If you are going to buy just one tool for pruning, make it a pair of pruning shears. This tool is what you’ll use for pruning roses and for the majority of cuts on fruit plants, houseplants, and young ornamental trees and bushes.

For long-lasting, powerful yard equipment, home gardeners can shop for professional-level items such as mowers, augurs and tillers, such as these…

Ways to protect trees and shrubs from winter weather and deer.

Chain saws, chipper-shredders, brush cutters and log splitters make fall yard work quick and easy.

How to clean out and organize your storage space.

In the spring, I load up a garden cart with well-composted manure and set out to start working the soil in the garden, getting it ready for the first planting of the year. After forking compost into the winter-hardened ground for an hour and enjoying just the first 15 minutes (the last 45 minutes create fireworks of shooting pains in my lower back from my sedentary winter in front of the fireplace), I realize that I am a woman in need of a tiller. . . .

Taming a feral yard isn’t easy—especially in the fall, when the garden and surrounding area are bursting at the seams with summer growth. But there are several pieces of equipment that can help any homeowner process an overabundance of plant material with efficiency and ease. . . .

Nature saves her biggest show for last. Late in the year, the world seems to take a deep, cold breath and hold it. In the stillness of glittery October sunlight, the trees and shrubs flame. A walk down a country lane becomes an awe-inspiring extravaganza of color. And then . . . wham! All those beautiful leaves fall off and cover your lawn and gardens with a mess. . . .

Multitasking. In today’s busy world, being able to do more than one thing, at the drop of a hat, is indeed an asset. This Swiss-Army-knife mentality has made us look for dual purposes in many of our favorite products . . .

If you chill your food in a Sub-Zero refrigerator, make your morning omelet on a Wolfe stove, or drive a pickup truck or SUV to work (even if your route isn’t off road), then you may be the sort of consumer who would enjoy commercial-grade outdoor power equipment. . . .

It’s 8:30 a.m. on a sunny Sunday morning and the lawn needs mowing. The grass is already dry, but the neighbors are all still asleep. Is there any ruder awakening than a power mower starting up? With my lawn mower, however, I don’t need to worry. . . .