Garden Tool Essentials

Whether it’s a box garden or an acre of land, gardening around your home creates a healthy ecosystem that also benefits the planet. Not to mention, it can also be a great way to unwind and spend time outdoors. In this article, we’ll take a look at all the hottest gardening and horticulture tools available, from the garden variety essentials to the specialist gear.

Before you venture out into the garden, you’ll need to get ready with the proper safety gear. In gardening, safety gear isn’t always just about being cautious – sometimes it can even assist in the job and make the task easier. Let’s take a look at six safety items you’ll need for successful and safe outdoor projects.

Sunscreen & Hat:

Before embarking into the outdoors and basking in the sunlight, it’s always essential to protect your skin and head first. Even the swiftest gardening project can lead to a dangerous amount of UV exposure. Don’t take these simple items for granted, as any seasoned green thumb will tell you.

Waterproof rubber boots / Gumboots:

This functional footwear isn’t just to complete the look of a serious gardener. When walking on slippery grass or sticky, muddy terrains, these boots offer a better grip than regular sneakers.

Gardening gloves:

This handy protective gear helps when you’re battling with the bushes and getting tackled by thorns and splinters. Rubberized palms also assist in gripping tools tightly in the midst of sweaty hands.

Safety specs:

These help keep your eyes on the prize while lugging around the leaf blower or working with the weed eater. Saving your sight and protecting your eyes from the intrusion of dust, blades of grass or flying debris.

Ear protectors:

Petrol-driven power tools such as chainsaws can create a powerful racket. If you work with these types of tools for an extended time period, your ears can suffer from a daunting case of decibel damage. Over time, what may start out as tinnitus, can lead to complete hearing loss if care isn’t taken. That’s why this gear is essential to your ear.

Basic First Aid Kit:

From bee-stings to bruises to bad scratches, accidents can happen anywhere and anytime. You won’t only be working with an array of sharp metal tools, and you’ll also sometimes be at the mercy of falling branches or even prickly thorns. Therefore, it’s a good idea to keep a small set of plasters, a bottle of disinfectant and other essential First Aid items nearby in a kit.

Whether you’re taking your first chances at cultivating or you are a permanent planter, there are tools and hardware available which are specifically designed for your needs. Let’s take a look at a list of equipment that’ll deal with everything outdoors from low-level maintenance to high-level horticulture.

Lawnmower:

The trusted tool for keeping any turf in tip-top shape, lawnmowers come in a variety of options, including petrol, electric, and push along.

In this article we look at the pros and cons of each to help with your purchase decision: Be A Better Lawn Barber

Watering can:

For potted plants, seedlings and small waterwise gardens, a watering can will probably suffice - these come in varying array of sizes and materials, so it shouldn’t be difficult to find the one that is perfectly suited to your needs.

Hosepipe:

This essential watering tool is available in standard or coiled varieties, the coiled hose taking up less space storage once contracted. However, with water restrictions in place in many parts of the country, be aware that the use of hose pipes will be restricted, and in some areas prohibited. 

Sprinkler attachments:

These attachments are available either in nozzle or sprinkler head form, that attaches directly to the hose. Distributing wider and less damaging streams of water, these attachments are perfect for any size garden.

Digging Shovel & Spade:

This ground breaking gear is what you need to get most soil-related jobs done. Round nose digging spades are perfect for loosening up the soil, while flat-nosed shovels are great for transporting mass around or creating new beddings.

Hand Trowel:

This small hand-held shovel is perfect for several odd-jobs, from re-planting and filling holes to digging out weeds around the paving edges.

Basic pruning tools:

• Pruning Shears - This sharp tool will help you make the cut in many ways, and is used for trimming shrubs, flowers, vines & minor growth on trees. These hand-held shears can cut twigs and branches less than 1.5cm thick.
• Hedge shears - With its long cutting blades, this tool is best used for shearing shrubs, evergreens and deadheading perennials. They are best utilised on branches up to 5 cm thick.

Leaf Rake:

This great tool is used to gather up loose leaves and light debris in your garden without damaging the soil. The most common types have steel or polypropylene tines. 

Digging Fork:

This durable digging tool is used to loosen up the soil for new beddings, aerating the soil, or when mixing mulch.

Wheelbarrow:

Finally, to lug around most of your new green thumb gear as well as the piles of soil you unearth while setting up your new garden, a wheelbarrow will set you well on your way.

Weed trimmer:

This power tool packs a punch when you need to get rid of pesky weeds around the garden. Available in either electric or petrol-driven options, it is the quickest way to de-weed larger problem areas.

Lopping shears:

These long-handled cutters come in handy when you have trimming that needs to be done on branches that are of medium thickness or are higher up and out of reach. They are available in anvil, bypass & ratchet styles and work well for branches over 5 cm thick - useful for pruning trees and vines.

Saws:

From simple handsaws to more comprehensive chainsaws, these cutting tools will help you fell the trees, branches and obstructions that hinder your garden.

Extension ladder:

To ensure you can manage your garden from the bottom to the top, this is an essential add-on. Having this type of ladder in your arsenal ensures that you can step up to the challenge of trimming even the tallest trees in your garden.

Pick:

This trusty T-shaped tool is great for prying loose stubborn soil or roots and is your second in command along with your digging shovel.

Lawn edger:

This trimming tool tackles the edges of your lawn where soil meets cement so that you don’t damage either when creating a neat border around your garden. Use when creating flowerbeds or trimming around patios and driveways.

Pressure Tank sprayer:

This portable tank comes with a sprayer attachment, which can be used to treat plants with fertilizer spray or to tackle problem areas with repellent.

Lawn waste bin:

Lastly, any lasting lawn and garden tender will attest to the fact that gardening can be messy. Do your bit for the environment and keep your garden waste in a separate regulation standard bin.

Rain harvesting water tank:

Rooftop rainwater harvesting is the most common method - this simply entails connecting your storage unit to your roof’s gutter system to collect rainwater. Rainwater storage tanks come in a number of sizes ranging between 500lt and 10000lt capacity.

 
Luckily, BUCO believes in doing more with your outdoor space. We’re dedicated to keeping a cultivated range of affordable quality outdoor materials, as well as a fruitful culture of friendly expert advice.
 

Browse and shop our outdoor and gardening product offering here.