The best tools for lawn care

Is your lawn in need of aeration? Then it's time to start scarifying. You can use a verticutter which looks like a lawnmower and is operated in the same way. It uses vertically rotating blades attached to a cylinder to scarify your lawn instead of mowing it. In doing so, it removes moss and thatch and aerates your lawn. You can check whether your lawn needs to be scarified using a simple test: pull a short rake lightly through your lawn. If it picks up moss and felt-like grass residue, then it's time to get the verticutter out.

Lawnmowers are the best way to cut your lawn to the right height and promote thick and even growth. However, when it comes to trimming the edges of your lawn, near trees or other areas that are difficult to reach, you need to take a more delicate approach. The right device to use in these situations is a grass trimmer. Its two-handed grip allows you to control it with precision and tackle little fiddly bits quickly and easily.

For smaller gardens and lawns, a pair of grass shears is often enough for tidying up the edges or trimming areas that are hard to reach. Here's a small tip: using longer shears will mean you don't have to bend down to reach the areas you want to trim, which puts less strain your back. The important thing to bear in mind when using shears is to make sure you can get a good grip on them and always check that the blades are sharp.

In autumn, you'll find lots of leaves on your lawn. Removing all of them from your garden by hand can be very labour intensive. A leaf blower can make light work of this job. They usually come either with a backpack or as a smaller handheld device and have a nozzle that looks like the end of a vacuum cleaner. But the difference here is that they blow air out instead of sucking it in. After using your leaf blower to gather a pile of leaves, you can dispose of them easily.

Do you want to give your lawn a small growth spurt? Spreading fertiliser a few times can be useful early on in the year or when you haven't yet applied mulch to your lawn. You can easily take care of this job using a sprayer attachment for the ISIO. It will then distribute fertiliser evenly over the desired area through an opening at ground level. You can sow seeds by using the spreader attachment for the ISIO.

Whether you're transporting garden waste, new soil or machinery, a wheelbarrow is the best way to move heavy items across your garden. When choosing one for your garden, you should always check whether it has good handles and a solid axle and a sturdy wheel. Otherwise it can quickly become a pain to use and will no longer be fit for purpose.

If you want to use grass clippings as a natural fertiliser, you can try using a mulching mower or a lawnmower fitted with a mulching attachment. The attachment ensures that the grass clippings are finely shredded and distributed evenly on the lawn. This means you don't have to use as much fertiliser and it also saves you the hassle of disposing of your grass clippings.

Do you have a large garden with trees or hedges and a compost heap or an organic waste bin? If so, a shredder is the right tool for you. Shred bulky branches, leaves and roots into little pieces using this device and the resulting waste can then be easily disposed of afterwards.

When it comes to looking after your lawn, the most unassuming tools can sometimes be the most effective. A classic rake is a good example: its fan-shaped design with metal prongs makes it the ideal tool to gather up grass clippings which haven't been collected by the lawnmower. It's also great for tidying away leaves in autumn. Narrower prongs are more useful for neater, shorter lawns. Wider prongs don't get caught on things as often and are suitable for taller or matted grass.