Gardening Matters - Must Have Tools

with K.C. Fahy-Harvick

Whether you're a weekend gardener, or a professional, the job is always easier when you have the right tool. This is where you'll find all my favorites, my 'must haves', my ' don't leave home without them's'. Hawk's Nest Nursery evolved over the years according to what new tools or gadgets we had tried out, and whether we could procure them for our customers.

Now as a Garden Designer and consultant these tools mentioned on this page are TOPS on my list.

A Felco pruner will truly be the only pruner you will ever need or buy. They last forever. They make the Swiss Army Knife - need I say more? I replace the cutting blade every year, but the average gardener could go two to three years. Don't bother trying to sharpen them yourself, it is never satisfactory, and for $11 you can pop in a new blade. Here are the pruners I recommend and why:

Felco No. 6 - The best pruner for the flower gardener. Perfect size for the female hand (fine for guys too). Smaller blade for close pruning. I cut branches up to the diameter of my thumb, or delicate flowers for pressing. The universal favorite.
Felco No. 7 - Great pruner if you do alot of pruning, cutting, or if you have arthritis in your hands. The grip swivels to ease the strain, otherwise just like the No. 8. My new favorite. Order No. 10 for lefty's.
Felco No. 2 - The classic, the original. Larger blade and handle than the No. 6, straighter handle than the No. 8.
Felco No. 8 - Same as No. 2 only handle is angled for better gripping and more leverage.
Felco No. 9 -The lefty's No. 8.

FELCO FOLDING SAW - Another item in the Felco line that I love is their folding saw. You can saw some pretty big branches with this (up to 4 inches), and it folds neatly and safely away. Overall length 14", blade length 6".

MY TOOL BELT - I started using this 'tool belt' a couple of years ago when I began to do more garden installations and maintenance contracts. Until then most of my garden work was on my property and I use an old golf cart to get around and it has everything on it. I always kept my Felcos in my back jeans pocket, but it ends up wearing a hole and falling out!

I've given one of these to all my workers. Aprons don't work because they're in front of you, holsters only hold your pruners. This is made to hold a cell phone, but I fill mine up with tools. It stays put, and I can shove it around back when I need it out of the way.

Ask K.C. a gardening question at the
Gardening Matters Bulletin Board

K.C. Fahy-Harvick
240 Sylvan Road
Rochester, NY 14618
kcfh60@gmail.com