5 essential tools for your seasonal landscaping projects

It’s June now, and while the weather has been a bit unpredictable with spells of rain here and there, we’ve also been treated to some really lovely sunny days. The kind of days that make you want to spend every moment you can outdoors, enjoying your garden at its best. With the weather warming up, now is the perfect opportunity to get ahead of the game before the next sunny spell comes around.

Spring and early Summer are ideal times for landscaping and garden maintenance – whether you’re refreshing your lawn, planting new flower beds, tidying hedges, or preparing outdoor areas for Summer entertaining. The right equipment makes the work easier – it also helps you achieve professional, lasting results that your garden will thank you for throughout the Summer months.

At Smiths Hire, we’ve been supporting garden projects across the North West for over 50 years with our tool hire service. With 18 convenient hire depots stocked full of reliable, quality tools, we have everything you need to tackle your spring landscaping quickly and efficiently, whether you’re a keen DIYer or a landscaping professional.

So, if you want to make the most of the warm weather between rain showers and get ahead on your gardening this year, here are five essential tools you’ll want to hire to keep your garden in top shape!

1. A Petrol Lawn Aerator

Your lawn is the foundation of your garden – when it looks healthy, everything else feels more polished. But if your grass is looking patchy, spongy underfoot, or water just seems to sit on the surface instead of soaking in, it’s likely compacted and in need of aeration.

That’s where our Petrol Lawn Aerator comes in. Available to hire from our website or your local tool hire depot, it’s designed to open up the soil by punching small holes across your lawn, helping vital air, water, and nutrients reach the roots where they’re needed most. This encourages stronger, deeper root growth – and the result is a greener, thicker, more resilient lawn that can really thrive through the Summer.

Because it’s self-propelled, it’s ideal for larger gardens and reduces physical strain, so you can cover more ground in less time. It’s compact, easy to manoeuvre, and suitable for both professional landscapers and keen DIYers. If your lawn’s looking tired and patchy, aeration is the first step to bringing it back to life.

2. A rotavator

When you’re prepping for planting, soil condition is going to make or break your blooms – and if it’s compacted, dry, or full of old roots, you’ll struggle to get the best from your garden. Whether you’re starting a fresh flower bed for Summer, planting a vegetable patch, or just refreshing tired ground, a rotavator is the quickest, most effective way to get your soil sorted.

Whether you need to level the uneven ground, improve drainage, or break up compacted soil, our rotavators are designed to make the job quicker and easier. With powerful engines, durable construction and user-friendly features, they take the strain out of the groundwork and give you the perfect base for planting.

When you hire a rotavator from us, you can enjoy professional results without the long-term cost. We have models that are ideal for larger plots and options that work well if you’re working with more compact, smaller garden spaces. Either way, you’ll get well-turned, aerated soil that gives your plants the best start!

3. Lawn scarifiers

If your soil is in good shape but your grass looks patchy, tired, or a bit suffocated, it might be time to scarify. Over time, lawns develop a dense layer of thatch – made up of dead grass, moss, and organic debris – which sits on the surface and blocks water, nutrients, and air from reaching the roots. That means even if the soil below is healthy, your lawn could still struggle to thrive.

A lawn scarifier clears out this build-up, raking through the grass to lift away thatch and moss, allowing your lawn to breathe again. It creates space for new grass to grow through and improves overall circulation, giving you a lawn that looks thicker, greener, and more vibrant.

We’ve got a range of scarifiers available to hire at Smiths Hire, whether you’re working with a small lawn or tackling a larger garden space. It’s an easy and effective way to give your grass the refresh it needs for a stronger, healthier Summer display.

4. Hedge trimmers

Once your lawn is back in shape and looking fresh, it’s time to turn your attention to the rest of the garden – and nothing frames a space quite like neatly trimmed hedges and shrubs.

Spring and early Summer are the ideal time for giving your hedges and shrubs a proper tidy-up, shaping them into neat, attractive features. Just be sure you’re not disturbing any bird nests while you’re doing it because it is nesting season! Once you’re good to go, you’ll need a reliable hedge trimmer that makes the job quick and easy – you could use manual sheers, but if you have quite a few hedges to get through, you’ll be there for a while!

At Smiths Hire, we’ve got a wide range of hedge trimmers to suit every type of garden. Our petrol model offers the power you need for larger or more overgrown hedges, while our lighter electric model is perfect for smaller tasks or detailed shaping. Need to reach up high? Our long-reach hedge trimmer helps you trim tall or awkward hedges without needing a ladder!

5.Garden Blower

After all that effort mowing, scarifying, pruning, and planting, a garden blower makes light work of clearing leaves, grass cuttings, and general garden debris from paths, patios, and lawns, giving your space a neat and tidy finish.

Our Petrol Handheld Garden Blower by Stihl is powerful, efficient, and easy to use. It features STIHL ErgoStart for a smooth, low-effort start every time, along with a semi-automatic choke that helps prevent flooding and resets itself for convenience. Designed for comfort and control, it makes clearing up fast and easy. So whether you’re getting your garden ready to enjoy or preparing for a Summer party, this will help you finish the job!

With these handy tools, getting your garden ready for Summer couldn’t be easier. Whether it’s sorting your lawn, digging over your soil, trimming up the hedges, or clearing the mess afterwards, we’ve got everything you need to make it look its very best.

With over 50 years under our belt and 18 depots all over the North, we’re ready to help with garden tasks, big and small. Got any questions? Just give us a shout on 0333 323 2100 or pop down to your local depot. Our friendly team will sort you out with the right setup! So why not get stuck in and make your garden a place you can really enjoy this Summer?