Landscaping

Nothing changes a patio quite like string lights. They define the space, create atmosphere, and push your garden’s usable hours well past sunset. But the difference between string lights that last a season and string lights that last a decade comes down to bulb type, wire gauge, and weather sealing. We tested 6 sets of outdoor string lights — from commercial-grade S14 bulbs to budget solar fairy lights — to find the ones worth stringing up. ...

Every gardener hits the wall where pruners won’t cut it anymore. That branch is an inch thick. Your bypass pruners max out at ¾-inch. You could grab the loppers, but the branch is in an awkward spot — reaching it with a two-handed tool means twisting into a position your back will complain about tomorrow. A pruning saw fills the gap between hand pruners and chainsaws. For branches from 1 to 6 inches thick — which covers most of the pruning a home gardener actually does — a good saw is faster, cleaner, and safer than struggling with oversize loppers or dragging out the chainsaw for a single cut. We tested six pruning saws in folding, fixed-blade, and pole configurations to find the ones that cut fast and feel good in the hand. ...

A good hedge trimmer turns an afternoon of tedious shearing into a 20-minute satisfaction session. The wrong one leaves you with ragged cuts that brown at the tips, jammed blades that stall on half-inch branches, and arms that ache for days. Hedge trimmers have moved almost entirely to battery power in the last few years. Today’s top cordless models match gas-powered performance for typical yard hedges — with none of the fuel mixing, pull-cord frustration, or ear-splitting noise. But picking the right one means balancing blade length, cutting capacity, battery compatibility, and reach. We tested 6 hedge trimmers for suburban yards, from compact shrub trimmers to long-reach pole models. ...

A lawn mower cuts the grass. A string trimmer cleans up what the mower missed. But for that sharp, professional-looking edge along sidewalks, driveways, and flower beds — the kind that makes neighbors slow down and look — you need a dedicated lawn edger. Lawn edgers use a vertical spinning blade to cut a clean trench between your grass and hardscape. The result is a defined border that stays crisp for weeks. We tested 6 lawn edgers across gas, electric, and manual — here’s what works for different yard sizes. ...

Ask any gardener to name their most-used tool. It won’t be the shovel. It won’t be the trowel. It’s the pruning shears. Deadheading flowers, shaping shrubs, harvesting vegetables, cutting back perennials — your pruners are in your hand more than any other tool. But a dull, uncomfortable pair turns a pleasant garden session into a hand-cramping chore. We tested 6 pruning shears — bypass, anvil, and ratchet designs — to find the ones worth your money. ...