More nifty gadgets on the horizon

(Some of the items mentioned here are not yet in stores, but all are currently available on or via the listed Internet sites.)

We love trimming and shaping our hedges. We have pruned some of our hedges into conventional rectangles, and several into the shape of spheres.

One of our biggest fears, however, as we use our electric or gas hedge trimmers is that we might accidentally lose a finger to a moment of inattention. One of the great new products that we discovered at the recent national hardware show in Las Vegas was a hedge trimmer with a couple of really neat twists.

It’s called the Garden Groom and is billed as the world’s only “collecting hedge trimmer.” But what is best is that the blade assembly is almost exactly like a mulching lawn mower. There are two models we are familiar with: the Midi and the Max. The Midi is lighter weight, and the Max is a heavier, more powerful 430-watt version.

Both units have onboard collection containers as well as a larger collection bag that attaches to the device with a plastic flex hose.

For more information on this product, go to www.gardengroom.com.

There is nothing as great as a feature that can be added to a home workshop that improves space efficiency or versatility. This one may be of special importance to you if you love working on projects around the house, but you also have a problem with cramped conditions.

We discovered a really cool product from a company called ReTraact-It. The company makes a steel workbench that retracts into its own 6-inch frame.

The overall size of the retractable workbench – in the open position – is 46 inches wide by 24 inches deep by 60 inches high.

For more information on such folding things, go to www.retraactit.com.

Here’s one that everyone will use at one time or another. Nothing more than a large 7-mil-thick plastic bag, it is called the “concrete mixing bag” and comes from a company called The Cement Solution Co. LLC.

Here’s the way to use it:

“First, place your bag of ready-mix concrete or mortar so that it is standing on end.

“Next, cut a slit in the top of the ready-mix bag.

“Next, place the concrete mixing bag upside down over your bag of ready mix.

“Invert both bags at once, and pull the paper ready-mix bag out of the plastic bag.

“Then add water, tie off the top of the sack and roll the bag around to mix the ingredients.

“Finally pour the mixed concrete, and rinse out the bag.

You want to make sure to rinse the bag, because the manufacturer says it can be used 30 to 40 times.

For more information on the concrete mixing bag, go to www.thecementsolution.com.

We discovered a really cool trowel from a company called Slick Innovations that makes “the slick scoop.”

It differs from conventional hand trowels in a couple of ways:

“It has a square nose. The squared-off end makes cleaning out the corner of the bottom of a bucket super-easy.

“There is a flat, round bucket hook located between the blade and the handle. No more placing a dirty tool in your back pocket, putting it down and losing it or dropping it into a bucket and having to grab a filthy handle.