Whenever I hear the phrase “Many hands make light the work,” I think of an old cartoon depicting an Egyptian pharaoh uttering that phrase as he watches thousands of enslaved people straining to drag an enormous stone obelisk across the desert sands.
As a new member of the Garden Club of Amherst, last spring I helped with the long, laborious process of digging, potting and labeling of plants for the annual GCA plant sale. It’s a truly Herculean effort that requires many hands over many days. One of my big takeaways from last year’s event is that good tools make light work of onerous tasks.
I’ve always tended to follow my mother’s cheapskate approach to gardening, never splurging on high-quality (i.e. expensive) garden tools. Each tool does pretty much the same thing as its pricier counterpart, right? Wrong! Rakes, spades and pruners are not all created equal. In that spirit, as the holiday season is upon us, here are several garden tools worth splurging on for the gardeners in your life, and of course for yourself.
The first item I discovered while working with fellow garden clubbers is the “Root Slayer,” a V-shaped shovel with sharp serrated edges and a step that lets you throw your heft into the work. For too long I’ve been attacking overcrowded daylilies and other entrenched perennials with feeble shovels and trowels. The process was so arduous I’d throw in the trowel, as it were, never accomplishing what I’d set out to do. The Root Slayer is a game changer. It cuts through root-tangled soil so easily that seemingly impossible garden tasks are suddenly manageable. At the end of an afternoon of root slaying I don’t feel like I’ve been wrestling with alligators. The tool costs around $60, but it’s worth every penny.
The Root Slayer comes in a smaller size that’s easier to carry around in the garden. And with a name like Root Slayer you might even be able to persuade your youngsters to get in on the act!
Another indispensable tool the GCA introduced to me is the Japanese Hori Hori knife. The knife has a sturdy 7-inch stainless steel blade that’s straight on one side and serrated on the other. Remember the days of using back-to-back pitch forks to separate plants? I made my husband try that with me once and it was a disaster. Think of the Hori-Hori knife as the Robin to the Root Slayer’s Batman. Once you’ve dug up a stubborn clump of plants with the Root Slayer, use the Hori Hori knife to make clean divisions.
The Hori Hori knife can do practically anything in the garden. Those of us gardeners who take advantage of end-of-season nursery sales know all too well how intractable root balls become when confined to a pot for five or six months. This knife hacks through the root ball of potted plants like sponge cake. And the blade is marked in inches, which makes it perfect for planting bulbs. Just plunge the knife in to the desired depth, wiggle it around a few times, and pop in the bulb. The knife is great for cutting open bags of potting soil too. It fits well in the hand and is easy to work with. The knife comes with a leather sheath for storing the super-sharp blade (a good thing since you could lose a finger or two rooting around for an unsheathed knife at the bottom of your tool bag).
On a smaller scale, any gardener will appreciate receiving a lightweight tool belt. I can’t count the number of tools I’ve dropped in the garden only to forget where I’ve left them. While you’re at it, include a roll of bright red duct tape! Garden Supply and Wanczyk Evergreen Nursery in Hadley are good places to look for holiday gifts. Brightly colored trugs and gloves are never out of fashion!
A holiday gift of a different sort has appeared on the Rail Trail in early December for the past several years. Some imaginative holiday-minded soul decorates a small juniper tree with ornaments and garlands of colored balls. The tree itself is nothing special; it could make an appearance in Charlie Brown’s Christmas. Additional ornaments show up every day on the meager boughs, most likely hung on the tree by trail walkers wanting to share their own measure of good cheer. (My husband and I have contributed several weather-proof baubles on our early morning outings.)
Like the lovingly decorated mouse house and the poetry box on the Emily Dickinson trail in memory of Charlie Parham, modest community efforts like this are immeasurably rewarding. The juniper tree offers a bit of unexpected comfort and joy in the midst of our over-commercialized holiday season.