Gardening tips and tools

Robins are out and about! Blooms are budding! I am getting excited about working in the garden and landscape. I enjoy preparing the soil and uncovering the perennial plants as they come back to life after being dormant all winter. The plants start fresh every spring!  Spring reminds me of new beginnings. My yard is like my big sandbox where I get to play in the dirt. It is my outdoor canvas that with God’s grace can be so beautiful if I take the time to nurture it.

There is an art to creating your own landscaping and garden. I love making changes each year and deciding what to put in and where to move this and that. It is my quiet place. My time to reflect, to pray, to create! I already trimmed one of my trees. I didn’t want to wait until the bees were buzzing in the blossoms and if I wait too long, I can’t see where to cut to get the shape I want. This is the first time I have done it this early. Let’s hope it likes its new look.

Over the years, I have learned a few things, although I do not claim to be an expert. I just know what works for me and maybe it will help in your gardening endeavors.

Joyfaithstrength.com includes affiliate links. By clicking on them or purchasing recommended items we may receive a small compensation at no additional cost to you. We only recommend products we love. For more information see our disclosure and TOS policy.

As with any hobby, the best thing to have is the right tools. These are tools I use annually.  One tool is a manual step edger.
I use the edger to go around my landscaping in the spring. It takes some work but I love the results. It is a great tool where I don’t have to mess with cords, charging batteries, or gasoline. As you can see below, with a little elbow grease, it does a wonderful job. You press the bottom edge of the tool in the ground with your foot to edge the border you want around your landscaping. Then you press up the lawn edge piece you want to remove.  You can be creative in shaping your landscape, be outdoors, and get exercise.  Who needs a gym right?

Another tool is my long handle 4 tine cultivator.
It makes weeding and cultivating the soil so much easier. It is a simple tool that I have had for a long time and every year I am so grateful. This tool saves your back while you are weeding and cultivating.  After I cultivate to loosen the weeds,  I take the weeds with their roots and remove them so they don’t grow back. The cultivator also aerates and loosens the soil while you are weeding.

I love how the soil looks after I’m done.

There are other tools I use such as a garden shovel to separate, move, or plant new plants.

Garden gloves are important when working in the garden.
Spiders and bugs live in the soil so gloves give some protection from them and keep your hands clean.  Gloves also help protect you from thorns when pruning your rose bushes.

Clippers will come in handy as well to trim plants and bushes to the shape you would like them. Use them carefully for they are sharp.

I also use a simple 5 gallon bucket to put my weeds and prunings in.   I found that if the waste was more than the bucket, it was hard for me to carry to dump out.  The five gallon bucket also doesn’t take up much room in my garage.

Overall, my two favorite tools are the manual step edger and the long handle 4 tine cultivator. These tools have helped to maintain and make my landscaping look so much better. Sometimes it is the simple tools that can make such a difference.

I’ve had some of my best inspirations while gardening. It is time with God and nature that fills my spirit.  There are seasons in life we reflect, trim, weed, rearrange, and cultivate so we can move on to new beginnings and blossom.   I’m presently learning to reflect, trim and weed stuff out that distract me so I can grow and blossom in other areas of my life.  I look forward to seeing what unfolds.  May joy and beauty come to you as you garden in life.

Blessings!

Cheryl Bippus

He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.  John 15:2 NIV

Please follow and like us: