Seeing a post on
Danger Gardens blog made me thing about the unusual tools we use in our gardens. Most of us seem to have our favourite tools and they seem to rarely be actual gardening tools. Top of my list are needle nose tweezers, which are pretty well attached to my hand I use them so much. They are perfect for fishing dead leaves out of crowns, pulling dead leaves off to keep plants looking their best, holding small plants in place while re-potting, to list a few uses. I was put into a total panic the other week when I lost them. My OH made it perfect clear that I could not use her sewing ones until mine turned up, it seems that there are some sacrifices she is not will to make for my obsession. Thankfully they turned up and are now back in their proper home. Here they are with my other main tools
The small pointed scissors are another as they allow you to get right under plants when taking cuttings and to be far more precise than normal scissors or secateurs. The paint brush has several uses including cleaning crowns and of course for hand pollinating my echeverias.
I think my tools show how much time I spent on the little details of my plants in pots. So what are the tools you can not live without?
Probably a watering can, since the rain is done now until October at the earliest.
ReplyDeleteI need some of those tweezers. Popping out errant bits of pumice from between the Echeveria leaves with a toothpick is getting a little tedious.
I love this post! (and thanks for the link)...I should probably invest in a pair of tweezers like that. I do use a paint brush for cleaning debris and soil off succulents and LOVE a steak knife for cutting dead leaves off agaves. Oh and I have a trusty nail that I panicked when I couldn't find today. Perfect for busting a drainage hole or 3 in the bottom of a metal planter.
ReplyDeleteGreatttt ideas on the tools! I like the long tweezers and scissors. I have a pair of really long heavy tweezer like tool. I don't know where it came from or what it is suppose to be for but it is great for getting in between cactus and getting weeds. Also I can get weeds that grow between spines of my barrell cactus and underneath. Also I have a really long set of BBQ tongues to hold and pull!
ReplyDeleteHB: I have a little watering can nozzle that attaches to plastic bottles for watering where I don't want to get water on the leaves.
ReplyDeleteDG: Love the trusty nail.
CS: BBQ tongues are a good idea, especially I imagine for cacti.