Garden Bloggers Hoe Down: "Mr. Handyman's Triumph"

Thanks to Carol of May Dreams Gardens for sponsoring the Garden Bloggers Hoe Down today. If there is anything you ever wanted to know about hoes, but were afraid to ask, Carol has your answer.

I must admit I was hesitant to post anything today; unlike Carol's extensive collection, I have only two hoes--an old hoe and a new hoe. However, Carol was gracious enough to extend the invitation to other members of the tool family, and we have a new addition I'm so excited about that I want to share with you. Here are the three members of our immediate family: Ms. Hoe, Mr. Rake, and Grandpa Spading Fork.

And now, they are proud to announce the arrival of a new little one:

Baby Mantis

Arrival Date: 3:35 PM May 2

Weight: app. 20 lbs.

Yes, the whole family is thrilled with the new arrival. And before anyone sputters that Baby Mantis doesn't really belong in the family and that I am breaking the rules here, let me explain. I have been wanting a tiller for several years and finally decided to try this small Mantis. A larger tiller might be too hard for me to handle, and if I have to depend on my husband or ask my son to come over to run it for me, it defeats the whole purpose of having one. I wanted something that I could manuever and could easily move from one bed to another. I'll let you know how it works out.

As for the rest of the hoe family, I think Ms. Hoe, in particular, will be relieved. I am ashamed to say I sometimes mistreat her, especially in late July and August when the weeds and clumping grass want to take over the vegetable garden. I have been known to overwork her mercilessly in the pursuit of a weed-free garden; little Mantis should take this burden away from her, I hope.

The Mantis arrived yesterday in a surprisingly small box, meaning "some assembly required." I was almost ready to spend an extra $30 to have it shipped fully assembled, but that would have meant an extra week's wait for arrival. Besides, the sales rep on the phone assured me the only people who ordered it fully assembled were usually the elderly or those with physical disabilities. Well, I certainly didn't want her to think I fell into either of those categories, and I didn't want to wait an extra week to get it. The only glitch was how long it might take my husband, a.k.a. Mr. Procrastinator, to put it together.

To my surprise, I found Mr. P in the garage this morning with a nearly assembled tiller. Usually "Mr. Handyman," as he is also laughingly referred to by my children, has "extra" pieces left over when assembling something. Sure enough, he looked up at me when I expressed my amazed gratitude and said, "Well, I've got most of it together, but I don't know where this tire is supposed to go." I found the instructions--which he hadn't even looked at--and discovered to my relief that the tire is part of an extra attachment. So, except for a tightening of the nuts and bolts, I think the Mantis is ready to go!

Since I have already broken the rules for the Hoedown, I might as well add a distant cousin who is another important member of my tool family. This is a little rechargeable grass shears that I wouldn't do without. Now you might say, but this is for grass, not for gardening! No, that's where you are wrong--it is invaluable to some of my gardening. I have flowers planted around some large landscape rocks, around semi-eyesores in the backyard (a cistern, for example), and in a couple areas with no edging. Mr. P is also Mr. Mowing Machine (and I use all these names with affection) who believes the less trimming he has to do the better. And in all fairness to him, we do have a lot of yard to mow--at least six acres--so the more he can trim with his large garden tractor, the better. But it does mean that often times a stray plant gets decapitated if it falls too close to the mower blade. After this happened several times, I negotiated a deal with him--I've pointed out areas of flowers which he avoids as long as I keep the grass trimmed around them.

And so, while the grass shearer is actually used to trim the grass near my flowerbeds, it indirectly saves many a flower from its demise.

I do hope you have enjoyed meeting my little "family"; thanks again, Carol, for sponsoring today's posts.