By Hannah Walters
a freelance writer who specialises in lifestyle and agricultural writing with a specific interest in effective garden design. For article requests, please email hannah.walters@thewritersguild.co.uk
The Garden Tools You Need for a Successful Spring Season
Along with the prospect of some long-awaited warmer weather, one of the best things about turning the corner out of winter is that we can all go out and begin to spend more time in the garden again. There is plenty that can be done as we all come out of hibernation – in fact when it comes to our gardens, there is a great deal of work to get your teeth into.
Springtime is a lovely time to be in the garden, a time when the world begins to awaken when it is not too hot, not too cold, and there is plenty to be getting on with!
Spring is all about new beginnings, and a successful Spring season in the garden is all about preparing it for the summer. Whether you are looking to continue on the same theme as last year, or change your garden drastically, now is the time to start doing it.
But a beautiful garden requires a few tools to help you to achieve it. Here are some of the most important tools that every budding gardener should get to help you to carry out your springtime duties.
Lawnmower
Unless you want to patio your entire garden or attack it with a pair of scissors (VERY labour-intensive!), you will need to get a lawnmower. Whether you want to enjoy a luscious green lawn, or perhaps want to cut a path through a wild meadow garden, having a lawnmower is an important part of your garden setup – and a tool that you will use throughout the year, and that will make your grass neat, tidy, and healthy.
There is a wide range of different lawnmowers available to you – as seen here. When you are choosing the best lawn mower for you, there are several factors that you should consider:
- The size of your garden – would a push-along or a sit-down lawnmower be preferable?
- The weight of the lawnmower – you need it to be a weight that is most comfortable for you to use – often for lengthy periods of time
- Whether the height of the handles can be adjusted
- Cable length – does it reach your power source easily?
- Availability of replacement parts
In the Spring, cutting the grass is a great way to help to promote its growth throughout the summer, aiding in keeping it green and as healthy as possible moving forward.
Secateurs
Secateurs do all of the hard work when it comes to pruning. They are especially helpful if you are wanting to cut back tough and robust plants, thorny plants, and places that are hard to reach. Pruning in the springtime helps to encourage new growth and flowers, as well as getting rid of the older, dead stems and leaves and enabling you to affect the shape of the plant.
Choosing the best secateurs is a personal choice, finding the best and most comfortable pair for you. Some of the considerations that you should make include:
- Finding the right size for your hands
- Left or right-handed?
- Availability of replacement parts
- General comfort of use
- Safety catch
Wheelbarrow
Having a decent wheelbarrow is important all year round. But you will definitely want to make sure that you have one to help with your garden jobs in the Spring. The great thing about a wheelbarrow is that it is not only useful for moving difficult substances such as soil, manure, or garden waste but it can also be used for a wealth of other reasons. Perhaps you want to mix potting compost or need support to saw larger branches into pieces, a wheelbarrow is a very useful tool to have around.
When you are getting a wheelbarrow, you should consider:
- Getting good quality, robust wheelbarrow
- Handle length – this can make leverage better
- The existence of a tipping bar to act as a brake when it is being tipped
- Width of the space between handles – the wider the better for balance
- Wheelbarrow capacity
- Content weight limit
Trowel
The Spring is a time of year when you will want to start planting some of your plants, and a good trowel is a useful tool for this. There are also other garden duties that can be facilitated with the use of a trowel, including trimming flower bed edges, turning up the earth, and mixing compost.
To get the best trowel for the work that you need to do, you should think about:
- The weight of the trowel
- The shape of its head
- Comfort and ergonomics of the handle
- Quality and protection of the tool