Real World Gardener Podcasts

Garden Snips vs Secateurs You would think that gardening tools would have all the same name pretty much all around the world. What else would you call a spade ? Perhaps a trowel may have a few different names, but what about secateurs and garden snips? Are they the same thing? Secateurs are sometimes called  pruning shears or hand pruners . My Toolkit: Felco No8 secateurs  Secateurs can be bypass style, where the cutting blade passes a curved non-cutting 'anvil.' Secateurs can also be anvil style where the cutting blade cuts into a 'anvil.' Good quality secateurs will cut easily, feel comfortable to hold and spare parts are able to be purchased. Secateurs are used for the  'green' wood on plants cutting easily up to the diameter of a person's fingers. Garden snips ( bottom of picture) are closer in appearance to scissors, with two cutting blades. Unlike scissors, they have a spring to make repeated cutting of plant material easier. Garden snips are best used for trimming off spent flowers on plan