use here.
Other cool stuff:
The Scarecrow Deer-Frightener – surprises the heck out of those pesky deer and keeps them out of your rosebed. Careful not to get blasted yourself!!
Full Scarecrow review here.
Sluggo Organic Snail Bait – the traditional snail bait is about the nastiest garden chemical out there, but this bait made of food-grade iron phosphate works great.
Read more about organic snail and slug killing tactics here.
More coming soon…
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