A home’s backyard can be anything you dream up. Whether you want it to be a garden full of colorful flowers; a landscape design with clean-cut lines that homeowners dream of; or a patio or deck that’s always ready to host a get together, here are eight tools to ramp up your backyard game.

1. Ergonomic Shovel – More likely than not, you probably already have a shovel in your garage or shed. Garden shovels have evolved over the years, leading to new designs, created specifically to ease the strain garden work puts on your arms, legs and back. An ergonomic shovel usually includes stepping edges on the blade – designed so you can step on it and use your body weight to tackle hard soil – and a wide handle that helps distribute the weight of the load so your wrists don’t get overloaded.
2. Hand Pruner – It’s only a matter of time before your bushes and trees grow and begin to look uneven or unkempt. Or, your neighbors’ bushes and other plants could grow over the fence a little bit. Great hand pruners with sharp blades and comfortable grip pads will make the chore of pruning a quick Sunday morning to-do so you can keep your backyard looking neat and trim.
3. Nail Gun – This tool helps speed up big backyard projects, like building a cabana, shed or deck. With a nail gun, you can insert hundreds – or even thousands – of nails in one day, which is what’s required for larger projects.

4. Gloves – Get the gloves for the work you’ll be doing: leather or cotton if you’re sawing, pruning or digging; long gloves that cover your wrists and forearms if you’re working with thorny or prickly plants; and latex or rubber gloves if you’re worried about getting your hands wet or dirty.
5. Knee pads or a knee saver – To really ramp up your backyard, you’ll probably spend a good amount of time pulling weeds and planting flowers, vines, vegetables, shrubs or other plants. If you want to power through these backyard projects, invest in a knee saver, high-quality knee pads and/or a small bench. Instead of taking several breaks for achy knees or a sore back, you’ll have extra support to feel comfortable for extended periods of time.
6. Wheel Barrow – This tool comes in handy for the avid gardener! You can use it to transport mulch and dirt to garden beds, or to load up plants and flowers and take them to a backyard greenhouse. It reduces the trips back-and-forth between the porch and the yard, or the car and the yard, and makes the heavy-lifting required for some backyard projects a little lighter.

7. Compact Hose – If you live in a region with plenty of water, you should spend some time watering your lawn and garden, as well as spray down your patio or deck every month or so to clean off dirt or debris that has crept into it. A compact hose – which usually coils quickly and easily and doesn’t require you to wrap it up – makes it easy to walk around your backyard and bring the water to the spaces that need it.
8. String Trimmer – For helping cutting those last few blades of grass around patios, decks, pergolas, gazebos or whatever else is hard to reach with the mower, get a string trimmer. It’s a hand-held device that uses a fast-rotating nylon string to reach the corners of your lawn.

What’s your favorite backyard tool? Let us know on Facebook.