old_dirt..Lol!..you reminded me of an important garden helper..my garden seat!..I have 2..same brand and style..the newest one has different colors..this is the newest cleanest one..I bought a second to keep DH working longer when we set rocks..I didn't want to share mine..

old dirt, hahahahaha

In the middle of 14 straight days of rain here. Blub blub blub

Drown areas used to have grass, now bare. Looks like dead sea in front.

The dog. I tear the weeds out and she shreds em for me :)

Around here we’ve had the wettest April on record so it’s hard to really appreciate the rain, but so important. Between the rabbits and the deer, I’d say a good fence is super helpful for both garden plants and gardeners’ blood pressure.

I think that's wonderful old_dirt. We spend all this time working and working and don't take enough time to stop and smell the roses. Good for you!

nicholsworth made me remember that I couldn't garden at all if it weren't for my kneeler with the handles so I can hoist myself back up, lol!

My riding lawn mower with the wagon attached. It saves a lot of work and sweat. Better than pushing a loaded wheel barrow heavily full of weeds to the wood and moving plants on my hilly property. The grandchildren also like to ride in it.

Two things: gel cushion knee pads and my favorite shovel which is an all metal very narrow shovel perfect for digging in tight spaces. Got it at a garage sale years ago for $2. Best $2 I ever spent. The knee pads were more expensive but I can't live without them. I tried one of those "kneelers" and got tired of dragging it around with me or it was too big to fit where I needed to fit.

Like nicholsworth, I also use my garden stool a lot. I have this one:

Unlike Don's cat, mine is completely useless. But still adorable.

Oh, popmama, I have a trenching shovel like that too! I was having all kinds of trouble using a regular spade and posted something on here about it. Everyone recommended that narrow trencher and it was the best shovel I ever bought! I paid more than $2 but it was worth it!

popmama..I own a garden seat like yours plus my 2 others..my husband uses it to put on his yard shoes..

I also have a narrow shovel that might be like yours and I love it!..it was my husband's grandparents and it was cheaper than yours..free!..Lol..I've told hubby if we get a divorce I'm taking it haha..not likely..married 45 years in July..plus he's my best garden helper!..

What would help me most is for it NOT to rain on my day off.

Generally my husband is not much for a helper but each spring hauls me about 10 skid steer buckets of manure and spreads it on my flowerbeds. Other then that my cat is on patrol for mice and voles all year round

Gosh, what great responses! I agree on rain and mulch. Both help avoid working in the garden during the heat of summer.

If I add anything, my garden has been saved a great deal by deer repellent. I get to grow various plants that would otherwise be eaten to the ground.

I have been struggling with rabbits - on a demanding schedule to put down rabbit repellent and that stuff is getting expensive when rainy days are frequent.

what is this 'helper'?

Camp, hahahahaha

Great comments! I agree that rain is a great helper. However, it would be helpful if the rain was on a regular schedule. We are currently under heavy rain advisories. Everything is soggy and it's hard to get spring chores done. Then in the middle of summer it gets so hot and dry sometimes, that I have to water everything. But I know compared to others here that suffer through months of drought; I cannot complain! My second favourite helper is good soil. I'm fortunate to have pretty nice soil. Some areas are too loose and dry out pretty quickly, but each year I add organics & mulch to improve the soil. This makes my plants grow really well and planting is a breeze.

Popmama, you are so right about kneepads. I was out in the backyard yesterday, pretty much all day. There's just no way I could hang without kneepads. Glad I have 'em.

I'm surprised no one mentioned compost. Rose roots are not able to take in nutrients if the soil pH is out of the proper range. Compost buffers the soil against pH change which allows the roots to feed properly. Compost also attracts earth worms and worm castings are the favorite food of roses.

LOL!! I have to laugh at kneepads.........if I got down on my knees, I wouldn't be able to get back up!! I can't even use the kneelers in church on the rare occasion I attend :-) 95% of the time I garden/weed bending over. The other 5% I use a small stool like the one shown previously.

"Rose roots are not able to take in nutrients if the soil pH is out of the proper range. "

This is the same for any plant.....not just roses :-) And most plants are adapted to a rather wide range of soil pH, all things considered. How well compost may be able to "buffer" soil pH depends on what it is to begin with.

No question for me - it's my animal company. Both the dogs (2 of 3 pictured), and cats (not pictured) help me enjoy my time in the garden a lot.

I'd say ice cold Budweiser, but then I would need a garden cart like the one nicholsworth posted, but would that be considered drinking and driving?

dstickrod..yes it's drinking and driving but it's not illegal in your own garden Lol!!..I don't know if you noticed but my wheeled garden seat has a CUPHOLDER on one end..

I've been told that rainwater is better for your plants that regular tap water, but I never get enough of it in one spot. Whenever it rains I always take a few buckets outside and place them under my gutters, and then when it finally stops raining I pour it over whatever plants I think need it the most.

Perennialfan, I do that too! My family laughs at me as I’m running around, emptying buckets (sometimes in my bathrobe) :)

Teaming up for some mole control...lol

Oursteelers, I just noticed the terrible towel. Are yinz from the burg or just fans.

We are very fortunate with rain. We usually get plenty and the occasional dryer spells, we still have the orginal working well to water with.

Function, we’re just fans but such psychotic fans that our oldest daughter moved there when she turned 24.

Please, please Rooney family, never sell the team...

I agree that rain is the very best garden helper. You can’t buy anything that’s better than what falls from the sky. It’s mighty precious around here, since it’s perfectly normal for us to go 8 months without a single drop of it. Lisa

Jim, I love your mole-hunting team! That’s just the cutest! I wish my dog and cats would team up and pitch in. My older female cat just rolls around in any hole I’m trying to dig. :-)

At this point it's my teenage son. We have a great system for the sod removal in the yard where I cut up with my edger then he takes the cut squares and slices off the grass then fills buckets to haul off to the pile we are making of it to compost and to fill the bottom of large pots. He makes the project go twice as fast which is important because his toddler little brother slows us down by about half lol :)

Apologies if anyone finds this offensive. We have lived on 2.5 acres in the Santa Cruz Mts. for 32 years and it has been hard to keep on top of the rodent problem. No mole, vole, gopher or rat stood a chance against our Dachshund, Elvira. We lost her last Sept at almost 17 YO. I miss just having her company while I worked in the garden. The rodent catching was a bonus.

caflowerluver , I heard Dachshunds are great rodent killers. Sorry you lost yours. I don't take any offense. Our problem is groundhogs, chipmunks and skunks. The chipmunks we poison and the groundhogs and skunks we shoot. Our cat is too old to hunt anymore. He just lays there and watches them run by. lol This year for the first time we have had hawks move in. They should help with the rodents.

I read one time that the best thing for your garden is your shadow. Because if you're out there, that means your garden is getting the attention it needs, whether it's mulch, water or pruning.

anitamo..what a great quote!..and true..you can definitely see the difference between a garden that has "shadows" and one that doesn't..

Great pic caflowerluver but so sorry for your loss!

Rain is a good thing as are Lady Bugs but I have a feral cat that has taken up residence at our place. NOTHING gets past him. I'll see him walking across the yard, stop dead, go over a little bit and start digging. B>INGO!!! A mole. He'll play with it a little bit then bring it over to me. Yeah, I'll give him a treat. He goes by the name of Sandy.

I'd have to agree that a cat makes a great garden helper :-) My boy - also a ginger colored tabby - was a super hunter and kept previous gardens free of all manner of unwanted wildlife. Thankfully he was not much interested in birds.....too much work to catch!

When I moved to my current garden, he was a bit too old do as much hunting. But he did like to hang out with me and the dog in the garden and explore until the coyotes moved in too close. And then he became pretty much an indoor cat.

Sadly he passed last November at the ripe old age of 17 and I miss him everyday. So does the dog, who was his best friend. I buried him at the base of a huge tree in a remote corner of the garden but where he can still oversee all the garden activity. And I just purchased a catmint to plant on his grave. Couldn't grow it when he was still alive as he would roll on it until there was nothing left :-)

caflowerluver , the best dogs one could ever get are the daschund as far as fun dogs and rodent killers. I think mine catch as many as the two cats do. They are even tough enough to kill marmots and have got many and are relentless so I would say .. get another , you will never regret it Sorry about your dear friend

I have to agree with rain also!! I’m hoping for more rain this summer vs the last 3 that were so hot and dry....Still hoping its not the new norm.

Second would be my CUTCO serrated knife. Best tool for dividing plants! Cuts through roots in no time...

And...My new little rescue dog who is part terrier, is proving to keep my property clear of anything that moves! He has the shortest little legs but is as fast as lightning lol!! Cute as a button too! Now if I could just keep him out of the gardens....

Functionthenlook,

I found a great solution to the chipmunk problem here on GW. A 5-gallon bucket filled halfway with water, a 2x4 “ramp” leading from the ground to the top of the bucket, and a sprinkling of sunflower seeds on the ramp and to cover the surface of the water. They dive in after the seeds and can’t get back out. It sounds cruel, but chipmunks can damage foundations, wiring in cars, retaining walls, etc. The financial damage adds up. And I prefer to avoid poison.

Martha

Docmom, I tried that last year and it didn't work. We put poison on sunflower seeds and put them down their holes.

I have so many!! We have had lots of rain so I haven’t had to drag the hose around.. My two daughters and their families came today and did a ton of yard work. They always come prepared with chainsaws and such. They get more done in one day then I do in weeks. I use Preem also. It really helps cut back on the weeds. My hubby bought my this toy for Christmas a couple years ago.. I use it every day.. it has a dump bed on the back.One year for Mother’s Day my daughter bought me the neatest small shovel. Hubby put a steel handle in it a couple years ago. I’m a shortie so it is perfect for me. I’m 71 and it gets harder to keep things up but i’m not giving up until I have to. I do all the mowing and it takes me 2 hours. I really enjoy doing it so i’m not complaining. We have a home in Southern Indiana and we are going down there on Monday. Hubby will work in the field and i’ll do.the yard. I love being outside..

The checkbook.

'The cheque-book'

Mine's empty...as is, often enough, my head..

.

Wish I had furry helpers instead of furry UNhelpers.

My best helpers are the decorative water sprinklers. Certainly NOT needed this year so far.

And bird netting to keep deer out. They could easily jump it, but do not. I think is is because they cannot really see it well and not sure how to get back out. Geeze, I constantly get tangled in it. Catches on shoes, clothes, eye glasses, and even buttons when putting up and taking down.

I couldn't possibly name just ONE. It really depends on the time of year and the job that I need to get done!! Many great ones have been named here!!

This season, my "best garden helper" is likely to be my trusty spray bottle of Plantskydd :-) Last year, the dang deer ate every flower bud that appeared so I am being very pre-emptive this season and spraying the bejesus out of everything that flowers!! LOL!