Many homeowners take pride in their landscaping. Their well-manicured lawns are a labor of love, and it takes hours each week to adequately maintain them.
However, there are tools you can use to help speed up the process without sacrificing your lawn’s looks. Here are five tools that can help you maintain your yard. No matter the season, these tools will allow you to create the backyard oasis of your dreams.
The Best Tools For Yard Care
Walk into any home repair store, and you will be bombarded with different outdoor tools. Each has a function, and it can be tempting to go overboard. As you’re looking to maintain your yard, here are five tools to start with.
1. Lawnmower
Choosing the right lawn mower for your lawn is one of the most significant decisions you can make. There are different types, including:
- Self-propelled: The lawnmower is designed to push itself forward with little assistance from the mower. You still need to propel it, but the motor or battery does most of the work. This is great for medium to large yards.
- Push mowers:With push mowers, the person mowing the lawn does most of the work. It can be more work-intensive because you have to push the mower physically. It’s best for smaller yards.
- Riding mowers: Riding mowers require no pushing at all. You ride on them, and they do all the work for you. These are best for large yards.
Cost, yard size, type of grass, and more can impact the lawn mower you purchase.
2. Leaf Blower and Rake
If your property has many trees, you’ll want to invest in tools to help you gather the leaves, especially in the fall.
Leaf blowers can help do this efficiently and effectively.
- Without a bag, a leaf blower will help you quickly move large amounts of leaves in a pile.
- With a bag, a leaf blower can suck up your leaves so you don’t have to rake them up at a later date. Depending on the amount of leaves, you may have to empty your bag several times.
Additionally, a rake is a simple and effective tool. It can clean up the debris left behind by your leaf blower and move it into a more manageable pile.
3. Hedge Trimmer
One of the biggest secrets to a tidy yard is a hedge trimmer. These tools have multiple uses, including:
- Shaping bushes and trees. After trimming, they look much more clean and put together.
- Cutting down branches.If branches are almost falling or aesthetically undesirable, you can use a hedge trimmer to remove them.
- Prune your grass. If you have overgrown grass or brush, use hedge trimmers to trim the area. Just ensure it is dry, or the debris can clog the hedge trimmer.
Hedge trimmers can help add curb appeal to your home. This tool is easy to control and makes precise cuts more easily than other tools.
4. Tractor
If you have a large yard, a small tractor is a must-have. It can help you clear brush, move fallen trees, and quickly turn large amounts of soil. There are various attachments you can use on your tractor, including:
- Snow plow: You can clear large amounts of snow quickly.
- Grapples: Compact tractor grapples can help you grasp and lift items, including fallen tree branches and other large items in your yard.
- Wrecker: Remove tree stumps and roots without investing in a formal tree removal service.
Small tractors can have multiple uses. While they are an investment, it can be worthwhile if your yard is overgrown, you have a lot of work you want to do, or it is simply substantial.
5. Gardening Tools
Shovels, hoes, spades, gloves, and other gardening tools are great investments, especially if you spend time outdoors. You can plant your own flowers, bushes, and trees. You can create a vegetable garden and grow some of your produce.
A well-maintained garden can help improve your soil quality and air quality. Additionally, studies have shown that gardening can positively impact a person’s mental health. Gardening reduces anxiety, stress, and depression.
Well-maintained gardens can also increase property value. If you plan to sell your home in the short term, spending time outdoors to maintain your garden may result in a good return on investment.
Conclusion
Your yard’s size can determine the tools you need to maintain it. With larger yards, you may want to invest in larger or more automated tools to help make the process easier.
It’s best to start with a vision of how you want your yard to work and invest in tools to help you realize it. A good lawn mower, hedge trimmer, and gardening tools can help you create your ideal yard, while leaf blowers and tractors can help you maintain it.
You don’t need to tackle your entire yard in one day. Divide your tasks into smaller tasks for the best results.