5 gadgets every gardener should have

JACKSONVILLE, Florida--Beautiful gardens and landscaping are a Hallmark of country land, but gardening can be hard work – especially without the right tools.

We talked to Steve Hall, president of Horizons LTD, a company the travels the globe selling and procuring high quality garden tools. Hall was presenting the product line, also known as Ironwood Tool Company, at the Jacksonville Home + Patio Show. We asked him to show us his favorite gardening gadgets.

Here are the tools he said every gardener should have:

1) A-just-o-rake

The A-just-o-rake is an adjustable, self-cleaning rake that shrinks down to as narrow as 7 inches wide or stretches as wide as 2 feet. Hall explained the rake narrows in order to reach tight spots, such as an area under the hedges.

The rake has a central bar that pushes leaves off its tines. And the tines will even angle sideways, turning the rake into a slim line so it can clean even tighter spots, such as the grooves between porch boards or sidewalks.

Hall is especially proud to share this fun fact: his rake was featured in a James Bond movie, attached to a security vehicle to serve as a makeshift antenna.

Here is a video his team took of him demonstrating the rake:

2) Soil Scoop with serrated edges

Different from a trowel, the Soil Scoop acts as a natural extension of the hand, allowing the earth to be worked while reducing bending stress on the wrist.

Demonstrating the scoop, Hall explained its serrated edges and deep scoop makes it capable of picking up large amounts of soil easily. The scoop is made from rust resistant stainless steel with a birch handle.

3) Angle Weeders for righties and lefties

Hall said his Angle Weeder has a blade built at an angle to increase leverage. It has serrated teeth along its edges to help grab weeds by the roots rather than a smooth blade that slices weeds at the surface. Its hooked tip plucks weeds from tight spots like sidewalk and driveway cracks. And its forked point is especially good for weeding taproot weeds.

The weeding tool especially excites left-handed gardeners, who can purchase the “leftie” version of the tool.

4) Helping Hands Hand Rakes

Hall said you can pick up double or even triple the amount of leaves at one time using his Helping Hands Hand Rakes rather than your hands alone. Looking more like something you would wear to a football game or a Halloween party, the giant rakes are actually extremely – er, excuse the pun – handy.

The lightweight tools are made of ABS plastic and again feature a serrated edge to assist in collecting leaves.

5) Down Under Plant Caddie

5 wheel plant caddie The Down Under Plant Caddie is a 5-wheeled plant holder. Hall explained that the five wheels prevent the caddie from tipping the way a 4-wheeled caddie tends to do. Measuring 16 inches in diameter, the caddie can support up to 500 lbs. on its nylon and steel wheels. It has a locking caster to keep it in place when you don’t want to move your plant.