Essential garden maintenance tools

ARTICLE Donna Blaber  First published in Renovate magazine

Autumn is the time to get out in the garden and trim, tidy and prune overgrown trees, shrubs and perennials. It will keep your garden looking good through the winter and make it a lot more productive next year.

Keo Garden Saw

The Bosch Keo makes light work of clearing branches, pruning trees, shrubs, and bushes, and shaping woody hedges. With a push of a trigger it effortlessly cuts branches up to 80mm and its detachable A-frame grip holds unsupported branches, so you don’t have to use both hands. What’s more, it comes with an ergonomically designed handle and is fitted with lithium-ion batteries. With no memory effect and no self-discharge the Keo is always ready to use, delivering 30 to 190 cuts per battery charge. 

Ciso Cordless Secateurs

The Ciso Cordless Secateurs are the world’s first secateurs to be powered by lithium-ion technology and this, combined with its unique Power-Blade System, makes pruning a breeze! Effortlessly cutting through branches up to 14mm thick, it’s capable to delivering more than 200 cuts with one battery charge. 

ISIO Cordless Shrub Shear

Light, compact and powerful, these shears are ideal for effortlessly cutting small hedges, and for sculpting patio or garden bushes into shape. Featuring an Anti-Blocking System (an electric anti-stall device), the ISIO doesn’t give up the ghost when tackling hard to manage branches, and delivers a clean cut every time. Equipped with lithium-ion batteries, up to 600 running metres of hedge can be cut at a time. 

PowerGear II Bypass Lopper

Fiskars loppers are made of fibreglass reinforced polyamide so they are lightweight and strong, easily slicing through branches up to 50 mm. The loppers come equipped with a PowerGear mechanism which increases the cutting power and distributes it evenly, plus PowerStep technology which allows users to make one-step or multiple-step cuts. Fiskars loppers come in three different models: anvil, or bypass with a hook or scissor head; the bypass loppers with a hook head, perfect for cutting fresh wood, are pictured here.  www.fiskars.com

PowerGear Hedge Shear

With cushion stoppers to protect the muscles in your hand, Fiskars Hedge Shears are suitable for a range of different cutting needs in the garden whether you’re trimming the hedge or tidying up bushes and edges. The unique gear mechanism and lever system enable heavy cutting, while the lightweight fibreglass handles, reinforced with polyamide, make garden trimming easy. www.fiskars.com

PowerGear Bypass Pruner

Ergonomically designed for comfort and ease of use, these pruners are recognised as the best in their category by many gardeners and industry experts. Made from extra durable fibreglass reinforced with polyamide, the handle rotates allowing the use of all fingers simultaneously. The sharp PTFE coated stainless steel blades are easy to replace and are secured by an accessible locking mechanism when the pruner is not in use. www.fiskars.com

Pruning Tips & Tricks

·       Begin by cutting off any diseased, dead or otherwise damaged wood.

·       Cut off any branches which cross or rub against each other.

·       Other cuts should be made to create an open shape, providing space for new growth.

·       When pruning stand back and take a look from time to time to check on the shape.

·       Remember that it’s better to remove three or four of the oldest stems each year than to remove too much.

·       Make clean cuts and don’t leave snags of wood which can become diseased.