Hello there! I am Pat Simpson. Now that you have purchase you new home, let us talk about the equipment that you are going to need to maintain your yard around your home. Let us talk first about power equipment. Now you are going to need a lawn mower. The lawn mowers are the king of the yard when it comes to maintaining your lawn and keeping it looking pristine the way that it should.

You want to buy a good quality lawn mower and take care of it and it is going to last you for years. This particular one has a Briggs and Stratton engine on it. It just happens to be a mulching mower, which means when you mow the lawn, the grass is sucked up underneath the deck and it cuts it the second time and mulches it back down into the lawn and acts as a natural fertilizer. So this is a very good choice of lawn mowers.

Now when you are done mowing the lawn, what about those areas on the lawn that the mower would not reach because of the deck bumping up into that area. You are going to need a string trimmer. That is what this is. A string trimmer is great for trimming around the edges of driveways or sidewalks or even fence post. Any areas that the lawn mower would not reach. This particular string trimmer has a four cycle engine on it. You can also get them with two cycle engines.

Now what the difference is a four cycle runs on gasoline only just like your lawn mower does, but you put oil in the crankcase. A two-cycle engine, you must mix the oil with the gas. And, generally speaking the four cycles have more power than do the two cycle engines.

Now another piece of power equipment that is great to have around the house is this, this is a pressure washer. And, you can use it as water through your garden hose through this pump and creates pressure 26/50 PSI, pounds per square inch. That is how much water is jetted through the one to do the cleaning.

They will come with different types of tips, for example, the fan nozzle. It is great for cleaning the deck as you fan back and forth to clean that wood. Once again, be sure and use this properly, read and follow the manufacturer’s instructions. Most importantly wear the goggles to protect your eyes when using the pressure washer.

Now this is a generator, what a great piece of equipment to have. If you have ever been without power for more than an hour or two you know exactly what I am talking about. This is your emergency power source. Now this is a 6300 watt generator. This number signifies how much electricity it is going to produce. So the higher this number, the more electricity you will get from this. You will never be with that power if you have a generator around your home somewhere. If this is full of fuel, you are going to get hours of run time from it if your power is out. Just be sure to check the oil frequently if your generator is running regularly.

Now let us talk about the yard equipment that is powered only by your muscle. Now first let us cover spreaders. This particular one here is called a broadcast spreader or a rotary spreader. You put your fertilizer or your seed, whatever you are distributing on to your lawn into the hopper and then the wheel on the bottom, the rotary, then broadcast the seed or fertilizer at or into the lawn. It covers a large area in a small amount of time.

This particular one is called a Drop Spreader just as the name implies. You put your materials into the hopper and it drops on to the lawn directly underneath the spreader as you roll the lawn. This one will cover more area in a smaller amount of time, less amount of time. This one is probably better to use on extremely windy days because it drops directly into the soil.

Now as far as pruning your bushes, your shrubs, and your trees, you need some pruners. Now this particular ones are called loppers. They will cut branches and limbs an inch and a half or two inches in diameter. Long handles for great leverage and cut those right off.

A tree saw is also great to have for the limbs that the loppers will not cut. You see the coarseness of these teeth and this particular one will cut it both directions as you pull or push and will cut the larger limbs off without any problem whatsoever.

Now let us talk about long handled gardening tools or long tools that you would need. At least two types of shovels, round point and square point. This is a round point; it is great for all types of digging especially in harder soils because of the point. If you are planting tress, shrubs, bushes this is a great option, the round point shovel.

A square point shovel is also a must to have because it can be used for edging, nice straight square edges along flowerbed edges. But it is also great for shoveling on flat surfaces and loose soil that is already on top of the surface. So have at least two shovels, a round point and a square point.

Rakes, minimum again, two types. This is a leaf rake, this particular one is metal, it come in metal, wood and plastic for raking the leaves along the top of the grass or hard surfaces as far as that goes. And a garden rake or technically as known as known as a bow rake, it is made of steel and it is great for cleaning stones, rocks, roots, debris, out of a loose soil and can also be use for cultivating. So minimum, two rakes and two shovels.

In addition to the long handled garden tools, you will also need some hand tools to help maintain your yard as well as those flowerbeds. We have some of them laid out here. A hand trowel is very handy for using in the flowerbeds. You will need a weeder; the name is obvious, to help pull those pesky weeds in the beds. A couple of different hand trowels laid out here. And you will need a hand cultivator which is basically a miniature rake to help cultivate that soil.

Now underneath here, we have a couple of different types of sprinklers. We have an oscillating sprinkler which wands the water back and forth. Then we have a pulsating or pulse driven sprinkler which pounds against the water as a water pressure comes to the hose. Speaking of hoses, we are going to need a quality garden hose as well, 50 feet is a normal length, a 50 feet hose. But, be sure you get a good quality hose at least as 6 ply garden hose. In that way it will not kick up as easily as the less expensive hoses.

When you are done with the hose, always drain the water out of it, cord it back up. It will make that garden hose last a lot longer. Now here is an essential tool powered only by you, a wheel borrow. It is use for a number of things obviously, for hauling dirt, debris, limbs, soil, stone and this will probably save you a trip to the cower proctor because it is so much easier to haul it with a wheel borrow as opposed to not having one.

And do not forget the essentials, it is so simple but often forgot, gloves, glasses and knee pads. Get a couple of different types of work gloves. The heavier duty and light duty for gardening and handling the tools as well. Safety glasses are so very important. Get a good set and protect one of your most precious gifts, your eyes. And knee pads to protect your knees especially if you are kneeling around the flowerbed and working on your knees that will help soften the blow, so to speak. So enjoy all of your new tools, enjoy your new home and have fun working in your yard.