The availability
of garden tools has improved manifold for the home gardener, be at
a local garden center, a superstore or due to an advertisement highlighting
the advantages of the most recent of garden equipment like lawn tractor
or lawn mower.
However, there are only a few basic ‘necessities’ when
it comes to rose gardening, though there is no stopping you from blowing
up hundreds of dollars on all fancy gardening gadgets, if you so desire.
In stocking your rose gardening toolbox, a pair of good gloves should
be your first order of business; after all not for nothing has it been
said that ‘wherever there is a rose, there is a thorn’.
A pair of trendy, cute, cotton gloves that merely keep your fingers
clean would not be suitable for working in a rose garden. Select heavy,
leather gloves with a cuff, so that your hands are well protected especially
while pruning your rose plants. Some roses even have small, tricky
thorns, and as you grasp the stems to cut back growth along their stem,
these thorns can go into your skin like tiny, splinters if your hands
are not protected.
You will need to select a good set of pruning shears for proper pruning
of the rose plants. There are two types of pruners available - the
anvil pruner and the bypass pruner. The first has blades that meet
on top of each other and if used on your roses, it will squash the
stems and canes. The second is the preferred type of pruning shear
for roses, as its blades pass each other as they cut the stems, like
in a pair of scissors. Thus, the bypass pruner protects the stems and
canes of your roses as you cut back the plants. Select a well-fitted
pair with a comfortable grip, as you will be using this frequently
in your rose garden. If you have young children, consider the locking
device on the shears while buying.
A rake, a spade and a shovel are other necessary tools in rose gardening.
Your ideal choice of a garden rake would be the one with sharp, closely
spaced metal tines, rather than a leaf rake with widely spaced tines.
This will properly level the soil for your rose beds. A ‘hand
held’ spade is an indispensable tool for moving the soil around
your plants. A long handled shovel for planting, meeting the size and
comfort requirements is a ‘must buy’ because this is the
tool that is used over and over again in your rose garden.
To manage the watering and care of your plants, the final set of tools – namely,
a watering system and the long handled garden wand sprayer that attaches
to a hose - needs to be added to your existing collection. These wands
make watering the roots of your plants simple and fuss-free, and help
to reach the tricky hanging baskets as well. Moreover, a pressure sprayer
that also attaches to your garden hose is a good thing to buy for feeding
and applying pesticides, as it makes mixing and applying so very simple!
What
do you need to know before buying the lawnmower |
