Could this be the new gardening tool I was expecting? The parcel seemed too light. But there they were, my new STIHL battery pruning shears, weighing in at less than a kilo.
Would these overgrown secateurs be useful? Would I have been better off with a pruning saw? A small chainsaw? I read the instructions while the battery charged, then headed into the wilds of my garden to chop stuff.
Spring was surging in Northland, and everything was growing. I made a start in the rough area of my garden filled with young trees. I pushed safety, held the trigger for two seconds and the jaw blades opened wide, then with an effortless squeeze of the trigger, we were off.
I slayed a giant thistle to get the feel, then valiantly deadheaded some daisies. Easy! The power went to my head.
Elaine Webster prunes with ease. Photo by Dawn Dutton.
I moved on to the rampant shrub spilling over the path. Chop chop. The blades seemed always at the ready, opening from each close with elegant efficiency. Sitting comfortably in my hand too, not requiring forceful grip or wearying pressure, the shears easily coped with stems and twigs and sticks. Then a small branch, no sweat. All the low branches on the ribbonwood, chop. A bigger branch, two bites. A small unwanted gum tree, gone.
After an hour in the garden, neither my hand nor the battery showed any sign of fading. But I had done the work. Piles of pruning lay all over the place, the prickly bougainvillea had been trimmed without bloodshed, the path and my forest garden were cleared for mowing access.
These shears are a brilliant addition to my tool kit. A delight to cut with, and surprisingly useful.
Elaine Webster is a writer and a gardener based in Whangārei.
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