garden essentials

Fall has arrived here in New England, and it is a beautiful time to be out working in the yard. Copious amounts of sod are being laid by the head groundskeeper (Dan;) with still more to do. I keep reminding him that he's only making lots more work for himself (i.e. mowing) but it doesn't seem to deter his desire to have more grass. Fall is the perfect time to plant grass and trees, and this week we are hoping to get two new sugar maples to replace ones missing from the row of antique maples that line the road.
Remember: It is never too late to plant a new tree!!

After spending so much time in the yard this past summer I realized that I have a very specific group of basic items that I always have with me while out working.   Here are my garden essentials and some of my favorite garden things!


garden book:
A gift from a dear friend when we moved from Dallas.  She knew I would want to have a new book for my new yard here.  I'm not very diligent about keeping it current during the season, but for me fall is the perfect time to write down all my notes of projects we accomplished, plants I liked/didn't like, suggestions for next year's pots or beds, etc.  I always think I will remember next year, but once spring comes the previous season is but a sweet memory.

 garden gloves:

I l.o.v.e. these West County Gloves.  My gloves are their "work" gloves.  I have never owned a better garden glove- ever.  Besides being an amazingly durable (I've been putting them to the test for the last three years) and comfortable glove they also remind me of a very special memory.   I purchased the gloves at Bunny William's house the first time I met her (here)- not to be confused with the time we went to her house for lunch (here) !!  :):)

flip flops:

I grew up wearing flip flops in the summer (back then we called them "thongs";) and can not imagine gardening without them!  There is always at least one pair at every door!   My perfect weather to garden includes shorts, a hoodie and flip flops!

hat- straw or baseball,

 and my sweet garden-helper " Ella": 

(In this photo Ella has been out in the yard "helping" me for several hours and is now headed up to get on our bed, or "Mama's bed" as we call it.   It is her favorite place to nap.:)

coil hose:

Last year was my first year to use a coil hose and I've been hooked ever since!  As opposed to my yard in Dallas where I could water my entire back yard from one hose long hose (attached to an automatic hose wind box which is the best money you can spend if you live where it is hot.  Nothing is worse than having to hand-crank a 100 foot hose in 100 degree temperatures, trust me!) here my garden beds are in different locations and have different hose bibs/spigot (depending on what part of the country you are from;).  Instead of lugging around a huge hose these little coil hoses let me water each bed and then neatly hide the hose out of sight.   Love that!

 

 mat:

Actually this was my late father's mat.  My mother made it for him to use when he did his sit-ups.  It makes me happy to have it in the garden with me and use it while planting/weeding.

apple basket:

I've always used old baskets for weeding in the yard.  They are much easier to come by here in New Hampshire with all of the u-pick apple orchards!

French tote:

Purchased in L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue  many years ago, it had seen better days and sat tucked away in my closet until one day when I realized that even with its worn handles it would be the perfect holder to carry all my garden things to my job site!  Several pairs of different sized clippers, gloves, stainless weeder, kleenex,  hand-shovel, camera, phone, etc.  fill the tote.

 

stainless steel weeder:

I once had a cheap one that was metal.  It broke.  This stainless steel version with the reinforcement bar lets me dig up small trees with ease!

This was my favorite plant find of the season! 

I have loved this Mexican Giant Hyssop "Acapulco Orange."  This is the only perennial in my yard that bloomed the entire summer.   Its coral blooms made my gardener's heart very happy, and then to top it off it smells great- the foliage has a lovely citrusy fragrance.





 

 

So, what are your garden essentials?!