Gardening gifts, trusty tools for discerning green thumbs
New to gardening?
Don’t be daunted. “You especially don’t need to be confused by the tools,” said Julie Janoski, Plant Clinic manager at The Morton Arboretum in Lisle. “A few are all it takes to handle common tasks in the garden.”
You may need tools to start a new garden next spring, or you may be looking for a gift for a new gardener. “Don’t get carried away,” Janoski said. “Longtime gardeners often accumulate a tangle of specialized tools, but they still rely on a handful for most work.”
Get a good start by investing in high-quality basics. “Strong, well-built, thoughtfully designed tools cost more, but they are less likely to bend and break in hard use,” she said. “They will be much less frustrating to work with.” You can add more targeted tools later if you discover a need.
Here are suggestions from Janoski and Sharon Yiesla, the Arboretum’s plant knowledge specialist, for the most important tools for a new gardener.
Trowel. A small, handheld shovel, the trowel digs holes to install individual plants or remove weeds. Choose a medium-sized one. Cheap trowels tend to break or bend at the point where the blade is attached to the handle, so invest in one with a strong structure.
Pruning shears. These are essentially scissors made to cut wood, but in addition to woody branches, you also will use them to cut green plant stems. Be sure to purchase the bypass type, with two blades that slide past each other, and not the anvil type, which have one moving blade that strikes a solid bar. Although you can buy flimsy pruners for less than $20, “this is one place
it really pays to pay more for quality,” Janoski said. Professionals seek out pruners that are simple and solidly built, with replaceable blades. “Choose pruners that really feel good in your hand,” she said. “If you’re buying them as a gift, make sure they can be exchanged if they don’t feel right.”
Shovel. You need a big tool to dig large holes, move mulch or turn over soil. The basic shovel, with a scooped blade, is called a round-point shovel. A longer shaft provides more leverage; a shorter shaft with a D-shaped handle is more maneuverable. A shovel with a rectangular, flat blade (called a spade) is useful for edging the lawn or slicing between established plants. As with a trowel, a shovel’s weak point is the attachment of the blade to the handle. Purchase one with a forged or solidly attached blade, although it may cost $50 or more, to avoid having your shovel break while you’re planting a tree.
Rake. There are two important kinds. A leaf rake has a fan of flexible tines and is used to collect lightweight debris, such as fallen leaves, on the surface of a lawn. Metal rakes outlast plastic ones. A bow rake has a row of short, stiff metal teeth and is used to move soil or mulch around. Look for a solidly attached handle.
Just a little something.
Got $10 or $20? It will buy plenty of useful things: machine-washable gloves; a watering wand with a long handle that saves your back; a ball of biodegradable twine; or a 5gallon paint bucket to lug tools, carry water, collect weeds or turn upside down and sit on. “It’s not fancy, but I’m never without it in the garden,” Yiesla said.
For tree and plant advice, contact the Plant Clinic at The Morton Arboretum (mortonarb.org/plant advice, 630-719-2424 or plantclinic@mortonarb.org). Beth Botts is a staff writer at the Arboretum.