This little unit is perfect for tilling in crowded flower beds. It has lots of power to pull up weeds and mix the soil without tearing up huge areas of the garden. It does take a bit of practice to properly control it as it can run away quite easily and will spray soil around when you are near the edge of the flower beds. But once I got the hang of it, I was able to complete a weeding / tilling job in under 20 minutes, when before it was a half day job doing it with a hoe and rake. The unit does jam up a fair bit when working in rocky soil, or in heavy weeded areas where the plants wrap around the tines, but it is easy to clear. This is not a unit for tilling large, open areas, but it is perfect for working around closely spaced plants in a small to medium sized garden bed.