Whether you have a large yard or not, having the right tools and equipment can go a long way toward helping you speed up your routine landscaping tasks and get the results that you want. Not only having good landscaping equipment is important, but also taking good care of your tools and making sure that they are kept in a safe and convenient place as well.

Many home landscapers either build or buy a small tool house or room where they can store most of their landscaping equipment, such as tools, fertilizers, insecticides, and so on. This is usually the best storage solution overall, as it helps keep everything together and within easy reach. But if that is not possible, perhaps clearing a section in your garage will work too. The main point is to try to keep your landscaping equipment close at hand and well organized.

There are certain home landscaping tools that just about everybody needs. Some of the small hand tools that are very commonly used is a hand planting shovel, hand fork and hand cultivator. Having both a bow rake, and a broom rake is also a good idea. A weed spud can be a lifesaver to help with removing weeds, and having a good pair of shears or pruners is important too. Other small tools that are useful include your garden hose, a hand mower, roller, watering can, and a wheelbarrow.

Some other equipment that can be very useful, although not necessarily as vital for most landscaping projects is an edging sickle, a good lawn edger, pole pruning shears, hedge shears, and lopping shears. Of course, if you don't already have a built in sprinkler system, then you'll need a good assortment of sprinklers to keep everything watered. For your hose, it's recommended to have a reel to keep it stored properly and to avoid cracking and weak spots in the hose that can interfere with the water pressure as you apply water to your lawn and landscaping.

Some smaller extra items that can be useful to have around from time to time include plant ties, stakes,some burlap, chicken and garden wire, measuring cups and spoons, sand, peat, moss, lime, fertilizers for each time of year that is needed, and insecticides. Just be sure that you keep dangerous chemicals like insecticides in a very safe place away from small children. And also take care when handling insecticides on your own.

Of course, no matter how prepared you are you'll always find that you have to run out to the store from time to time to get what you need. But if you can think and plan ahead as much as possible, you can cut down on these extra trips quite a bit.

There are other items that can be useful at times but are not generally necessary. If you have enough room in your garage or tool house you may wish to include a pressures sprayer, seed spreader, soil testing kit, rotary tiller, and lawn sweeper. And of course many of the motorized landscaping tools can help make your job quicker and easier. If you can afford these and have the room, why not include them as well? However, you should be able to do a fine job with the essential home landscaping equipment that we have mentioned above.

Thad Pickering writes on many consumer related topics including home improvement. You can find free landscaping ideas and front yard landscaping ideas by visiting our Home Improvement website.