The Greatest Garden Tool You Never Knew About!

I’m a purist as far as garden tools go.  I have a set of stainless steel hand tools that will never give out. Each one is a solid piece of metal with nothing to break; not to mention the beautiful patina created as the years go by. 

I have 2 pairs of hand pruners.  The ones with the yellow handles have been my constant gardening buddy for 25 years.  My good friend, Jenny, recently gave my other pair of pruners to me.  She says that every “Master Gardener” must have a set of Felco pruners. 

I have an old-fashioned metal leaf rake, shovel, pruning saw and long handled cultivator.  My electric hedge trimmer rounds out my arsenal of tools.  I thought that was all I needed.  But I was wrong.  Way wrong!

A few weeks ago Nancy brought the most amazing set of loppers to our volunteer workday at the Tappmeyer gardens in Creve Coeur’s Millennium Park.  Along with the city’s help, we have been eliminating honeysuckle from the forest.  We work a few weekends a month and are nearly finished with honeysuckle removal.  

Nancy had just purchased the most incredible tool from Black and Decker; it's called the “Alligator Lopper.” Local tree-guru Bill Spradley recommended it to her; his word alone is a ringing endorsement.  

The lopper is a super-safe, battery operated, mini chainsaw.  The short blade on the lopper has a cover on both sides, so it is virtually impossible to mistakenly touch the blades.  When you begin cutting, there are dual-hand switches that make it unable to proceed until a hand is on each switch.  Another great safety feature!   

After much discussion, the group did admit that the only way you could do any harm with the lopper was to actually chase someone down and use the lopper as a weapon.  But, I’m not talking about the Texas Chainsaw Massacre here; I’m talking about gardening. 

The tool is available in a corded model as well as a cordless, battery-pack model.  I highly recommend the battery-operated model.  The battery pack recharges quickly and runs for nearly 60 minutes solid between charges.  The cordless option is available in an 18 or 20-volts. 

I also suggest purchasing an extra battery pack.  It’s sheer torture to have to wait for the batteries to charge when all you really want to do is get back to cutting trees!

I feel compelled to inform you that I am in no way employed or compensated by Black & Decker.  They just have one heck of a tool and I’ve been telling all my gardening friends who will listen about it.  Now, it’s your turn to have your eyes opened to the most amazing lopper out there.  It’s REALLY that good!

The workday began with a fair amount of skepticism.  No one believed that this puny chainsaw was capable of much.  Nancy told us that she had been clearing out honeysuckle around the lake where she lives.  She was beaming, singing the praises of her “best tool ever.”  She said it was capable of cutting a tree with a 4” diameter.  No one believed her. 

In fact, I seem to remember that we made a bet that it couldn’t be done.  She didn’t say a word; she just gave us a snicker.  She pointed to a dead tree and asked if she should cut it down.  We replied, “Of course you should, it’s DEAD!”  No one suspected that she could actually do it.  Eight seconds later, the tree was down!  We were slack jawed!  Little Nancy and her little battery-operated lopper stunned even the most seasoned gardeners among us. We began racing around the forest challenging her to cut down this dead tree and that dead vine and the limb that hangs awkwardly over the forest canopy.  She did it all in record time, without breaking a sweat! 

By the time the battery began waning, Nancy had trimmed away diseased and dead trees and shrubs.  Her little “Alligator Lopper” made mincemeat out of the invasive honeysuckle and believers out of us all.  If the forest could talk, it would be screaming “UNCLE!”  We spent a little time taking it all in…and planning our next volunteer workday with “little Nancy’s” “little chainsaw!”

So, if you have occasional trimming needs in your landscape, I heartily endorse Black and Decker’s lopper. It’s honestly more fun than anyone should be having while working in the yard.  Just don’t lend it to your neighbor…you may NEVER get it back!