Autumn garden gadgets: EGO blower, smart timer and solar cam

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Autumn is when the garden asks for help: leaves pile up, the rain comes and goes, and it’s dark by the time you get home. The good news is that garden tech has become seriously clever. Battery blowers now push air like petrol machines, hose timers check the weather forecast before they water, and solar floodlights use AI to tell a person from a passing cat. Here are three high-tech garden gadgets worth it this autumn.

How we compared: we did not test these gadgets ourselves. This guide is based on manufacturer specifications and on published, hands-on reviews by independent outlets (Bob Vila, Pro Tool Reviews, Tom’s Guide, Reviewed, CGMagazine and Homebuilding & Renovating), plus advice from the RHS, Consumer Reports and the US Environmental Protection Agency, all linked below. Price ranges: Budget = under $100, Mid-range = $100-300, Premium = over $300. Prices change often, so use the Amazon links in each section to see today’s price.

Quick picks

Specs come from the manufacturers and the reviews linked in each section.

Leaf blower: EGO POWER+ 765 CFM Blower (LB7654)

Battery blowers used to be polite little puffers. The EGO POWER+ 765 CFM Blower is not: its brushless motor moves up to 765 cubic feet of air per minute in Turbo mode, with air speeds up to 200 mph through the cone nozzle, and a variable-speed dial plus cruise control for everyday work. The kit comes with EGO’s 56V 5.0Ah battery and charger, and that battery fits the rest of EGO’s 56V tools. EGO claims about 90 minutes of average use per charge, but only around 15 minutes on Turbo.

The testers back up the power. Bob Vila rated it 8.9/10 after a month of yard work and found it moved wet, matted leaves as hard as a gas backpack blower; on high, it ran about an hour and still had charge left after clearing a porch, a driveway, a patio and the curb. Pro Tool Reviews measured 25.3 newtons of blowing force on Turbo, close to EGO’s 26-newton claim, and called it the strongest battery blower it had tested. Both reviews are from before 2025, but EGO’s 56V blowers still top Bob Vila’s 2026 roundup for power.

Pros: gas-like power from a battery tool; long runtime at normal speeds; brushless motor; one battery for a whole tool range. Cons: heavy, about 10 lb (4.4 kg) with the battery, and tiring on long sessions; Turbo drains the battery fast; expensive; the cruise dial sits on the left, which suits right-handers.

Who it’s for: medium to large gardens with lots of trees, and anyone replacing a gas blower. Not for: small patios, or anyone who finds a 10 lb handheld tool tiring.

Tip: blow the leaves into a heap and turn them into leaf mould instead of bagging them. The RHS suggests a chicken-wire cage or perforated bags kept moist; most leaves take about two years to break down, and shredding thick ones (with a mower, for example) speeds it up, as Gardening Etc also explains.

See today’s price on Amazon →

Smart watering: Rachio Smart Hose Timer

Autumn weather is fickle, so a timer that waters on a fixed schedule wastes water on rainy days. The Rachio Smart Hose Timer screws onto your outdoor tap and connects by Bluetooth to a small plug-in Wi-Fi hub. Its weather feature checks the local forecast and skips watering when rain is expected; you choose how much rain counts, from 1/16 inch to 3/4 inch. It also has a manual button on the valve, alerts if the tap is turned off, and works with iPhone and Android apps, Alexa and Google Assistant.

Tom’s Guide called it the best smart water controller for most people: it was set up in under 10 minutes, ran on schedule and warned the day before that it would skip for rain. Reviewed found its rain skip “much more reliable and accurate” than a rival’s and praised its range. The two AA batteries for the valve are not included.

Pros: real weather-aware rain skip; notifications and flow alerts; easy setup; works offline with the manual button. Cons: needs the plug-in hub and 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi; batteries sold separately; less fine-tuning than some rivals, Tom’s Guide notes.

Who it’s for: anyone watering a lawn or beds with a hose who wants set-and-forget schedules. Not for: in-ground sprinkler systems with several zones, which need a multi-zone controller.

Tip: bring it in before the first frost. Rachio says the valve must not be exposed to freezing temperatures, so unscrew it, take out the batteries and store it indoors until spring. Watering early in the morning or in the evening also cuts evaporation, and the US EPA’s WaterSense programme estimates that up to half of household outdoor water is wasted through overwatering.

See today’s price on Amazon →

Solar security light: Reolink Solar Floodlight Cam

Shorter days mean dark side passages, sheds and driveways, often with no power socket nearby. The Reolink Solar Floodlight Cam puts a 1,000-lumen motion floodlight, a 2K camera and a solar panel into one box with no wiring. Its AI detection tells people, vehicles and animals apart, so you can choose what turns on the light, the 110 dB siren or a phone alert. It records to a microSD card (sold separately) with no subscription needed, is rated IP66 against rain and dust, works from -20 to 55 °C, and connects over Wi-Fi 6. Reolink says about an hour of direct sun a day covers typical use.

The 2026 tests are positive. CGMagazine scored it 8/10: it was installed in under an hour, the battery barely dipped overnight and the floodlights gave full-colour night video. Homebuilding & Renovating found the battery barely dropped while mounted on a shed and daytime video sharp to the edges, but at night bright areas blow out and faces lose detail. Both note the solar panel is fixed to the light, so the spot you want to watch must also be sunny.

Pros: light, camera and solar in one with no wiring; bright motion floodlight with warm-to-cool colour; AI detection cuts false alarms; local recording without a subscription. Cons: night detail suffers under the floodlight; the fixed panel limits where you can mount it; the app is powerful but busy at first; the microSD card costs extra.

Who it’s for: dark corners with no socket nearby: side passages, sheds, bin stores, driveways. Not for: fully shaded or north-facing walls, or anyone needing sharp long-range night identification.

Tip: set detection zones and filters in the app so blowing leaves, branches and passing cars don’t trigger the light all night, and watch the battery graph as the days get shorter; if it keeps falling, move the light somewhere sunnier.

See today’s price on Amazon →

Buying tips

• Pick a battery platform. Garden tools from one brand often share batteries, so a second tool can cost much less if you buy it bare.
• Look after batteries in winter. Consumer Reports advises storing lithium-ion packs indoors, at roughly 40-80 °F (4-27 °C) and partial charge, not on the charger in a freezing shed, a point Stihl also makes.
• Check local noise rules. Leaf-blower hours and limits are set locally in many places, so check your town’s rules before blowing early or late.
• Solar needs sun. Before you drill, check how many hours of direct light the spot gets in autumn and winter.

FAQ

Is a battery blower really as strong as a gas one? The top models come close: Bob Vila found this EGO moved wet leaves as hard as a gas backpack blower, though Turbo drains the battery in about 15 minutes.

Does a smart hose timer save water? It can, by skipping rainy days: the EPA estimates up to half of household outdoor water is lost to overwatering.

Does the solar floodlight need a subscription? No. It records locally to a microSD card; Reolink’s cloud plan is optional.

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