Ex No.

1 Tool and implements used in landscape design Date:

Instructional Objectives:

 To identify different basic garden tools and implements used commonly in various
operations involved in the landscape gardening.

 To know the common name with synonyms of each tool/implements.

 Know the use of each of them.

 Know about the proper maintenance, repairs and storage of them.

Important tools, implements and their uses:

Maintenance of garden in its best form necessitates a certain amount of routine work to follow
throughout the year. Persons, who are interested in gardening, should be well-acquainted with
different types of tools and implements and their uses. Varieties of implements and tools are
required for carrying out the various garden operations, like

 digging,
 breaking soil clods,
 removal of weeds,
 leveling of ground,
 mowing lawn,
 planting of bulbs,
 seedlings or saplings,
 raising plants through cutting, layering and grafting and other means,
 manuring, watering,
 pruning and trimming of plants, hedge, edge
 spraying and dusting of plant protection chemicals.

The different types of tools and implements commonly used for gardening are grouped into
different categories based on their use:

1. Tools for Digging and lifting of soil.

2. Tools for intercultural operations
3. Tools for watering
4. Tools for pruning and cutting
5. Tools for sowing and planting
6. General garden equipments
7. Tools for plant protection

Dr.C.Madhumathi, Scientist (H) & Head, HRS, Anantharajupet Page 1

1. Tools for digging: Digging tools mostly include spades and forks of different types.

Spade: This important garden implement is used for digging soil, making holes for
planting. A soil depth of about 15 to 20 cm or so is dug in one stroke of a bigger spade. It
consists of a metal blade and a wooden handle. Both the components are variable in different
spades.

Forked spade: It is used for harvesting bulbs and tubers and preparing gravelly soil.

Forks: These are used for general cultivation as done with spades. Loosening of soil,
forks are better suited than spades for lifting bulbous or tuberous roots for avoiding cut and
damage of these materials.

Garden forks: This is very popular implements for digging operations. The garden forks
usually have four metal prongs which go deep into the soil when pressed with foot on their
shoulders.

Crow bar: It is used for digging soil and pits. It is used where the soil is hard.

2. Tools for intercultural operations:

Weeding fork (hand fork): Besides loosening the surface soil, this fork is also used for
taking out the weeds. Weeding fork with long handle can be used to remove weeds from
centre of a bed, thus avoiding trampling of small seedlings.

Hoes: They are very useful for weeding as well as aerating the soil

Draw Hoe: Used for chopping weeds and drawing up earth around the plants. The curved
neck of draw hoe makes it easier to operate between plants without affecting them.

Garden Cultivator: Used to cultivate the soil, Remove weeds and allows oxygen to
penetrate the soil

Hand hoe: It has a sharp-edged triangular blade with a rectangular shoulder fixed with a
wooden handle, popularly known as khurpi in India.

Garden rake: Useful for leveling and breaking up the soil curst before planting and also
used for collecting garden debris, stones and brick bats, etc. it consists of 8 or 12 or 16 teeth
which are short broad and curved.

Rakes: Used to move debris. Aids in cleaning process. Proper use is with two (2) hands

Shrub comb: Used for raking debris from small areas between shrubs.

Broom rake: Very good for collecting debris and clippings from lawn surface.
Dr.C.Madhumathi, Scientist (H) & Head, HRS, Anantharajupet Page 2
3. Tools for watering:

Watering can: They are made of galvanized iron sheet of eight to ten liter capacity are
convenient for handling the larger ones fitted with a rose or spreader. The nozzle, breaking
the force of water ensures its wide and uniform distribution.

Bucket: Buckets of different sizes made of either metal or polyethylene are also widely used
for watering and carrying seeds, fertilizers and sundry articles.

Garden hose: Main purpose is to deliver water from one place to another. Most of the
hosepipes are made either from r ubber or polyethylene. Rubber hose lasts longer than
polyethylene but is costlier.

Nozzles: Used To water plants. Control direction of spray. Different ends allow different
amounts of water.

Sprinklers: It automatically delivers a fine spray of water over a specific area. It distributes
water more economically. It is useful for irrigation of lawn.

Drip irrigation system: It automatically delivers water in droplets at the root zone of plants.
It saves water.

4. Tools for pruning and cutting:

Secature: A very useful handy tool for pruning both herbaceous and woody stems of
moderate thickness, also used for taking cuttings for propagation. The types of secateurs are
by-pass, curved or side-anvil, parrot-beak and anvil.

Anvil Secature: Anvil secateurs have a sharp straight-edged upper blade that cuts against a
square-edged lower anvil. These are useful tools for cutting flowers.

By-pass secature or curved secature: By-pass and Parrot beak secateurs have a scissor-like
action;

Tree pruner: It is very effective for pruning overhead branches up to about 2.5 cm thick,
also used for pruning dead and diseased branches. It comprises one curved; sharp-edged,
movable blade attached to the top of a long wooden handle, and the other blade which is
blunt and hooked gives support to the branches.

Garden Knives: They are used for light pruning tasks, for taking cuttings, preparing
materials for grafting, harvesting vegetables and many other purposes.

Bill hook: It has a crescent shaped heavy steel blade with the inner cutting edge. The handle
may be of wood or iron.

Dr.C.Madhumathi, Scientist (H) & Head, HRS, Anantharajupet Page 3

 Pruning saws: Pruning saws of different types are used for severing thick branches which
are difficult to prune by other pruning aid. Usually woody stems of more than 2.5 cm thick
are removed with this tool.

Garden shears or Hedge shears: It is mainly used for trimming hedges, clipping topiary
and cutting back herbaceous plants. Most of the garden shears have 20 to 30cm long, straight
blades.

Lawn mower: Lawn is maintained at a smooth low level by cutting the grass with a lawn
mower. They are operated both manually or with power. Manual mowers are cheap in price
and require less maintenance and are suitable for small-sized lawn, whereas power-driven
mower is useful for large lawns, play grounds etc.

Grass shears: It is useful for trimming grasses from the corners, edges and other places of
lawn where the lawn mower does not have an easy access.

Skiffing knife: (having a sword-like blade; hand scythe or haswa or sickle) The other
implements commonly used for cutting grass and weeds in the gardens.

Grass scythe: Useful for jungle grass and bushes. Light weight easy to use

5. Tools for sowing and planting:

Hand Trowels: Trowels are mostly used for making small holes for planting small plants and
bulbs and also used for handling manures, fertilizers and seeds etc. To aid in the planting of
medium to large plants. Moves small amount of dirt. For use with one hand while holding a
plant in the other.

Dibbers: The tool is used for making planting holes for transplanting seedlings or planting
cutting. It is a pencil shaped tool of different sizes.

Bulb planter: Useful for digging right size holes for bulb plantation

6. General garden equipments:

Wheel barrows: Used for carrying plants, soil, manures, pots and collecting garden debris.
These are of mainly two types- pan and box. Both are made from iron sheets and two iron
handles are provided to operate the wheel barrow. Used primarily to move heavy things from
one place to another. Can be used to hold trash

Baskets: It is made from cane or bamboo or plastic are mostly used in garden for carrying
plants, soil and materials i.e. compost, debris.

Roller: Garden roller, made of metal is used for leveling the ground and consolidating the
soil before sowing grass seeds or turfing the lawn.
Dr.C.Madhumathi, Scientist (H) & Head, HRS, Anantharajupet Page 4
 Pickaxe: It has a wooden handle fixed in the middle point of a bow-shaped heavy,
rectangular piece of steel. One end of this piece is pointed to break hard surface and the other
end is flat for digging rocky ground

Shovel: It is often used to scooping the manures, fertilizers, soil, sand, leaf mould, etc.
Two types of shovels.
1. Round point: Used primarily for digging holes.
2. Square point: Better used for picking up trash and debris. The size is much
larger and can pick up much more debris.The handle is much shorter with a
different grip.

Sieves: Sieves of a mesh of 3-12mm are necessary for screening out coarse material from
soil or potting compost. Screening soil or leaf mould is necessary for the preparation of seed
compost and covering seeds lightly after sowing on the seed bed.

Labels: There are different types of labels, aluminum and plastic labels are mostly used as
these are durable and weather resistant.

Garden gloves: Used to keep the hands clean when handling soil and compost and to
protect from thorns.

Pots and trays: They are mostly made either of clay or plastic and available in different
sizes and shapes. The growing medium dries out more slowly in plastic pot than in earthen
pots due to impermeable nature of former.

7. Tools for plant protection:

Sprayers and dusters are used for applying pesticides, weedicides and fertilizers. Depending on
the source of energy for operation sprayers and dusters are grouped into 1. Manually operated
and 2. power operated.

Hand sprayers: They are more handy, smaller ones with polythene body with capacity
between 500ml to 2 liters.

Knapsack sprayers: It can be carried on the back with the help of straps. Hand operated
with 5 to 15 litres capacity container made of either plastic or brass.

Foot sprayer/ rockery sprayer: It has a nozzle for spraying at one end and the other end
which sucks the solution in the bucket. To operate it two persons are required one to peddle
the sprayer and one to handle the spray handle and pipe to spray on the plants.

Power sprayer: It is operated with petrol. It has got a spark plug to start the operation. It
sprays very effectively and can cover more area with short time.

Dr.C.Madhumathi, Scientist (H) & Head, HRS, Anantharajupet Page 5

 Dusters: It is used to apply the pesticides which are to be applied in powder form.

Precautions:

 Choose the right tool/implement for specific job.

 Check the tool/implement about its working condition before use.

 Examine the soundness of the tools/implements before and after their use.

 Clean them, it necessary, wash with water and dry, oil them periodically.

 Store in the right place.

Activity: Identify the tools/implements and their uses and draw the diagrams of tools
/implements and label them.

Dr.C.Madhumathi, Scientist (H) & Head, HRS, Anantharajupet Page 6