Page 8
Spring Home and Garden. March 18. 1998
Tools of the trade: choosing the right garden tools
By Wayni: McLahrin
(.MHU.IA K»TtMIO> XHVM t
Garden catalogs and stores
are full of gardening tools.
Many are specialized Some arc
useful Others are nice hut not
necessary. And some are just
plain gimmicks.
The gardening equipment
you need depends on the size of
your garden, your age and
strength, and whether you want
to get the job done in a hurry or
prefer to lake your time
Shopping for garden tools
late in the season makes good
sense Anxious to move them
oft the shelves to make room lor
more seasonal items, stores
otter bargains. And by now. you
know which tools from last year
are lost or broken So vou can
Award-winning Landscape:
Try Georgias Gold Medal winning plants
Bv Gakv L. Waoi
(.muu.ia Kxtewsion -SmvK t
The Olympic Games have come and gone But
gold medals are still being awarded by the Georgia
Plant Selections Committee
(>rguni/ed in 1994. the Georgia Plant Selections
Committee is a nonprofit group that promotes the
production, sale and use of superior landscape plants
The group is made up ot environmental horticul
ture professionals from across the state Each year
they select an annual flower, a herbaceous perenni
al. a shrub and a tree to receive its Georgia Gold
Medal Awards
To be considered for an award, a plant must meet
stringent criteria
Attractive bark, pest-free foliage and brilliant
fall color, it moves higher on the list.
For growers and retailers to meet the demand lor
award-winning plants, they must be easy to propa
gate, too
The recently announced 199 K Georgia Gold
Medal Winners are outstanding garden plants You
must try them
The annual winner is Athens Gem plectrantus
Marble*
Masters
i _ _ uMii 11 nwinidiii id
% ' inn riiii-mr "ffe? *4
tinMtfi 1 -< ] t
' . • • -pn
begin to get ready for an early
and prtKluctive spring.
The minimum equipment
most gardeners need is a pruner.
trowel, shovel or spade, hoe and
rake. A wide selection of styles
is available for each The choice
is really one of personal prefer
ence and price
lanik for lightweight tools
that fit yourliands and the job to
be done For example, pruning
shears that open wider than the
width of your hand are hard to
use They not only tire you
faster but can be annoying and
frustrating
A trowel will be in constant
use, especially in the spring, lor
those many digging jobs that
can t be done with full-si/ed
tools Trowels arc perfect lor
l Piet trunthus Athens Gem ') A wondcrlul summer
annual, it s prized lor its coarse blue green foliage,
pest tolerance and ability to thrive under harsh
growing conditions
The 9K herbaceous perennial winner is
Kalimcns ( Knit me ns pinnatifidu i A tough plant
(hat produces an abundance ot tiny, astcr-likc How
ers all summei. it requires minimal routine care
Bottlebrush buckeye (Aesculus parvifloru) is the
199 H CJold Medal winner in the shrub category For
a large specimen shrub in shady, moist areas, hot
tiebrush buckeye can't be* beat The late spring
white blooms, shaped like a bottle brush, rise above
the toll age They make the plant a showstopper in
the landscape
Last, but certainly not least, is trident maple
(Acer hueryeranum). the- 199 K Georgia Gold Medal
tree
Landscape or patio containers, give trident
maple a close look It makes an excellent street tree
for cities and public parks, too Growing 25 feet tall
at maturity, with a canopy spreading to 35 feet, tri
dent maple is a good choice for today 's small urban
spaces where a large oak simply won't do
selling out bedding plants and
bulbs or digging shallow-rooted
weeds Other small hand tools
such as a 12-inch hoe and fork
are equally valuable if you gar
den mainly in raised beds or
containers
A garden shovel with a point
ed. dish-shaped blade is lighter
and smaller than construction
shovels It s designed for gener
al-purpose digging, lifting and
moving A spade has a Hat blade
and is dc-signed lor cutting
rather than moving soil Spades
arc excellent tor shaping
straight-sided trenches and edg
ing beds But they aren't good
for preparing planting holes,
because they may glaze the
sides
I.ong handles otter greater
The Industry Leader
In Cultured Marble!
"Kitchen & Bath Specialists"
Custom Installation
of All Products
• Vanity Tops • Tubs • Showers
• Countertops & More!
We Feature GALAXY Cultured
Marble by Marble Masters
PINNACLE By Prime Design
Celebrating Our 25th Anniversary
1105 N. Davis Drive • Warner Robins, GA
929-2766
leverage and may be less tiring
to use However, short handles
are often thicker and stronger
Fiberglass handles hold up well
and u re easier to find it left out
in the weather than those with
wooden handles
A spading or garden lork is
ideal lor turning heavy soils or
coarse compost and lor digging
Get the heaviest one you can
handle Lighter weight hay
lorks arc useful lor spreading
mulch and moving leaves, but
won't handle heavy work
To prepare the seed bed.
remove weeds and break
encrusted soil, you can't beat a
hoe The most commonly used
is the square-hladcd hoe. which
lends itself well to most garden
tasks Pointed hoes with heart
Geoirgiia; gmwiig
We are proud
to serve
PERRY,
GEORGIA
a city of
beautiful g
homes -Je/
& gardens y
shaped blades are lightweight
and easier to use for cultivating
between plants. Keeping blades
sharp makes all the work go eas
ier
A sturdy rake is useful in
clearing the garden of rocks and
debris, spreading mulches and
smoothing seedbeds Don't
choose a rake that's 100 heavy,
or you will lire quickly.
A rake handle that's too short
will cause excess bending and
back strain When standing
upright, the tip of a rake's han
dle should reach your ear
I Wayne McLuunn is an
extension horticulturist with the
Untversits of Geary la Colie ye
of Ayru ultural and
Environmental Sciences.)
