Solar-powered outdoor lights were a great idea, but sadly most were kind of crappy. They would stop working after a few years. But in recent times they’ve gotten much better. Some of my new ones at our gate have been performing fabulously for years. No wires means you can put them anywhere. The kind I’ve settled on are ones like these Aootek Motion Sensing LED fence-mounted units that stay dim until they detect motion and then brighten up, preserving power. They come in a set of 6 ($22). They are quite bright; even one can make a big difference in the dark. – KK

My husband is the gardener of the family, and this Repotting Mat is his favorite gardening tool. It’s quick to snap together and contains all the soil mess when potting plants. He has two in different sizes. I imagine it would work well for keeping track of small parts too, if you’re working on other projects. — CD

When I work in the garden, or fiddle with bike tires, or work on something that requires I kneel, I grab an inexpensive foam kneeling pad, like this one, from a pack of Gardzen (3 for $16). No knee discomfort. A small thing that makes a big difference. — KK

Most plants can be propagated by pinching off a bit and setting the piece in soil to grow into a whole new plant. You can increase the likelihood of success by dusting the pinched piece with plant hormone to speed root growth, such as Bontone II Rooting Powder. We have generally propagated our entire garden by pinching. We can increase success even more using the Hormex set of 3 different strengths of the hormone based on how woody the plant is. — KK

Inevitably our garden hoses start to leak at their ends, where their couplings are dinged, or bent from overtightening. Worse, it’s a hassle to have to unscrew overtightened nozzles or hoses when they need to be moved. The solution are quick connectors, which are common on high pressure pneumatic lines. Quick connectors for garden hoses come in plastic or brass. I put them on all our spigots, hoses, and nozzles and now changing things is a literal snap, and there is zero leakage. There are plenty of generic brass fittings, all interchangeable. The ones I use are Shownew solid brass connectors which cost about $4 per pair. — KK