Easy to use gardening tools

For gardeners, the older you get, the more important it is to find the right tools. Gardening is physical labor. Digging, weeding, hoeing, planting - all can take a toll on the back, shoulders, arms, legs, hand and feet. While the exercise is good for the body, sore, painful joints and unnecessary callouses are not.

A couple of years ago, I found a set of hand tools at the Olive Barn in Houston that looked promising. They have become my favorite tools. They're made by NRG and have large, round handles that are ergonomically sound and easy to grip. They are not cheap (in any sense of the word), but the quality is excellent. When I retired from The Enterprise, my friend Torchy gave me a set at my going-away party because she knew I loved gardening. We lost Torchy to cancer not long ago, but the tools - along with countless other things - remind me of her energy, sweetness and joy of life when I use them.

I have lusted after NRG's large tools ever since I found the small ones, but hesitated because of the cost ($40 each). Well, the Olive Barn is going out of business (sad face) and have the tools on sale for half price. Joel splurged and bought me the weeder, spade, fork and bulb planter. They are wonderful. I'm doing some major flower bed work right now and they make it much easier.

Wrist-neutral hand tools

When it comes to gardening hand tools, I am always on the lookout for something that helps my weak grip and wrist strength. A set I found this weekend in Fredericksburg shows promise.

The tools are by NRG (it stands for natural radius grip and is pronounced energy), and the ergonomic design keeps the wrist in a neutral position to reduce stress and fatigue by providing more strength and power. They are ultra-light and have big, comfy handles. Women with very small hands might find the handles a bit large, though I think they'll be good for me.

I bought the hand trowel (straight blade edges for scraping and scooping and a beveled front edge to cut through compacted soil), cultivator (with three wicked-looking tines), hand transplanter (good for transplanting deeply rooted plants - the extra-long blade had little raised dots to measure bulb hole depths) and the nifty hand weeder (a long, narrow blade to pop out weeds without disturbing plants - plus a seed well).

The pieces were $12.99 each, which I will happily pay for something that works. They come with a lifetime guarantee, too. Note: I like to shop locally. I bought these when I ran across them in Fredericksburg because I hadn't noticed them in Beaumont and wasn't sure I could find them here. When I got home, I did a search of NRG's website and found that Al Cook Nursery out on Hwy 105 sells them.