What gardener doesn’t dream of having a garden shed? Whether it is a simple place to store gardening tools and supplies or a peaceful retreat where you can pass your afternoons elbow-deep in potting soil, there is a right garden shed for every gardener.

Before you rush out and order what you think will be the best garden shed for you, take some time to consider your current and future needs. Start by making a list of all the things you want to store in your shed and what jobs you want to be able to do there. After you have your list you will have a better idea what size of shed you need. Remember to leave yourself some room to grow. Consider not only the square footage inside your shed, but the size of the door or opening. It would be terrible to finish construction on your new shed just to realize that your wheelbarrow won’t fit through the door!

Garden sheds can be relatively inexpensive or quite extravagant. You can purchase pre-assembled tool storage units that resemble armoires for your garden, or go a more expensive and spacious route by purchasing a do-it-yourself shed construction kit (that can also be assembled by a professional from a home-improvement store). Or why not go all out and hire a contractor to build you the custom garden shed of your dreams, complete with running water and electricity?

Where Should You Place Your Shed

After you know what type of shed you want, consider where to place it. Do you want it to be the center of attention in your yard, or would you like it to blend in with the landscape? Most garden sheds are not temperature controlled, so it will be to your advantage to put your shed in an area of your yard that is shaded in the heat of the day. Having at least one window is important for ventilation and will help to keep your shed cool, which should definitely be taken into consideration if you plan to keep seedlings or bulbs in your shed.

Be mindful that the exterior of your garden shed matches or at least compliments the design of your home. To achieve this you can use matching paint or vinyl siding colors, and also try to mimic your home’s architectural elements. Another way to make your shed feels like a natural part of your yard is to landscaped around it, just like you would around your home. Flower beds and window boxes are a nice touch. Before you begin building your garden shed, remember to check local zoning and permit requirements and also check with your homeowner’s association.

The interior of your shed is probably the most important part because it is where you will be spending your time. Organization in your shed is critical. Make sure you have room to move around, especially if you plan to put a potting bench in your shed. You want to enjoy the time spent splitting bulbs and transplanting perennials, not spend that time wishing you had more elbow room.

Organizing Your Tools

It is best to store large item like lawn mowers, wheelbarrows, and tillers at the back of your shed so you don’t have to navigate around them, but make sure you leave yourself a path to get them in and out easily. Keep the things you use the most in easy reach, and put things that you use less often on high selves or in storage under the counter. A peg board works well to take advantage of the vertical space in your shed, and is a great place to store smaller tools like trowels and hand rakes. A hanging rack will keep your shovels, rakes, and broom out of your way but within easy reach. It is a good idea to have a lockable storage area for things like pesticides, gasoline, and sharp instruments, because your [garden shed]will probably be an attractive destination for children and pets.

Whether your ideal garden shed turns out to be a small resting place for spare pots, or a miniaturized version of your home complete with running water and French doors, pre-planning and careful consideration of your needs will ensure that you enjoy the time you spend in it just as much as the time you spend in the garden itself.

Admittedly, not every household has a need for a chainsaw. But when you buy a house that has a lot of trees in the yard, it will probably take about as long as the first winter before you're wondering: Do I need a chainsaw? And, if I do, what kind should I buy?

Chainsaws are helpful for cutting large limbs, whether they have fallen out of your tree or need to be cut from the tree. A chainsaw can help you turn a large limb into a manageable pile of brush, and it can make short work of any wood you plan to use in your fireplace come winter.

It's probably not absolutely necessary for most people to go out and buy chainsaws. If you have an acreage with a lot of trees or cut your own firewood, though, a chainsaw is essential.

As with many things, the chainsaw you need will depend on the type of work you expect to be doing with it. If you're simply trimming up deadfall and maybe cutting some firewood, a small, electric, light-duty chainsaw will work just fine for you. On the other hand, if you're planning to be your own tree doctor or are thinking about removing an entire tree on your own (not that I recommend that) you'll want more of a professional quality model.

Chainsaws come in both electric and gasoline-powered models. The electric chainsaws are much lighter and tend to be less expensive than the gas-powered ones, which makes them perfect for at-home use. Of course you can't really take an electric chainsaw out into the woods with you, so if you have a lot of land or many big cutting projects, a gasoline-powered chainsaw is the tool for you.

What Size Chainsaw Do You Need

The size of the chain itself is another consideration. Most chainsaws made for household use have a “chain pitch” of a quarter of an inch. Chain pitch refers to the space between the teeth on the [chainsaw]. Quarter-inch pitch is fine for light household work, but if you are doing heavier work consider buying a chainsaw with a three-eights of an inch chain pitch. This makes the chainsaw just a little more powerful, giving cleaner cuts. They're also a little easier to sharpen.

The size of the motor is also important because your chainsaw has got to have enough power to cut through the limbs you are wanting to cut. Engines range from about 30ccs to as many as 120ccs on the biggest professional chainsaws. A model ranging from 40 to 50ccs is usually sufficient for the average homeowner’s needs.

The length of the bar that holds the chains may also vary on different chainsaws you look at. A longer bar can handle a bigger job or a larger diameter of branch. Many home-use chainsaws have bars ranging from 10 to 20 inches. The chainsaw’s package should tell you the optimum size of branches that it can cut.

Chainsaw Safety Features

Your chainsaw should have safety features such as a guard, a chain brake and an inertial brake. These safety measures will stop the chainsaw in event of a kickback (or if you drop the chainsaw), making it a lot less likely that you will hurt yourself.

Chainsaws are helpful lawn and garden tools, but they’re also quite dangerous and many people are injured every year by using them improperly or not wearing proper safety equipment. Take a lesson from loggers out in the field: wear a hard hat if there’s any danger of debris falling on your head, wear gloves, eye protection, heavy clothes, ear plugs and strong boots. Always use caution when operating a chainsaw and know how to use it safely. You certainly don’t want to turn a chore into a trip to the emergency room!

I have to admit I'm a little afraid of string trimmers. There always seems to be such potential for danger, from rocks flying up in your face to getting the string tangled in a horrible mess with a wad of tall grass wrapped around it.

The truth is, string trimmers are not that difficult to use and they are very handy to have around the yard. String trimmers can be used to trim grass next to trees, walls, fences and other items that you can't get too close to with a conventional lawn mower. They are great for edging along the sidewalk and driveway and can be helpful for cutting very tall [grass] or weeds on a hillside that is too steep to mow.

String trimmers use a plastic string rotated at very high velocity (up to 400 miles an hour) to cut grass. Maybe it's the speed that scares me. String trimmers are very effective at what they do, though the clogging and tangling problem is a real potential with some trimmers. Other models have short strings that can be changed very quickly and easily instead of the traditional big ball of string that causes those problems of my nightmares.

String Trimmer Model Types

String trimmers can run on gas or electricity and there are corded and cordless models. The type of string trimmer you want will depend on your needs and how much you are willing to spend.

Electric string trimmers are the cheapest, especially the corded varieties. They are lighter than gasoline-powered trimmers because you aren't carrying around the gasoline. They also have less power and tend to have a smaller cutting area than the gas-powered string trimmers. Electric trimmers are also less noisy than their gas-powered counterparts, and they cause less pollution.

Gas-powered trimmers are more expensive and heavier, but they are also bigger and more powerful. They come with either two-cycle or four-cycle engines. The two-cycle engines use a gasoline-oil mixture, while the four-cycle engines run on straight gasoline. Gas-powered string trimmers can cut up to 18 inches in a single pass, so they’re great for when you have a lot of trimming in a wide area, such as on a hillside. The two-cycle engine models are cheaper than the four-cycle, but they also have less power and don’t run as smoothly.

No matter what type of string trimmer you choose, they all run pretty much the same way. A loop handle or handlebars are used to hold the trimmer while it is running.Â

Proper Use Of Your String Trimmer

The main problem people have when using string trimmers is that they get the cutting string too close to the ground. Like a lawn mowing blade, the height of trimming should be two to three inches so that the ground doesn't look bald. Try to cut with your string trimmer at the same height that your mower cuts. This takes some practice but it is the key to a good-looking trim job.

Edging is a popular reason for using string trimmers because they can get so close to the sidewalk. All you have to do to turn your string trimmer into an edger is to turn it so that the string is turning vertically instead of horizontally.

Remember when you are trimming close to fences, trees and sidewalks that it is possible to get too close. You can actually kill your trees if you remove too much bark because you hit them with the string trimmer. And of course you can always send a chunk of wood, a piece of concrete or a rock flying at yourself or someone else when you hit an object with your trimmer. That's why it is vital to wear eye protection, long pants and a long-sleeved shirt when you are using your string trimmer. Also wear ear protection and keep other people from working or playing in the yard while you are using your string trimmer.

Yes, there are reasons to be intimidated by string trimmers, but as long as you use them wisely they are great tools for your yard and garden.

It is important to have the right pruning tools before you attack the trees, shrubs and plants that need pruning in your yard. Using the right pruning tools is better for the plant, and it's better for the tools as well, because you'll be using them properly.

Here is a quick rundown of the different types of pruning tools you might need, depending on the plants in your yard.

Hand Pruning Shears: These little shears are good for cutting branches up to half an inch in diameter. They are great for pruning small shrubs, cutting roses to put in your bouquet, harvesting vegetables and a bunch of other uses. They are small enough to be worked with one hand, and there are two main choices when working with hand shears.

Scissor Shears, as the name suggests, have two blades that are both sharp, though one is thicker than the other. The anvil shear has one sharp blade and one flat blade. The choice is up to you, though scissor shears are often a little more expensive; some say they work better, too.

Lopping Shears: If you have a lot of cutting to do, lopping shears are the way to go. These shears have long handles and must be operated with both hands. Pulling the handles apart pulls the [blades] apart; pushing them back together closes the shears and lops the offending branch. Different lopping shears can handle different diameters of branches, but all loppers should be able to handle half-inch branches.

Pole Pruners: If you're trying to cut a branch above your head, a pole pruner may be what you need. This tool is a long pole like a broom handle with a curved blade attached. These tools are often operated with the help of a rope that is thrown over the branch for leverage.

Pole pruners can be rather expensive and they are a little dangerous, because the person doing the cutting is right under the branch he or she is trimming. If you have a lot of large limbs that need to be removed from trees, it is probably better to get a yard service or professional tree trimmer to do the work for you. That way you can be assured that the job is being done right, and you won't have to worry about dropping a limb on yourself.

Other Pruning Tools that might be helpful, depending on your situation, are hedge trimmers and a chainsaw. A hedge trimmer makes it a lot easier to get bushes trimmed to the same size and shape, while a chainsaw can make short work of large limbs that you have cut from a tree.

Neither of these tools are vital for the beginning gardener, or for someone who doesn't have a lot of bushes or trees. But if you have need for these tools, you will be so glad that you have them when you need them. They are tools of convenience that will make those annoying maintenance jobs so much easier, leaving you time for more enjoyable things like resting in the hammock under the trees!