Gardens can be full of challenging scenarios, with tight corners to get into and narrow spaces between plants to access. To penetrate those nooks and crannies, you need the right tools. Here are 16 of the best garden tools for getting into tight spaces and making your life easier.
It doesn’t matter what size garden you have, since any space will have harder-to-reach areas. Whether it is small gaps between plants and walls or fences, around perennials in a packed herbaceous border, or a tight canopy of shrubs and trees. Standard tools are not always suited to these scenarios, so compact or extendable versions become essential gardening tools for getting into these challenging spaces.
Over the years, I have regularly had to squeeze myself between trees, shrubs, or walls to prune, or needed the extra reach of long-handled tools to get to weeds tucked in seemingly impenetrable spaces.
Thankfully, there is a wide range of clever tools that make working in smaller spaces or accessing tight areas much more manageable. I have regularly used a long-reach tool like this Zenport long-reach pruner at The Home Depot to trim stems from a distance - those too high or impossible to reach with traditional pruners.
A hand rake, like this Fiskars hand rake at Amazon, is also a favorite tool of mine for extending my reach into beds to clear material or debris around the base of shrubs. The Berry & Bird long-handle fork, also on Amazon, is a weeding tool that gives valuable extra reach. It means you can reach between plants to remove weeds or prepare the soil.
When it comes to pruning tools, the Felco pruning snips on Amazon have long, straight blades that are perfect for getting into tight spaces for light trimming, and a set of extendable loppers or hedge shears allows you to reach into a packed canopy or cut along a wall or fence from a distance without having to battle with plants.
Getting the right tools is important, but so is caring for those tools properly. Looking after your tools extends their lifespan and keeps them working at their best year after year.
One fundamental practice is cleaning garden tools regularly. This protects them from rust and stops you from unwittingly transferring diseases around the garden. Tools can be cleaned with warm water, detergent, and a stiff brush. They should then be dried and sprayed with oil (such as WD40, available at Walmart) to reduce rust.
Another important aspect of good care is storing garden tools over winter. Never leave them outside exposed to the elements. Give them a good cleaning and oil before storing them off the floor in a shed or garage. Use a hanging wall rack or tool rack, like this garden tool organizer at The Home Depot.
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