For two summers, hedge day meant blistered hands and a wasted morning. Here's what changed when I put down the manual shears.
I picked up the WORX 22-inch cordless hedge trimmer in April to knock back a run of boxwoods that had gone shaggy over the winter. Here's what a full season of shaping, edging, and one very stubborn privet hedge taught me.
I've run both. Here's what actually matters once you're the one holding the thing at eight in the morning.
I traded my hand shears for the WORX 22" cordless hedge trimmer three seasons ago. Here is everything that changed about hedge day.
For two summers, hedge day meant blistered hands and a wasted morning. Here's what changed when I put down the manual shears.
A privet hedge that got away from me for two summers taught me that shaping overgrown growth is a patience problem more than a power problem. Here is the five step process I actually use, start to finish.
Before you add this cordless trimmer to your cart, here are the two things the Amazon listing skips over, and why I still keep it in my shed anyway.
I bolted the StoreYourBoard 36-inch wall rack into my shed last spring to get shovels and rakes off the floor for good. A year and four seasons of muddy boots later, here's what actually held up.
I've used both in the same garage. Here's which one actually kept me from tripping over a rake in the dark.
My eight by ten shed used to be a shovel-shaped obstacle course. Here is what changed once I hung everything on a wall-mount tool rack instead.
For twenty seasons my shed was a pile-up of leaning shovels and tangled hoses. Here's what changed when I finally put my tools on the wall instead of the floor.
My eight by ten shed used to make me back out and go get whatever tool I needed from the garage instead. Here is the five step process I used to turn it back into a place I actually want to open the door on.
Nobody mentions the hook that slides, the studs that don't line up on a narrow wall, or how much wall space a 36-inch rack actually eats in a small shed. Here's the version of this review I wish someone had written before I ordered mine.
I bought the Root Slayer serrated shovel in April to deal with a silver maple's root system that had taken over half my back bed. Here's what a full season of digging through root-choked clay taught me about it.
One of these is built to fight roots. The other is built to move dirt cleanly. I keep both in the shed, and I'll tell you honestly which one I reach for and when.
I fought a silver maple's root system with a flat spade for years before I switched to a serrated shovel. Here is exactly what changed once the blade could saw instead of just bounce.
A dead burning bush by my porch steps beat me for two weekends straight. Here's what finally got it out of the ground.
A privet stump and a lilac root ball taught me the hard way that a regular spade just bounces off old, dense roots. Here is the five step process I use now, with the safety steps I skipped once and won't skip again.
The five-star reviews skip the sore forearms, the dented shipping box, and the fact that this thing costs a lot more than a plain spade. Here's what I'd tell you before you order one.
I picked up the Green Mount 24-inch watering wand in May to get water to my hanging baskets without dragging the step stool out every morning. Here's what a full summer of watering baskets, raised beds, and borders with it actually taught me.
One reaches, one blasts. I keep both hanging by my back door, and after two seasons with the Green Mount wand I can tell you exactly which jobs each one actually wins.
After two summers of watering hanging baskets, raised beds, and a long border with both tools, here is why the wand stays on the hose and the nozzle sits in a drawer.
I nearly lost every basket on my porch to root rot before I figured out the real problem wasn't too little water, it was how I was giving it.
Every summer I used to drag the step ladder across the patio to reach the two baskets hanging off my porch beam. One wobble on wet concrete was enough to make me find a better way. Here's the method I use now, no ladder involved.
Before you add this to your cart, here's what the five-star reviews and the product photos don't mention, the drip, the balance, the fit right out of the box, and whether it still earned a spot by my back door after two seasons of actually using it.
I picked up the CKLT manual lawn edger in April to clean up the border between my lawn and the front walkway, a job I'd been putting off for two summers. Here's what a full season of stepping on that half-moon blade taught me, including the parts nobody puts in the product photos.
One costs less than a tank of gas and never needs charging. The other gets a long driveway edge done in half the time. After a full season alternating between the CKLT half-moon edger and a neighbor's corded electric edger, here's where each one actually wins.
I spent three seasons trying to fake a straight edge with a string trimmer held sideways. A half-moon manual edger finally gave me the crisp line I was chasing the whole time.
The curved bed along the front of my house had gone soft and wavy for years. Here's the afternoon a half-moon edger and a garden hose finally fixed it.
My front walkway edge looked ragged for years because I never marked a line before I started cutting. Here is the five step process that finally gave me a border I'm not embarrassed by, plus the safety step I almost skipped.
Every photo on the CKLT lawn edger's listing shows a blade gliding through turf like it's nothing. Mine did not do that on day one. Here's what the listing leaves out, and why I still ended up keeping the thing.
I picked up the WORX 22-inch cordless hedge trimmer in April to knock back a run of boxwoods that had gone shaggy over the winter. Here's what a full season of shaping, edging, and one very stubborn privet hedge taught me.
Before you add this cordless trimmer to your cart, here are the two things the Amazon listing skips over, and why I still keep it in my shed anyway.
I bolted the StoreYourBoard 36-inch wall rack into my shed last spring to get shovels and rakes off the floor for good. A year and four seasons of muddy boots later, here's what actually held up.
Nobody mentions the hook that slides, the studs that don't line up on a narrow wall, or how much wall space a 36-inch rack actually eats in a small shed. Here's the version of this review I wish someone had written before I ordered mine.
I bought the Root Slayer serrated shovel in April to deal with a silver maple's root system that had taken over half my back bed. Here's what a full season of digging through root-choked clay taught me about it.
The five-star reviews skip the sore forearms, the dented shipping box, and the fact that this thing costs a lot more than a plain spade. Here's what I'd tell you before you order one.
I picked up the Green Mount 24-inch watering wand in May to get water to my hanging baskets without dragging the step stool out every morning. Here's what a full summer of watering baskets, raised beds, and borders with it actually taught me.
Before you add this to your cart, here's what the five-star reviews and the product photos don't mention, the drip, the balance, the fit right out of the box, and whether it still earned a spot by my back door after two seasons of actually using it.
I picked up the CKLT manual lawn edger in April to clean up the border between my lawn and the front walkway, a job I'd been putting off for two summers. Here's what a full season of stepping on that half-moon blade taught me, including the parts nobody puts in the product photos.
Every photo on the CKLT lawn edger's listing shows a blade gliding through turf like it's nothing. Mine did not do that on day one. Here's what the listing leaves out, and why I still ended up keeping the thing.
