"What do you long for that will make your gardening easier?"

A handsome young Italian man, living in my storage shed, who comes out to do my every bidding. I guess that would fall under "esthetics" and "convenience".

Well schoolhouse he would also be "decorative" when he was resting...getting a big drink of water...mopping off the sweat...ahem...sorry...ask if he has a brother or cousin.

I don't mind pick ax/mattock labor and have no way to really incorporate convenience . For now all my extra dollars are going into finishing the hardscape...pictures by the end of next week and I bought plants plants plants...with a drought again in full force here and 100 degrees expected for every day next week...sigh. c

Ha ha! I was just going to say a covey of servants.

-Christine, would this young Italian man ever get around to doing any yard work? ;-)

I suppose there are a great many machines that would make it easier for me, like a chain-saw (for my many fast-growing trees planted too close to power lines). I do need to get a weed-whacker. I always procrastinate with buying those type of things though. And if I can save a buck (which can be saved for plants!) by doing it the hard old way I will do it.

As for yard art, I always get annoyed when I see places over-pricing yard art and such. I always end up not getting something and just making a particular plant into a focal point. This year I do plan to get at least one decoration of some kind. I really want a statue, like of a Greek goddess.
CMK

{{gwi:691997}}

Here he comes! But,he'd probably bring his mama too.

For years, I had to do most everything the hard way and by myself; only when I retired did I reward myself with some garden machines. I still grab the shovel the most though. The only thing I really would want now that's not necessary but decorative would be that tiny cottage in the orchard.

Schoolhouse, now that is a yard ornament!

I actually have all the machinery I need to do the work, mower with garden cart, shredder, tiller, trimmer....thinking about an edger I heard about that is supposed to be good., chain saw and all the hand tools.

I am at about the 4 hours a day limit for hard work though whether is is machinery assisted or not.

Not buying many plants either unless they fit in with my lower maintenance goal.

Would this be like a "mulch guy"?

I have heard of them, over on the Texas forum. I think it would fall under the catagory of "dreaming". LOL

DH would not mind a bit if I hired a woman to help me weed and such, but he probably would draw the line at a mulch guy. The lady I hired once pulled every one of my zinnia seedlings. Why do I always get the ones who don't know seedlings are the things growing sort of in rows, all in a general area, with no other plants around them?

The mulch guy wouldn't actually have to do anything, so how much can it cost? Less than the weeder lady, I bet.

Janie

Christin's Greek Goddess statue will eat much less than that young man with the huge appetite, or a mulch guy.

LOL to all of you! You've made my afternoon!

I'm not Italian and I make a pitiful specimen shirtless, but I do most of my work by hand. My dad bought me a tiller when I started working on the potager. I've used it a lot.

The rest of my yard was done the hard way. I've gotten blisters from the mattock. I've hauled more loads of compost in the wheelbarrow than I can count. Large rocks and stones were moved when the almanac said it would be easiest. Two large ones are still sitting where I dug them out of the ground. They'll become the base of the firepit this winter.

And have you noticed, anything you do on a ladder takes 4 times longer than the things you can do on firm ground?

ROTFLMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I happily spend on plants, decorative items, etc., but am super-cheap when it comes to paying to rent or buy machinery. Besides, I actually enjoy going into a patch of lawn and digging it up with the shovel, then removing all the soil from each chunk by hand. It has saved me hundreds in therapy fees over the years. What might actually help me most in the garden is to lose about 50 pounds, so I can get down on the ground and then back up easier than I can now.

In the realm of dreams: A large very lightweight hat that would magically always stay on my head providing cooling shade and have a built in mist system. That or a back yard air conditioner. The mulch guy sounds pretty good too. Maybe he could wave a fan and fetch cooling drinks.

Reality: Water piped close enough to the garden and flowerbeds so that I don't have to haul miles of garden hose that always seems to kink itself into pretzels. A set of low voltage lights. Some flagstones or stepping stones.

Tom - my heartfelt sympathy. I can relate the no hearts felt responses. My DD would have more than happily helped with all of this, or more. Janet - it takes time. - pace yourself, and keep in touch.

Nancy.

I put off lots of the hardscape around here for years until I saved up some money. Then I had the terracing projects done over the next three years to create more usable garden space. I don't know how to do such things myself and it would be too much for me, even if I did know how.

Well after years of doing things the difficult way my back now refuses to do it that way anymore. A word to the wise.

However, I have my "handyman" (DH) who does the heavy stuff and picks up the slack. He has a chain saw (maybe 2), an ATV with trailer, 2 wheelbarrows, rototiller, cement mixer, lawnmower, weed-whacker, and pick-up truck. We used to have a couple of tractors when we had the farm as well as a post pounder. All very handy and most are fairly necessary on a large acreage. Some of that equipment was bot 2nd hand altho the current truck is new so we now need an old one for the dirty work (won't haul manure or rocks in a new pick-up). I have two large metal kid's wagons to haul weeds. Very handy pieces of "equipment" for me. $10 in a yard sale for a nice wagon is worth it.

Having machinery doesn't mean one doesn't still work very hard tho. It mostly means some jobs get done that otherwise couldn't. Years ago DH hauled some huge rocks in the tractor bucket that couldn't be moved any other way. Wouldn't have had a rockery without them and likely wouldn't have paid anyone to do it.

We're mostly DIY'ers - have done a concrete patio, concrete rhubarb leaf stepping stones, hypertufa pots, but do hire work when we can't do it with what we have. Well worth it to have someone do certain jobs like the fencing we have going on now. DH used to do a lot of it himself but I'm glad we no longer have the post pounder so he can't. Not a piece of equipment I ever liked much.

What would make my gardening easier this year is a bit more rain and a lot fewer mosquitoes. I'd love to have an automatic underground watering system for the garden. Have only had that in one property and it was fantastic. I'm really tired of hauling hoses everywhere. The new 100 foot hose weighs a lot. Wish we had had a standpipe put in at the end of the garden when we had all that infrastructure done years ago. Have a couple out in the pasture which we don't need anymore but would cost too much to have another one put in. Anything that requires big machinery is very expensive.

Living here in a very rural area I don't garden the same as I did on a city lot. It's a lot more casual, no paved driveway, more natural stepping stones, and everything isn't as "manicured". DH digs out the edges of the beds every spring to keep the lawn at bay.

I love garden art and look forward to the day DH has time to weld a pile of metal into something artistic. Til then I'll keep on with the garden junk from yard sales. Kinda like that look anyhow.

Not sure if I really answered your question - we do things the difficult way even tho we have some equipment. If we didn't have equipment we'd do what others do and either buy ready made (stepping stones) or pay someone else to do such things as the patio or other hardscaping.

One of the problems with living here is that there are not a lot of people who do landscaping. Maybe no one at the moment, haven't noticed any ads lately. So we don't have the same choices as others in less rural areas.

Schoolhouse, do those come in multiples???

As for machines, we have a couple of tractors that Sweetie restored - I'm a little hesitant to use them - I don't want to be the one who puts that first dent or scratch in the paint !! I usually leave the machinery work for him. I could do it - but it always turns out better when I wait for him.
I bartered for a green house, Sweetie had to take it down and he hurt his back while doing so - now I wonder if it will ever get put together again. Maybe some day.... and in a dream world I would have another well dug for water and some electricity.

Well, I started out as break your back, almost literally. After hauling nice rocks from a rock house being torn down, and bordering some flower beds, and then hauling lots of topsoil and mulch bags I took a break and had back surgery. Ten years later I am noticing I am doing too much back work again. It kinda creeps up on you. "Oh, this one bag won't hurt me."

I did treat myself to one luxury, though, started after the surgery. I have someone mow and trim for me. That has been a wonderful time saver, so I can do other gardening.

I do have a chain saw and that is invaluable. I am the only one on the block with one, and the men watch me enviously, saying their wives won't let them have one, lol!

I think I have every tool known to man or woman. DH sees to it. His motto is 'A tool for every Job, and every Job has it's own tool." And I can vouch for it! I never saw so many different kinds of pliers, or so many screwdrivers.

I have a lovely selection of pruning shears- he buys them when he sees a different style. I also have a terrific collection of hoes. We have 6 or 7 weed whackers, 2 riding mowers, 2 push mowers, wagons to follow behind the mowers, wheel barrows (5), carts, tree movers, 3 chain saws (gas), and for me, 3 chain saws (electric). Sprayers of all sorts, even one that I use to feed plants that airs itself up automatically.

However, the number one thing I have that makes back breaking labor easier is DH. If I say "I wish we had a,,," or "we need....." he jumps right in there and makes sure that I have it, quick. He is a jewel, a real keeper.

Janie

I think I need one of them DH'S!! lol. In the meantime, I cut my grass (only 1/3 acre), haul my garden soil and pea gravel - thank goodness for my pick-up - it is a great tool. I need to get my chainsaw working - half dead trees that need to come down, and I don't really want to do it in the heat of July and August.
I tend to move slowly in the am, warming up as were. I do the heavier things in the afternoon, if no body parts are complaining too much. So, what I really want?? A DH and 2 new knees. Waiting on the surgeon, 2 out of 3 ain't bad!! lol.

Nancy.

Janie,i think my DH is related to yours.He's never seen a garden tool he didn't need.LOLHe also does the heavy work,and buys a lot of plants,BUT he doesn't do his homework before buying plants,like is it for sun or shade,will it grow here.He's an impulse buyer,likes everything neat and tidy.I keep telling him plants aren't supposed to be lined up like little soldiers.Think he's finally getting it 10 years later.
I also like some garden junk in my gardens.
Kathi

For the first few years, most of my gardening $$ went towards plants. I did the all the digging, hauling & hardscaping myself, with some accompanying back problems.

Now that I've got plants that are dividable and/or producing seeds & material for cuttings, I'm spending less on plants and more on water bills. Even though I try to stick with drought tolerant stuff, it still takes a lot of water to keep everything alive through our rainless summers.

I never thought about it till reading Janie's post, but I hardly ever buy gardening tools.

I have the basic tools -- shovels, wheelbarrow, cordless trimmer for quick deadheading.

I'm trying to think if there is a tool that would make my gardening easier and I don't think so. I spread all of the soil by hand myself, but I had a dump truck deliver it.

My husband helps with heavy lifting of rocks and mulch. My son, when home, has dug a lot of large holes for me since he's an expert digger (archaeologist). The other son laid a patio and a flagstone path for me. We paid a landscaper to install the waterfall/stream, the fence and a few big trees when we built the house. Since then, I've not had anyone do anymore garden projects outside the family -- the four of us.

I was working when we built the house and now I'm retired and trying not to use my retirement account (living on savings and freelance writing) because of the economy. So, I guess I'm more likely to break my back. It's good exercise!

My husband is actually trying to get me to expand the garden, but I keep telling him that I've got as much as I can handle now. If the garden gets larger, I'll need help.

Cameron

I usually break my back. In fact, in my younger days, I was pretty strong. Now I'm a few years past 50, so I have to slow down. Still I do all the yard work (mowing, edge by hand), and always have done the gardening and composting, mulching. DH will do a DIY project for me and has been wonderful about that. In Louisiana he built an arbor and pergola. Here he's built compost bins, picket fences, gates, put up trellises, hangs birdhouses, mounts purple martin houses and the like. He was the one who was digging holes when we first moved here, but we learned about clay and to wait til the opportune time to dig, a few days after a rain, and so now I do virtually all of the digging. I dread the day I have to hire someone to do yard work, becoz I am very cheap by nature. I look for bargains, rarely spend any big money on something. Maybe a couple hundred on a nice steeping stone path. But mostly I buy bargains, look for clearance items, winter sow, take cuttings. Get free mulch and compost when I can and if not, buy a few bags at a time, like 4 bags every couple weeks. Sometimes I'll splurge on an antique rose, mailorder. This week I ordered a raised bed kit for a veggie area, 2 depths, and a frame to put a sort of row cover over. The cost with shipping was $144 and I consider this a big expense.

I don't use anything but a power mower. I just coughed up $28 for a titanium spade, though. Wow is that thing wonderful! Like a knife through hot butter, even in really hard packed clay soil. Otherwise I am pretty cheap and will not spend money on more gizmo's and machines that I don't know how to maintain.

Only 108 pounds here - that's easy "Break my Back"....

Carrie

My dh buys far too many tools and gadgets. They are seldom used but have to be stored. I refuse to use them for the most part (old protester here) and prefer to do most work with simple tools like my trusty shovel and clippers.

There is one (impossible) tool that would make my gardening efforts so much more enjoyable, though...a thermostat I could use to cool the summer days to a reasonable temperature. It is so very hard to do the work when it's in the high 90s and humid as well!