Occasionally my wife enjoys to write reviews of products she uses - this is one of those posts. Enjoy!

I have never been a fan of the bulky leather gardening gloves that most home improvement stores sell.  They grip well, when you can find something big enough to grab.  But you can forget about pulling tiny weeds or planting delicate seeds and seedlings.

Since I tend to be somewhat unorganized when gardening – jumping from weeding to raking to pruning, etc. – I need gloves that can run the gamut.  I decided to try the Bionic X-Wear Gardening/Work Gloves.  I believe they were originally designed for gardeners with arthritis, so they have silicone padding in the fingers and thumbs.  Even with the padding, you do not lose any dexterity or “feel.” The wrists fasten securely to keep dirt out (a big problem with traditional garden gloves, I found).

Casual gardeners who do not want to wait for the leather to stretch should order a size larger than you normally would, as these gloves run small.  Even with the snug fit, or perhaps because of it, my hands do not tire out as easily as they did with other gloves.  And I had no problem using an old, wood handled de-thatching rake, something that would have given me terrible blisters in plain leather gloves.

Occasionally my wife enjoys to write reviews of products she uses - this is one of those posts. Enjoy!

No matter how much mulch and how many yards of garden fabric, we still get weeds in our planting beds.  And, as everyone knows, weeding is not fun.  I have been pretty laisser faire about it in the past (sometimes weeds have nice flowers!) but not this year.  So far this spring I have spent more time pulling up than planting.

I do not have to tell anyone that it can be murder on your back and knees to spend that much time hunched over a planting bed.  After one weekend, I bought the Folding Garden Kneeler to save my joints.  It can be used as either a kneeler or as a seat.  I use the kneeler when I need to get more towards the back of the area I’m working on.  I also use it in the kneeler position when I want to stay dry and clean but still sit close to the ground.  The handles really do make it easier to get up – no matter how young you are, sitting in one spot for too long makes standing an adventure.  The seat height is great for lighter work and planting.  Even a foot difference makes it easier to see how plants will lay out and look together.  When I am done for the day, I just fold it up and stash it in the garage.

Our backyard looks out onto an alley.  It is not the worst view, but it is not the prettiest, either.  But the main problem is that people can see into our yard, which can be a tad uncomfortable when we are out there.  We do have a chain link fence on top of a four foot concrete retaining wall, so we bought the Willow Stick Fencing to give us a little more privacy and to add a bit of shade to our south facing backyard.

After trimming to match the height of our chain link (easily done with a circular saw) to avoid catching too much wind, we used easy to hide clear zip ties to secure the willow to our existing fence.  We have a couple short sloping sections we wanted to cover and using the circular saw again we were able to easily match the angles.  After just a couple hours’ work, we had a nice, secluded backyard.

The Willow Stick Fencing should not be used for anything other than a bit of privacy or to conceal the more unattractive parts of your yard.  If installed on its own, sturdy fence posts will need to be placed fairly close together.

Occasionally my wife enjoys to write reviews of products she uses - this is one of those posts. Enjoy!

It is that time again.  It is time to take the plants outside.  Over the winter, our plants live in the south and west facing office.  We do not use the room much, so the plants can get a little scraggly.  I spend a few hours every spring clipping, trimming, and repotting.

In the past, I have lost or ruined so many gardening tools I am afraid to count up the money I have wasted.  This year, I am organizing myself.  I bought the Six-Piece Indoor Garden Tool Set to keep track of everything I need.  I know it says “Indoor,” but it works wonderfully for smaller outdoor plants, hanging baskets, and container gardening.

The canvas tote bag is perfect for throwing my gloves and drink into.  The tools themselves are quite comfortable to hold for a long period of time.  The potting tools have held up great against my abuse and the scissors have stayed sharp.  The mister is the only thing that does not translate to outside use.  But it is best for year-round indoor plants, such as delicate orchids.  This set is perfect for novice or, like me, “challenged” gardener and has plenty of room to expand and stay organized.

With all the other cool stuff picked out for the cleaning your gutters the quick and easy way series, I begrudgingly come to the last item on the list: the waste bucket.

Now, I know what you’re thinking - why - oh why? - am I reading a review of a bucket tote?  I know it sounds stupid (especially on a blog that has two reviews of Stanley FatMax Xtreme FuBar pry/demo bars).  Trust me, I know.  But all kidding aside, the 47 pocket Bucket Tote is worth every bit of the price.

My wife likes it because it can hold just about all of her garden tools.  I like it because it can hold a lot of gutter cleaning tools.  And when I’m out landscaping, it’s got tons of places for me to put rock-breaking chisels, hammers, trowels, et cetera.  In fact, the Bucket Tote has 47 total pockets (30 exterior, 17 interior, hammer holster, tape chain) — so you can fill it with whatever you fancy.

I’m not sure what else to say… after all, it’s a bucket accessory.  Well, here’s something — I’ve found that it fits Home Depot contractor buckets really well with the tote.

Much like cleaning your gutters, hauling around a bucket tote can be a little bit, uh, emasculating.  But just like cleaning your gutters, an ounce of prevention (in this case, hauling all of your tools up the ladder with you) can save a lot of time in the long run.  Just think about how dry your basement will be when you don’t have water spilling out on your foundation!

At some point you have to stop borrowing your parent’s tools.  Sure, the harvest gold 1970s electric trimmer is great, but the time-share arrangement with siblings makes yard work hard to plan.  So we bit the bullet and bought a hand operated hedge trimmer.

I was not initially enthusiastic about the idea; just the thought made my biceps ache.  But I was surprised how easy this trimmer is to use.  The blades are non-stick, so you do not have to expend any energy trying to pry them open.  Even evergreen sap comes right off.  The handles are wood, but have nice cushioned grips to keeps your hands from getting tired.  Sure, it is going to take a bit longer to trim the bushes than it would with an electric model, but you are able to be more precise.  If you have rounded bushes, the hand operated trimmers will keep them a lot tidier.  You will never get too deep or go too far.  One of the greatest, and most unexpected, things about this trimmer is that clean up is easier.  Cut off some twigs and they fall right down - they do not get pushed and blown around like with an electric trimmer.  Since the clean up is the most tedious part of trimming hedges, this was a huge plus for me.

I’m not ready for it, but since I could see my breath last night, I have to admit it is Fall.  And that means getting the house and garden ready for frosts, freezes, snow, ice, and other unpleasantness.

One of my tasks sometime in the upcoming weeks will be to trim back all of our liriope.  Last year, this was not a difficult job as we only had four plants.  We went a little crazy with the ground cover this year and the kitchen shears are not going to cut it.

I originally purchased the Saboten 1218 Pruning Shears to trim iris leaves.  Since it sliced through those like butter, I anticipate being able to lop of the liriope by the handful.  Yeah, they’re a little more expensive than other pruning shears, but the comfort of the handle alone is worth the extra cost.  After pruning for half an hour I could feel the difference between these and my old shears (as in I could actually use my hand for other tasks).  The blades are coated with Teflon so if you are pruning a “sticky” or “juicy” plant, the shears will not get stuck together.  These shears even have a wrist strap so you do not have to set them down and pick them up every time you need both hands.