SECATEURS OR PRUNERS

There are two types of secateurs or pruners – bypass and anvil. If you only want one tool get a bypass. Anvils cut in much the same way as a knife on a cutting board – the blade is pushed through the material onto the anvil, crushing the soft tissue and damaging your plants. An anvil’s main function is cutting up dead wood, but bypass pruners can do that job too. Bypass pruners work like scissors and don’t crush your plant material. You can also use them to cut herbs or deadhead flowers, although snips give you more agility. TIP These may be the smallest tools in your box, so are the easiest to leave behind in the garden when you head indoors. Get a pouch for your belt and they’ll be by your side forever!

SNIPS ARE A HANDY COMPANION FOR SECATEURS. WHILE THEY AREN’T AS STRONG, THEY ARE MORE AGILE FOR PICKING FLOWERS AND HERBS FROM YOUR GARDEN.

THE CURVED BLADES OF A BYPASS PRUNER MAKE CLEAN CUTS.

PRUNERS GET DROPPED, FORGOTTEN AND THEN RUINED, SO KEEP THEM SAFE IN A POUCH!