Page 4 2026 Spring Home and Garden LINCOLN DAILY NEWS April 2026 Tools Avid gardeners usually spend their time dreaming of the vegetables, flowers, and other plants they look forward to planting, growing, caring for, and harvesting once they are in the ground. They may not give too much thought to garden tools. However, what you choose to work with in the garden can make a big difference according to Lisa Wrage, an awardwinning local horticulturist with 50 years of horticulture experience using a wide range of garden tools. She presented her best advice to gardeners at the Logan County Master Gardeners Russel Allen Garden Day on March 22 in Lincoln. Her first emphasis was how important it is to buy quality garden tools because the investment is worthwhile. Quality tools make jobs easier with better outcomes because they are more ergonomically friendly and easier on the body, they stay sharp longer, contain better metals, and generally last longer. She recommends buying quality tools with replaceable parts when available. She only recommends buying cheap tools if you lose them frequently. Bright orange handles or adding bright green tape to handles can help prevent loss at garden sites or under mulch. When purchasing new tools, Wrage recommends first determining what kind of gardener you are. Are you hard core or more relaxed? Consider ergonomics and any personal limitations. Evaluate the task at hand and plan what you need, like a recipe. Top Five Gardening Tools 1. Tubtrug. A 10-gallon lightweight and flexible container for toting things. Red brand is durable with a handle that won’t crack. These containers are flexible and versatile for carrying clippings, tools, and supplies. 2. Hand pruners. When choosing hand pruners, think about the application in order to choose the best pair. Hand pruners come in both bypass and anvil varieties. A bypass pruner has a sharp, clean cut similar to scissors which is better for pruning live plants, shrubs, and trees. An anvil pruner cuts with a crushing mechanism, which does not produce a clean cut, but is useful for cutting dead wood. Wrage recommends goat shearing hand pruners for sharp, precision cuts and an easy grip. home gardener for the
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