I spent a lot of this summer testing out new tools and found many that are worthy of mention - more than I can do justice to in this one article, so I will simply mention them and give a brief description. You can check the appropriate web sites to learn more. But believe me when I tell you that tools that make life in the garden easier are tops on the ardent gardener's list. Nothing is much fun when you strain and struggle and never quite accomplish what you'd hoped to accomplish.
Tools for Cutting and Pruning
One company that has worked very hard to develop ergonomic tools for us graying gardeners is Fiskars. I found their PowerGear bypass pruning shears, Pruning-Stik and PowerGear Pro large loppers to be the best products of this type that I've ever used - and I have very limited arm strength.
A new tool that I just started using this fall is their long handled swivel grass shears, which are terrific for tidying up those areas that my husband hesitates to approach with his weed wacker because they are too close to plants we don't want lopped. Like all of my Fiskars tools, they fit my hand easily and cut even very large branches with ease. In fact, I was able to accomplish more in my yard this year with these tools than I was able to before I got fibromyalgia which I thought might spell doom for my gardening career. So believe me - when I say a tool works, I mean they REALLY work!
And, just in case my husband happens to read this - this year I really want the telescoping Pruning Stik. I'm not getting any taller - but with this I can prune branches as much as 12' overhead with ease!
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