Tool Kit for Effective Lawn Maintenance

Lawn Mower

Of course the workhorse of your tool kit will be the good old trusted lawn mower. I have highlighted in other articles, the reason I recommend the Greenworks range of lawn mowers and those reasons are very valid in my view. To recap, I am recommending a lightweight, maintenance-free, quiet, cost competitive and most importantly effective machine from which you can expect years of good service.

Batteries

Yet another benefit of going with a standardized electric range such as Greenworks is that you really will need only two batteries; one to be in use while the other is charging. The fact is that the entire Greenworks range of tools can be used on the same battery. This is an important feature as the cost of these tools are roughly 50% for the battery and 50% for the tool itself. After purchase of the first tool with two batteries and a charger, the price of the other tools are effectively cut in half as they can be bought without batteries.

Weed Whacker/Edge Trimmer

No matter how simple and neat the layout of your lawn, there are going to be those hard to reach areas which cannot be covered by the lawn mower. For these areas as well as any edging against driveways, around plants etc. the matching Greenworks Edge trimmer is a must have.

Blower

I have found that the lawn mower, when used with the collection bag, eliminates the need for raking/blowing and produces a finely chopped bag of cuttings which may be used as mulch. However again for the driveways, walkways and other paved areas, a cordless blower is an invaluable addition to your lawn care toolkit.

Hedge Trimmer

I grew up in the countryside in the days when hedge trimmers were unheard of in those parts, and as a result I became highly skilled in trimming a hedge with nothing but a long sharp blade using long swinging strokes. Luckily today the much more controllable and effective cordless hedge trimmer (using the same battery pack) make the job a breeze.

Chain saw attachment

Both the hedge trimmer as well as the chain saw can be purchased as an attachment to go on a pole which can be adjusted from about 6 feet to 15 feet. This can make the job of pruning trees as well as shaping larger shrubs around the house quite a doable task, with professional looking results.

Accessories

The major consumable accessory is string for the edge trimmer. Other than that, the chain saw attachment needs some special lubricating oil. This being somewhat of a delicate piece of equipment, my recommendation is to go with the manufacturers brand to ensure long life of the chain saw

Final thoughts

In addition, it will be useful at some point to have the regular range off hand tools to supplement your tool kit e.g. cutlass, rake, hoe, fork, shovel etc. In the end, with a relatively small kit of tools, and a dedication of a portion of your time which may be otherwise be allocated to the gym for example, you can begin to derive the benefits of a well-kept lawn while saving some money, training your children, getting some exercise and having the pride of having completed this job yourself.