10 Gardening Gadgets That Save Time and Stress – and the One I Use Most Costs Less Than $7

I love gardening, I truly do. But I like sitting on the patio, glass in hand and gazing at the paradise I’ve grown, just as much as I enjoy actually creating it. So I have more than a few trusty garden gadgets that speed up the more tiresome gardening jobs and take the stress out of the trickier, time-consuming backyard tasks. I'm very happy to spend hours planting new perennials, you see, but keeping on top of the day-to-day weeding and watering? I just want to save time and effort so I can spend it all on the good stuff, thankyou very much.

There are all manner of gadgets for gardening on the market, and I won’t be the first to say that plenty don’t deliver what they promise. And trust me, I've tried more than my fair share as a gardening editor. But now and again, a garden gadget that's genuinely useful in my quest for a lovely yet low maintenance garden comes along.

So in the name of efficient gardening, let's save time and cut straight to the good bit, shall we? These are the nifty garden tools and accessories that make the biggest difference in my backyard.

1. Reusable Plant Ties

Whether you’re staking tomatoes or tying a climbing vine to a trellis, this Velcro strip is so quick and easy to use. Just cut the roll of One-Wrap Garden Ties to length to make reusable, adjustable plant ties that are soft for stems yet strong enough to stay firm, whatever the weather throws at them. Made from 65% recycled plastic and durable to re-use time and time again, it’s a sustainable alternative to standard plant ties.

For climbers that you regularly chop back, such as passion flower and most clematis, these touch-and-fasten ties make the chore of re-tying much less tedious. I use it for all sorts of garden tasks from temporary fence-mends to securing bundles of bamboo canes for storage, too.

2. No-Kink Stretchy Hose

Are you still struggling with a hose that continually kinks and interrupts the water supply, that you have to wrestle back into a tidy pile after every use? Then you need to treat yourself to an expandable garden hose. A stretchy hose grows as it fills with water, then shrinks back to a tiny size once you turn the tap off. It’s super-flexible in its empty state, too, so you can simply dump it in an old plant pot to store.

You do have to be careful not to over-stretch expandable hoses, but they're available in all sorts of lengths from 25 to 100 feet so, whatever the size of your backyard, there's one that'll reach.

3. Cordless Foliage Trimmer

As a kid, I used to give my Barbie dolls some pretty barbaric haircuts, and I get just the same joy using a pair of cordless trimmers in the garden now. Hopefully, the result is a little more presentable. With the grass cutter blades fitted, I can tidy up the lawn edges alongside the raised beds, where the lawnmower blades never quite reach. And while the shrubbery trimmer blade isn’t big enough for any serious hedge action, it does a good job of shaping finer foliage such as hebe. I also use it to clear dead stems and clumps of ornamental grass after winter.

4. Weeder For Small Spaces

I’m a big fan of the Sneaky Weeder, though at first glance it seemed a high pricetag for a not-quite-foot-long piece of plastic and metal. But this tool has been created by the folk behind Seeding Square, a system designed to grow maximum veggies in minimum garden space. And because I pack a lot into my veggie patch, paying zero heed to planting distances, this little tool is so useful to remove all the annual weeds that pop up here, there and everywhere. It’s small and precise enough to use closely around crops and its action doesn’t disturb the soil in the way pulling weeds up by hand does, leaving my veggies to grow in peace.

5. Bulb-Planting Auger Drill Bit

I love bulbs, but I hate planting them. So, if you fancy adding a drift of daffodils to your front yard or a sweep of alliums across a border, then you need to know that an auger drill bit will save you hours of digging and backache. There are various sizes of spiral auger to suit different bulbs, that fit a standard drill with an adjustable chuck. Water the soil before you drill to make the job even faster, and do wear gloves and safety glasses.

6. Micro Chainsaw For Easy Pruning

A mini chainsaw may be small but it can power through branches up to 6 inches in diameter. So, if you’ve got trees or shrubs in your garden that need regular pruning, this will do all the hard work for you. Mine gets used for all sorts of DIY projects, too.

You don’t need any strength to operate a mini chainsaw – the chain cuts smoothly and steadily through wood without any pressure applied. As it's designed for one-handed use, it’s lightweight too. This model is powered by a rechargeable battery that gives 40–60 minutes of cutting time. Do wear gloves and safety goggles, and do try to resiste that sudden urge to go all Army of Darkness on your shrubs.

7. Simple Crop-Boosting Tray

If you’re growing tomatoes or peppers outdoors, then an Automator Tray is a really simple yet effective way to boost your harvest by as much as 40%. There’s no magic here, just good ol’ common sense. The tray warms the soil and helps it retain moisture, and directs water and plant food to the roots, creating optimum growing conditions. It makes watering quicker, too, and the more consistent soil moisture levels help to reduce splitting and cracking.

8. Handy Holiday Plant Waterers

Pop a watering spike over the neck of an old wine or beer bottle filled with water, then push into the soil, and you have yourself a drip-irrigation system that’ll keep plants happy while you’re on holiday. The clay is porous so releases water really slowly, and a litre bottle of water will last for around 7–10 days. The interior diameter of these spikes is 1.44 inches so they'll accommodate most bottles.

9. Sharp Mini Snips For Deadheading

These Fiskars Herb Garden Scissors are designed for harvesting herbs but I find they’re the best deadheading tool out there. They’re only 5 inches long with ergonomic, soft-grip handles so they fit very comfortably in your hand, and the spring design makes snipping off faded flowers almost effortless. Which, when you’ve got a border stuffed with blooms that need regular snipping if they're to flower all summer, allow you to escape the usual hand fatigue of deadheading. They’re best for slim-stemmed plants such as cosmos and bachelor’s buttons, which also happen to be the plants that need most deadheading!

10. Stand-Up Lawn Weed Puller

Weeding lawns is a never-ending task but this Stand-Up Weed Puller Tool takes all the sweat out removing unwanted plants, even pernicious perennial weeds with long tap roots like dandelions. Step on the foot platform to push the four serrated stainless steel claws over the weed, then tilt to pull the plant out, no bending down necessary. The ergonomic handle is shaped to reduce wrist strain and the shaft is made of lightweight aluminum.