Are you proud of your front lawn? If you want to have a healthy lawn everyone will fall in love with, you need to get the right tools for the job. When you have a good quality tool to work with, virtually every lawn will be easy to maintain and bring back to life. Regardless of how big your yard and lawn are, there are some tools that are practically essential and good to have within reach.
High-quality gloves
First thing first – before you even start researching and buying tools, you have to get your hands on a pair of high-quality gloves. Relaxing as it may be, gardening is not easy, and plants, soil, and tools will leave their mark on the gentle skin of your hands. This is why having a pair (or two or three) of good work gloves is a good idea. Not only will your hands be free of blisters, but you won’t have to worry about thorns, scrapes, and cuts wither. The pair of gloves you choose should be durable, but they should also be comfortable, so choose carefully.
Hand trowel
The hand trowel is a real small gem of a gardening tool simply because it’s so versatile despite its small size. It can be used for a variety of tasks: it can easily be a small shovel if you need to dig up miniature holes, but it’s also a powerful weeding tool. It doesn’t matter whether you’re planting seedlings or bulbs, or you’re in a war against persistent weeds that are choking your precious plants, the trowel is a handy tool to have. There are even trowel models made to resemble and be used as several tools; for example, they can have serrated blades and markings which will allow you to easily measure the exact depth of your garden excavations so you can plant seedlings with more accuracy.
A hose or a sprinkler system
Every lawn needs plenty of sunshine, but it also needs plenty of water. However, there is no guarantee that the amount of sun your lawn has during the warmer months won’t be too much. Since there is now way to make it rain exactly when and how much our lawn needs it, a retractable garden hose reel or a sprinkler system will do the trick. On average, a lawn needs about an inch of water every week in order to stay perfectly hydrated and healthy. If you’re not sure how much water is enough, you can do a “screwdriver test” to make sure. Put your screwdriver to the ground about six inches deep, and if that layer of soil is wet after watering your lawn, it’s well hydrated.
String trimmers
A handy tool powered by either gasoline or electricity, the string trimmer has become a staple in many people’s gardening sheds. This isn’t without reason, though, as it makes cutting grass around uneven terrain a breeze. Unlike traditional lawn mowers, trimmers cut grass with a nylon string that whips at high speed. They are great for people who have yards with areas that mowers can’t easily reach, and since they are so popular, there are different models available on the market. You can find battery-operated or corded electric string trimmers, but if these don’t work for you, you can always pick a standard gas-powered trimmer instead. Still, keep in mind that these are very loud, gas can be expensive and they pollute.
Sturdy rakes
Rakes are necessary tools to have even if you’re not an avid gardener. Their long handles make it easy to gather and spread things even for people who are very tall, and some rake models can even be used for digging. Because there are so many different rakes available on the market, you can find the ones that are perfect for you. If you need something for weeding and separating rock from the soil, get rigid, metal-toothed rakes. These are also excellent for spreading dirt and laying down mulch in fall. If, on the other hand, you need something to help you remove dead leaves and grass clippings after mowing the lawn, you should get flexible plastic leaf rakes.
In order to build a healthy and beautiful lawn, you are going to need a lot of patience and put in plenty of effort. However, once you accomplish your goal, with the right tools, maintenance of your perfect lawn is going to be a breeze. Over time, you will probably assemble a real arsenal of lawn care tools that will make your job easier (and all your neighbors are insanely jealous).
