Simple Gardening

Welcome to Simple Gardening

Article

The Tools of Rose Gardening
Ron King

Like any job you tackle, it's always easier if you have the right tools. Before heading out to your rose garden, make sure you arm yourself with these basic rose gardening tools.

Gloves

"You can complain because a rose has thorns, or you can rejoice because thorns have a rose." - Tom Wilson.

The rose garden is no place for thin, wimpy gloves. Unless you enjoy feeling the thorns pierce your skin, opt for leather work gloves with those big, fold-down cuffs.

Pruners

A good pruner is one tool that you will use almost daily. There are two types of pruners on the market. One is called an "anvil" pruner, and the other is called a "bypass" pruner. An anvil pruner has blades that meet on top of each other. Bypass pruners have blades that pass each other like scissors. Always use bypass pruners so you don't crush your canes and stems.

Loppers

When your rose garden starts to mature there will come a time when loppers will be indispensable for cutting back old, thick canes that are too much for pruning shears. If you are just starting your rose garden, save your money, since you won't need this for a few years.

Kneeling Pads

Some people prefer the big 8"x15" water-resistant pads with handles, while others prefer strap-on knee pads. The kneepads are more convenient because they move when you move, but the one-size-fits-all knee cups may not work for you. In that case, the pad with handles should suit you fine.

Short Digging Fork

This tool is indispensable for turning and loosening soil in small patches. Choose a good quality model with steel tines and a sturdy handle.

Watering Wand

Great for watering potted roses and for giving your other roses a good root soaking. Choose a model with a quick shutoff valve on the wand itself, and a quick release fitting for the end that attaches to the hose. Spend the money to get a wand with brass fittings instead of plastic. It will last years longer.

Long-Handled Shovel

Choose a lightweight model with a strong handle. Shovels with fiberglass throats are good choices. Spend a few extra dollars and get one with a padded handle, and it will save you lots of blisters as the years go by.

Wheelbarrow

Avoid the temptation to buy the cute garden "carts." You are going to need a real wheelbarrow. As your gardening addiction--I mean hobby--takes off there will be no end to the things you will be hauling in and out of your garden. Some of those things will be very heavy and you'll be glad that you have a real wheelbarrow to help you.

Garden Rake

This is the rake with the sharp steel teeth that you use for leveling and smoothing beds. Choose one with a sturdy handle and steel tines.

Leaf Rake

You'll use this tool often for cleaning up clippings, leaves and other garden debris. You may want to buy both a regular size rake, and one of the smaller "child size" rakes for pulling debris from tight quarters.

You shouldn't have any trouble locating these basic rose gardening tools. Your local garden supply store will likely stock them, or if you don't mind purchasing gently-used items, check out yard sales for your gardening supplies.

Enjoy yourself!

About the Author

Ron King is a full-time researcher, writer, and web developer. Visit Grow-Roses-Now to learn more about this popular gardening activity.

Copyright 2005 Ron King. This article may be reprinted if the resource box is left intact.

Gardening Supply Best products

Gardening Supply News

gardening supply

We just can't keep our hands out of the soil, even when it is as hard as rock outside. If you still have the itch to do some gardening, check out the Windowsill Herb Gardening class at the 577 Foundation in Perrysburg. Horticulturalist Vicki ...

Winter doesn't have to put freeze on gardening - Toledo Blade

Christmas may be children's favorite time of year, but for gardeners the season of dreams comes immediately after the holidays when the seed catalogs begin to arrive. Seed catalogs have been a direct-mail staple for generations of backyard growers ...

Seed catalogs feed winter gardening dreams - Elkhart Truth

10-Year Gardening Journal GardenScribe Plant Organizer Best Garden Cart Label Your Plants Six Ideas to Organize Your To-Do List food policy. As we continue the Thanksgiving food-fest, let’s add one more important topic to the dinner table ...

Gardening Organization Tips - San Francisco Examiner

IN the wake of announcements that the roti canai price is going down with "immediate" effect, most consumers are still waiting for cheaper meals at their local stalls. The Consumer Research and Resource Centre's monitoring of about 20 food items ...

FOOD PRICES: Look into supply end to cut costs - New Straits Times

Someone had a real bleak sense of humor when they dubbed the start of the holiday shopping season Black Friday. We’re well into the tunnel of winter and only about a month away from the Solstice and the darkest day of the year, so maybe they were ...

Fill the holidays with gifts for the gardener - Frontiersman

I don't know whether to laugh or to cry when my friends tell me they just spent $7 for a package of "fresh" basil. Me, I just head to the backyard with my kitchen scissors and cut off a handful of leaves. The seeds I planted about a year ago cost me ...

Garden-fresh greens without the garden - CNet

An organic farming operation on the Muskoday First Nation is being held up as a model for Saskatoon's community gardens. The Muskoday Organic Workers Co-op was started this year in the hopes of making the Muskoday community more ecologically sound ...

Community gardens touted for biodiversity, healthy food - Saskatoon Star Phoenix

Just because the days are rapidly shortening and the weather almost unmentionable don’t think there isn’t loads to do in the garden. Newcomers to gardening may find it strange but now is an ideal time to start getting a new vegetable plot ready ...

EVEN THOUGH IT'S NEARLY WINTER! - Watford Observer

Mass merchants have customers with wide-ranging tastes looking for any number of products. Specialty retailers, however, are filling a niche. And in niche retailing, it’s critical that merchants know their customers very well. The 27 retailers in ...

Sporting Goods - InternetRetailer.com

It wasn't mentioned in the article, but for environmentally friendly dog products, I shop at the http://www.therecycledretriever.com The green revolution is also an evolution. A purse made from seat belts, tires or gum wrappers is greener than ...