It’s time to set aside those manual gardening tools, and explore the world of garden gadgets. Using electronic tools, you can make light work of many garden chores ranging from cutting hedges to clearing up leaves. This delves into a few different types of garden gadget worth owning and things to look for when choosing the right equipment.

Examples of garden gadgets

Lawnmower

If you’ve got a lawn, you’re going to need a lawnmower. These machines come in many different forms from push mowers to ride-on mowers to automated robot mowers. The most powerful mowers use petrol, while electric mowers are cheaper to buy and lighter. There are two main cutting mechanisms to choose from: rotary mowers and cylinder mowers. Choose a rotary mower if your lawn is even. Cylinder mowers can provide a neater cut, but are only suited to flat terrain.

Grass trimmer

Also known as a strimmer or weed eater, these tools allow for more precise grass cutting. They use a rapidly spinning line to cut through grass and weeds. Use these tools for trimming the edges of lawns where mowers can’t reach and for cutting back brush. A battery powered weed eater is the most common solution, but you can also buy plug-in options.

Hedge trimmer

Trimming a hedge with secateurs and shears can be a laborious task. Electric hedge trimmers cut this work in half. They use motorized serrated blades to cut through twigs and small branches (larger branches may require a chainsaw). Hedge trimmers can be powered by petrol or electricity. Most electric trimmers are wireless.

Pressure washer

Pressure washers can be used to clean many outdoor hard surfaces including patios, decks, fences and walls. They use a high pressure stream of water to lift dirt and grime, saving hours spent manually scrubbing surfaces. Pressure washers use either an electric or gas engine.

Leaf blower

For clearing away leaves quickly, consider a leaf blower. The gadgets are able to quickly clear away leaves and debris from patios and lawns – they’re much more convenient than using a rake or a broom. Some leaf blowers have a vacuum option that allows you to collect leaves in a bag so that you’re not blowing leaves around. You can buy electric and gas-powered leaf blowers.

How to choose the right tool

When choosing gardening gadgets, consider your individual needs. Think about which applications are truly useful to you: hedge trimmers are only useful if you have hedges in your garden, while a leaf blower is only useful if you get a lot of leaves.

Once you’ve narrowed down which tools are necessary, focus on finding the right tool. There are a few factors that could be important to weigh up:

Cost

The price range of gardening gadgets can vary massively. Take lawnmowers as an example – there are basic electric models you can buy for $100 and ride-on models that you can buy for $3000. Basic pressure washers can similarly be bought for $100, while professional heavy-duty units can be bought for $1000+.

Know exactly what your budget is and stick within this. Used gardening gadgets will cost more than brand new models, but they may need to be repaired more often and may not be as fuel/energy efficient. Finance is available on many store-bought gadgets, and could allow you to access more high quality models. However, you need to consider whether spending extra is truly worthwhile – a top-end lawnmower is only necessary if you’re a true lawn enthusiast.

Power

Certain gardening situations may require more powerful tools. Compare mowing a small flat lawn to a large sloped lawn – the latter will require a mower with more oomph to cover ground more quickly and to tackle hills more easily. Meanwhile, with pressure washers, a low powered unit may be all that’s needed to clean a deck, while a patio may require a more powerful unit that can deliver more pressure.

Take your time to understand power ratings. Electric tools are typically less powerful than petrol tools, but can come in different wattage levels – a 1000 watt mower may be all you need for a small flat lawn, while tougher terrain may require a mower capable of 1800 watts or more. Petrol-powered tools are measured in terms of horsepower and engine capacity – more horsepower and engine capacity may be required for heavy-duty tasks. When it comes to pressure washers, PSI is used to measure the pressure level – a 500 to 1200 PSI pressure washer is all that is needed for a wooden deck, while patios benefit from 2500 to 3000 PSI models.

Portability

Some tools are heavier and bulkier than others. With electric tools, some are also plug-in, while others are battery-operated. This can all impact how portable a tool is.

Lighter, wireless tools are typically necessary in larger backyards – a heavy tool could be tiresome to use and you don’t want to be limited to the length of a cable. These tools can also be useful for seniors and those with mobility issues. When it comes to gardening in tight spaces, compact tools can also be better suited than larger tools.

Sometimes heavier tools may be necessary to deliver more power. However, there may be ways of making this extra less of a strain – for example, ride-on mowers can deliver lots of power and are typically better than having to manually push a heavy mower.

Noise

Want to keep the neighbors happy? Don’t overlook noise. For yards in densely packed urban areas, consider electric tools – these are much quieter than their petrol counterparts. In fact, there are some ultra-quiet electric tools now on the market.

Safety

Safety is paramount when operating electric or petrol powered tools. Most modern garden gadgets are designed to be extremely safe. Older used garden gadgets may not be quite as safe – both due to a lack of modern safety features and wear and tear. Only ever buy used garden gadgets from reliable sellers and look into reviews and safety ratings of tools to get an idea as to how safe they are.