Pruning Tools
Felco F2 Pruning Shears Review: What Five Seasons of Cutting Taught Me
One retired gardener's honest account of five seasons trimming roses, boxwoods, and deadwood with the same pair of Swiss-made shears.
How a Swiss-made pair of Felco F2 shears ended a decade of sore hands in my own backyard.
One retired gardener's honest account of five seasons trimming roses, boxwoods, and deadwood with the same pair of Swiss-made shears.
No sugar coating. Here's what actually goes wrong with the Felco F2, what doesn't, and whether it's still worth the spot on your belt.
Ten practical, no-nonsense reasons this pair of Swiss shears has stayed clipped to my belt from March through November for longer than I care to admit.
Both will cut a rose cane. One will still be cutting rose canes when your grandkids have grandkids. Here is what thirty-eight seasons in Piedmont red clay taught me about the difference.
How a Swiss-made pair of Felco F2 shears ended a decade of sore hands in my own backyard.
A retired gardener's real, unhurried process for bringing an overgrown shrub back into shape without shocking it or ruining next year's blooms.
One retired gardener's honest account of two growing seasons kneeling, weeding, and sitting on the same folding kneeler and seat.
No sugar coating. Here's the pinched thumb, the sagging pad, and the slope it doesn't handle well, along with what the KVR kneeler genuinely gets right.
Ten honest reasons the KVR garden kneeler and seat has become the first thing I grab out of the shed, ahead of the trowel, ahead of the gloves, most mornings from March through November.
One folds flat and flips into a seat. One sits at the head of the tomato rows and never moves. Here is what actually earns its keep on my half-acre outside Burlington.
How a KVR kneeler and seat ended a spring of skipped weeding in my own raised beds.
A step-by-step method for weeding flower beds in Piedmont clay without staying down on the ground any longer than the job requires, built around timing, small sections, and a kneeler and seat that lets you switch positions instead of pushing through.
A retired gardener's honest account of three growing seasons trimming fence lines, edging a gravel drive, and keeping boxwoods in check with a corded electric trimmer.
No sugar coating. Here's what actually goes wrong with the BLACK+DECKER string trimmer, what doesn't, and whether the 2-in-1 edger head is worth the switch.
Ten honest reasons the BLACK+DECKER 14-inch string trimmer and edger stays plugged in and ready every trimming day, from March clear through November.
One runs on a cord, one runs on a battery, and after three seasons pushing both down my fence line, I know exactly where each one earns its keep.
How a BLACK+DECKER string trimmer finally caught up with the wire fence I'd been losing to crabgrass for three summers running.
A retired gardener's real method for cutting a straight, clean edge along a driveway or bed line with a corded electric trimmer, no half-moon edger required.
One retired gardener's honest account of two full falls hauling leaves, mulch, and firewood behind the Gorilla Carts poly dump cart, on a half-acre lot with a slope that used to beat him every time.
The assembly hour, the tipping on my sloped red clay, and the gritty dump pin nobody mentioned before I bought one.
Ten honest reasons the Gorilla Carts poly dump cart stays parked by the shed door instead of getting shoved to the back after one season.
One sets itself down level and dumps with a pull of a lever. One goes anywhere a footpath goes and needs nothing but two hands. Here is what thirty-eight seasons in Piedmont red clay taught me about the difference.
How thirty-eight falls of hauling leaves down the slope with a wheelbarrow finally gave way to a Gorilla Carts dump cart, and what changed once it did.
A retired gardener's real method for moving mulch and leaves without a sore back, worked out over two full falls behind a Gorilla Carts dump cart on a sloped half-acre lot.
One retired gardener's honest account of watering a half-acre lot with the Flexi Hose, March through November, including the parts that started to give out toward the end.
Before you order one, here's what actually happens with low pressure, the snap-back when you shut the water off, the brass fitting and its washer, and a few things the five-star reviews never mention.
Ten reasons the Flexi Hose stays coiled up on a shed hook by the spigot all season instead of tangled somewhere in the grass.
Thirty-eight years of watering this half-acre with both kinds taught me exactly where the lightweight expandable hose earns its keep, and exactly where the old heavy rubber hose still wins outright.
A first-person story about years of fighting a stiff, kinking garden hose and finally switching to something that works, told from a half-acre lot outside Burlington, North Carolina.
A retired gardener's real method for watering two raised beds without fighting a kinked hose, worked out over a full growing season behind a Flexi Hose on a sloped half-acre lot outside Burlington, North Carolina.
One retired gardener's honest account of five seasons trimming roses, boxwoods, and deadwood with the same pair of Swiss-made shears.
No sugar coating. Here's what actually goes wrong with the Felco F2, what doesn't, and whether it's still worth the spot on your belt.
One retired gardener's honest account of two growing seasons kneeling, weeding, and sitting on the same folding kneeler and seat.
No sugar coating. Here's the pinched thumb, the sagging pad, and the slope it doesn't handle well, along with what the KVR kneeler genuinely gets right.
A retired gardener's honest account of three growing seasons trimming fence lines, edging a gravel drive, and keeping boxwoods in check with a corded electric trimmer.
No sugar coating. Here's what actually goes wrong with the BLACK+DECKER string trimmer, what doesn't, and whether the 2-in-1 edger head is worth the switch.
One retired gardener's honest account of two full falls hauling leaves, mulch, and firewood behind the Gorilla Carts poly dump cart, on a half-acre lot with a slope that used to beat him every time.
The assembly hour, the tipping on my sloped red clay, and the gritty dump pin nobody mentioned before I bought one.
One retired gardener's honest account of watering a half-acre lot with the Flexi Hose, March through November, including the parts that started to give out toward the end.
Before you order one, here's what actually happens with low pressure, the snap-back when you shut the water off, the brass fitting and its washer, and a few things the five-star reviews never mention.