Essential Garden Equipment

There are few joys more satisfying than tending your garden. Seeing things grow, and caring for them is a wonderful experience.

Gardening has so many aspects that need looking after that there are many tools that you will need to do a good job of maintaining your garden. There are 2 kinds of shovels: the round point shovel which is used for digging, and the square shovel which scoops up the soil. The fork and leaf rake are needed for aerating the soil, gathering leaves, scooping soil onto the newly sowed seeds.

The yard rake is used to clear the garden so that the flower beds can be made, or before the lawns are laid.

Weeds are a menace in all gardens and one of the most important jobs of a gardener is to see that the weeds are all cleared away. Hoes are very handy tools, and keep weeds at bay. There are several types of hoes: square, wide, V-shaped, bar-shaped, and they all do a good job. You should choose one you are comfortable with. A rolled steel blade riveted to a handle is the favourite choice of most gardeners. A rotary spreader is important to broadcast the seeds during the seeding of a lawn.

A drop spreader comes in handy when you want to plant seeds in a flower bed as it is smaller than a rotary spreader. Both these implements can also be used to spread fertilizer on either a lawn or on flower beds. Sprinklers and watering cans are essential tools. Shears for grass and hedge cutting are needed and secateurs are required for pruning.

Chrome armour and stainless steel tools cost more but in the long run, it is money well spent as they last long, are easy to use and keep clean. An important tool is a sprayer which sprays a fine mist.

This is to spray herbicides, preferably organic ones, on shrubs and other small plants. This helps in the control of the greenflies or aphids. Spraying on plants which are afflicted with fungal diseases like the black spot and mildew helps in controlling them to prevent their spreading. Sprayers are made of lightweight plastic materials, and are easy to use.

A variety of them are available. A good pneumatic sprayer with a strong plastic container and a spray rod of adequate length is ideal. A hand trowel and fork are useful to work in flower beds and for small jobs around the garden. A hand saw is used to trim branches, and if you have one in your gardening shed, you will be able to cut the lower branches, especially, of the trees in your yard. Other garden equipment that does not come under the category of tools, but which enhance a garden are bird baths, garden umbrellas and fountains. A lot of thought and care goes into garden lighting and lamps.