Spring has sprung and it's thyme (see what we did there?) to get your garden ready for planting and growing all the fruit, veggies, and blooms of your green thumb dreams. Getting back into your garden after a long winter can be overwhelming, but a spring refresher is a great way to relax and unwind.
We hope to ease your winter woes with our favorite tools sets for beginner gardeners and horticulturists alike. Get your garden in shape by the times temperatures rise with our high-quality gardening tools and tips on gardening for produce and pollinators.
Gardening Gloves
For new gardeners and experienced planters, we recommend keeping your hands safe while you work through the winter weeds that may have left your spring garden a mess. Whether it's protecting against thorns, going for extra grip, or just for keeping your hands soft, we recommend gloves for your garden projects.
Our Garden Gloves are made from soft and durable vegan leather and breathable cotton back to keep your hands protected while planting, weeding, and pruning.
Root Lifter
The Root Lifter included with our Gardening Gloves Set makes this combo the ultimate dynamic duo for cleaning up your winter garden. Root Lifters are a great tool for removing deep rooted weeds without disturbing the rest of your garden.
This tool is crafted with a sturdy beechwood handle and quality stainless steel forked end to leave your spring beds free of roots and weeds. This tool helps get all your pesky weeds out with ease!
Fork and Trowel Set
The best pair of tools for the all-around gardener - this Fork and Trowel Set makes it easy to get back into the planting after the winter season. The cranked neck on the hand trowel and fork will protect your knuckles while cultivating your raised beds or balcony gardens.
These stainless steel gardening tools are rust-resistant and easy to clean so they are made to last season after season. The beechwood handles are a sturdy base and provide a tight grip for tougher replanting projects.
Hori Hori Knife
The Hori Hori Knife is a traditional Japanese gardening knife – Hori Hori translates to “Dig Dig” but you can do much more than digging with this versatile tool! Think of the Hori Hori knife as the Swiss army knife of your garden – this stainless-steel tool can dig, cut, measure, and saw making it the ultimate gardener’s companion.
Our Hori Hori knife features inch and millimeter notches to measure the ideal planting depth and spacing between seeds. The pointed tip makes breaking ground and digging a quick and easy task. With one serrated saw edge side, cutting roots and trimming plants isn't a chore. The beechwood handle helps you have a sturdy grip for all your common garden tasks.
Terracotta Water Spikes
For new gardeners and plant parents, over watering is a common mistake and can lead to frustration as you learn the ideal watering cycle for your favorite plants. Save yourself from both under-and-overwatering with our Terracotta Water Spikes that release water as your plant's soil dries out.
These watering spikes are designed to work with long-necked bottles for large plants or beer bottles for small plants to serve as an environmentally-friendly way to upcycle your bottles and water your plants at the same time!
Plant waterers are also a great hack for keeping plants well cared for while you go on vacation or work trip. No one wants to come home to wilting leaves! Avoid sad plants and stunted growth with our water spikes, so your plants are well-watered and thriving while you're away.
More Tips
While we may not have to grow everything we eat, gardening is a rewarding past time that leaves you with tasty food from your own backyard. Gardening has also shown to help with your mental health by improving mood, boosting self esteem, and improving attention (Source). Here are some helpful resources to make sure your garden yields food you can eat all season long!
First and Last Frost Dates - Frost can kill young plants if you aren't careful. With this helpful guide, you can enter in your zip code and get an estimate of when it is safe to transport your plants to your outdoor garden area.
Garden Planting Calendar - The ever trusty Almanac is available online and makes it easy to calculate when to start your seeds indoors, plant seedlings, and move seeds outdoors by zip code. This list includes comprehensive vegetable lists for Spring and Fall plants.
Home Gardening Growing Guide - Whether it's flowers or vegetables, these growing guides from Cornell University help gardeners by showcasing a plant's ideal sunlight levels, soil mixtures, maintenance and more. Really get to know what you are growing with this resource.
Gardens aren't just for veggies and sweet fruits though. Outdoor flower beds and succulent gardens are a great way to attract wildlife and make your home into a habitat for butterflies, birds, and bees. Below are a few resources that we recommend for finding the best plants for making a pollinator friendly habitat.
Pollinator-Friendly Native Plant Lists - This resource by the Xerces Society allows users to select their state/providence and be taken to a list of pollinator friendly flowers. This helpful guide breaks down the flowers, trees, and shrubs by planting time, color, watering needs, and informational material about what species you can expect to see.
Pollinator Conservation Resource Center - This regional map from the Xerces Society allows users to view Pollinator Conservation Resources for habitat assessment, habitat installation, plant lists, habitat maintenance, pesticide protection, and more.
Native Plants Finder (By Zip Code) - The National Wildlife Federation created this helpful resource so gardeners can simply put in their zip code and discover native plants for their area. These results are also ranked by the number of butterfly and moth species that use them as host plants for caterpillars.
Whether you have a small balcony, large backyard, or set up a pop-up greenhouse for the season, you can garden anywhere with some proper planning and high-quality tools.
Gentlemen's Guidebook is a blog for exploration, discovery, and adventure brought to you by Gentlemen's Hardware and Barrel & Oak. If you have any questions or requests, please reach out to hello@gentlemenshardware.com.