Gardening Tools & Gadgets

With so many handy tools and gadgets to help in the garden we thought we would give you our top 5 on our wish list of garden gadgets

Robotic Mower
These seem to be all the rage right now and with good reason, yes, it really does do all
the hard work for you, with some making their own way back to the docking station once
they’ve done their job or have run out of batteries.

You don’t need a neat rectangular plot to use one – with many of today’s robotic mowers
able to cope with oddly shaped gardens, slopes and obstacles such as flower beds and
trampolines. Other good news (for the environment anyway) is that all robotic mowers are
mulching, meaning they cut up the grass into fine clippings and scatter them back on the
lawn to feed the soil with nutrients.
When buying a robotic mower, make sure it’s suitable for the size and shape of your
garden – remembering that some of the more expensive ones are really only worth it if you
have a big plot. Also, check how long it lasts on a full charge and how long it takes to
charge up. While some take under an hour to charge, others take up to 16 hours.
Beyond that, it’s simply a case of checking what features are a priority to you for instance,
do you mind having to set up a perimeter wire? Do you want it to cope with wet grass? Do
you want it to be quiet? And so on.
If you want a few tips then we have found the John Deere and the Husqvarna are superior
models but they don’t come cheap at around €3500 but for something much more
reasonable then why not try the Bosch or Flymo are much more affordable.

2. Cordless shrub shears
We only found one or two makers of these and as I have a good amount of clipped and
topiary plants in my garden including a good deal of box hedging this was a must for me, I
settled on the Bosch as it was a well known name and to be honest it does exactly what it
says on the tin! It’s a lightweight and powerful cordless shrub and grass shear ideal for
creative shaping of topiary, evergreens and small leafed plants but also for trimming lawn
edges. It’s ‘Multi-Click System’ enables easy attachment change between shrub and
grass blades or the other available accessories. An indispensible garden tool,
multifunctional and the perfect aid for your daily gardening tasks. Ideal shape, size and
weight for effortless operation. The ‘Anti-Blocking System’ helps prevent stalling for
undisturbed work for up to 50 minutes. 4 stage LED charge level indicator displays the
charging state.

3. Pressure washer
Time for a spring spruce up? The best power washers can be used to clean a variety of
items and surfaces including barbecues, decking, stone walls and cars, as well as garden
patios. That said, if you don’t want to invest just yet, it’s also worth bearing in mind that
you can also rent pressure washers from a hire company to get your your patios and
garden furniture looking brand new.
The most common kind of jet washer is electric: we like the Bosch Aquatak 35-12
pressure washer because no assembly is required.
One of the most important things to consider when buying a pressure washer is how
heavy it is: after all, you want it to do the hard work for you. If you’re on a budget and just
need a quick blitz, we recommend the  Makita HW101 240v power washer which weighs
just 6.35kg. That said, the Vax PowerWash 2500w complete pressure washer is suitable
for heavier duty tasks, and weighs just 6.9kg.

4 Leaf Blowers / Vacuums
Being the middle of summer the leaf blowers/ vacuums are probably the last thing on your
mind but come the Autumn you’ll be glad that we did the homework for you.
Leaf blowers are best for small gardens or if you’re dealing with a large number of leaves
that can’t be easily vacuumed up. They only blow, but they’re ideal for moving lots of
leaves in one big pile that you can then collect up easily.
Garden vacuums are useful for small jobs – particularly the non-shredding types, as
they’re good for picking up general litter as well as leaves. They’re not great for big jobs,
though, as it’ll generally take longer to run around sucking everything up than it will to
blow everything into one big pile.

Combined leaf blowers and garden vacs are best for the great majority of people, due to
their versatility. The main drawback is they can be fiddly to set up and often have extra
attachments you need to store, which you could potentially lose.
We like the Still and the Ryobi models.

5. Wonder Weed Puller
This product was a RHS Chelsea Product of the Year finalist and for gardeners like me,
weeds are the bane of my life so this handy tool was on my to buy list. Tackle weeds
without even getting your hands dirty, with the Wonder Weed Puller, a simply brilliant idea
for easy weeding in lawns.
Designed to be used standing up to eliminate backache and stooping, it couldn’t be easier
to use the Wonder Weed Puller. Simply insert the three rust-resistant stainless steel prongs
into the ground to surround the weed root, rotate through 360 degrees, and pull to remove
the weed – with root intact.
Then comes the best bit; press the ejector button on the handle to jettison the weed into
barrow, trug or bin. It’s addictively satisfying!

Extremely lightweight thanks to its aluminium shaft and robust polypropylene handle, the
Wonder Weed Puller is delightfully easy to carry round the garden and the best bit that this wonder tool is only around the €30 mark.

*** Please note that we do not sell any of the above products on the nursery but would be happy to put you in touch with suppliers of these if you drop me an email jo@https://https://caraghnurseries.ie/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Populus-termula-1.jpgnurseries.ie/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/naas-racecourse-e1525437359519-1.jpgnurseries.ie ***