I discover an awesome garden gadget. 

Gardening gives me immense joy. My current corner of paradise receives ample sun and drains well. But plants I once considered manageable have now become monsters. Shrubs that once needed minimal pruning have been growing six inches in mere days.

Writing for hours at a time puts strain on my wrist. Unfortunately, so do many garden tasks. Recently I began searching online for a device to ease the maintenance burden. Something lightweight, that could be grabbed in an instant. (I have a full-size hedge trimmer, but it gets plugged into a lengthy extension cord. Using it is cumbersome and inconvenient.)

Absolute truth: before I began my search, I didn’t know this category of tool existed. But the 2-in-1 cordless grass shear + hedge trimmer sold by SunJoe is a dream. It deadheads large patches of already-flowered perennials in seconds. Ditto for kitchen herbs that need tidying up.

This will henceforth be my first choice when cutting back ornamental grasses in early Spring. No more repetitive sawing with my Hori Hori knife (my main garden tool for decades). No more repetitive nibbling with hand pruners.

The shorter attachment trims grass effortlessly. It works well in awkward corners, and won’t damage tree trunks the way whipper-snippers can.

The longer attachment turns this tool into a mini-hedge trimmer. This is for young branches only. But because it’s so easy and pleasant to use, I expect I’ll be catching things early, before large branches have a chance to form.

This gadget weighs just 2.5 pounds (slightly more than a kilo). It runs for 40 minutes on a single charge. I’m OK with that, since taking breaks is important.

It comes in a variety of colours (mine is purple). Best of all, it isn’t too noisy. It won’t disturb the neighbours or give me a headache.

Few of us can afford to hire garden help. As we age, we need to find new ways of accomplishing old tasks. My fondest hope is that, one day, a battalion of solar-powered robots will weed my garden non-stop on my behalf. Until then, I’m keenly interested in other technological advances.

If you’re a gardener, I recommend this tool. If you love a gardener – here’s a great gift idea.

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I’ve never written a straight-up product endorsement before. But it’s summer where I live, my garden is in bloom, and I’m truly delighted by this gadget. Should you click any of the links or images in this post and purchase something from Amazon, I’ll earn a small fee.

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