When it comes to gardening, it’s easy to overstock items like trowels and spades. But by putting your money towards several carefully selected tools, you’ll be well-equipped to effectively tend your garden and approach the majority of jobs with confidence for years to come.
For inspiration, take a look at our list of the best gardening tools available. We’ve found robust, high-quality items, so you shouldn’t be faced with replacing them any time soon. Keep scrolling to see our picks.
Best gardening tools to buy
Niwaki Golden Spade Standard
A spade is one of the most important gardening tools, so it’s a good idea to invest in a high-quality one. This eye-catching option is made by trusted brand Niwaki, and is designed to be used for general outdoor tasks like digging, planting and mixing cement.
Niwaki has created this golden spade in a 'small' and 'standard' size, so you can choose the right design for you. Despite the sturdy steel construction, the spades weigh 0.9kg and 1.8kg, making them fairly easy to manoeuvre around the garden.
Bulldog Transplanting Trowel
Able to reach into cracks and crevices, this slim trowel from Bulldog is one of the best gardening tools for jobs like creating rockeries, restoring patios and transplanting bulbs. It has a carbon steel blade and six-inch FSC-certified ash handle for easy grip.
If you're looking for a way to transport bulbs around the garden, check out our list of the best garden trugs!
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew by Spear & Jackson Weed Fork
Spear & Jackson has partnered with Kew Gardens to create this hardwearing hand fork. The tines are mirror-polished, which should help them slide through compacted soil more easily. And there’s a long ‘tang’ connecting them to the handle, increasing the distance between your hand and the ground.
The handle has also been carefully designed, constructed from FSC-certified ash and weatherproofed.
Burgon & Ball RHS Daisy Grubber
Frustrated with short weeds in your garden? You need a daisy grubber, specifically designed to uproot unwanted plants without the use of harsh chemicals. This one is particularly good at removing weeds like dandelions. Just slide the base of the plant into the gap in the metal and bend the handle downwards to pull it out of the ground - roots included.
Created by Burgon & Ball and the RHS - two of the most well-respected names in the gardening world - this robust grubber is made with high-quality materials. The 28cm tool is made with British stainless steel and FSC-approved hardwood.
Draper Bypass Pattern Loppers
For cutting back trees and brambles, you’ll need some loppers. These ones are constructed with hardened carbon steel for durability and comfortable hand grips. Plus, the blades have a non-stick sealant to minimise rusting.
Spear & Jackson Razorsharp Hand Shears
From pruning hedges to trimming grass borders, shears come in handy for a variety of different tasks. Notched carbon steel blades like these ones are particularly good at cutting through thick stems.
These shears also have a robust aluminium handle and are light in weight.
Mira Copper Hand Trowel
- Buy now from Etsy UK (£48.99), Farrar & Tanner (£55.00)
Hand trowels are probably the most widely used gardening tool, and this one should stand the test of time. Unlike most standard options on the market, it’s made with solid bronze. So, not only is it rust-resistant, but it’ll also deter slugs and snails and improve the quality of soil in your garden.
Plus, it has a sustainably sourced hardwood handle.
Spear & Jackson Razorsharp Bypass Secateur
Snip easily accessible plant stems and branches with secateurs. Spear & Jackson has developed these ones with coated carbon steel blades and a locking catch you can use whether you’re right- or left-handed. They’ll quickly cut through stems with a diameter of up to 1.5cm.
Sneeboer Garden Rake
- Buy now from Harrod Horticultural (£83.95)
With aggressive use, garden rakes can quickly become damaged, but this one from the Dutch brand Sneeboer has solid construction to stand up to tough tasks. During the manufacturing process, artisanal craftsmen individually shape, sharpen and polish the strong, stainless steel tines, before fitting a long, ash handle.
Draper Leaf Grabber
Many leaf-grabbing kits have individual hand scoops, but these grabbers have long handles to stop you hurting your back from continually bending over. Just pull the two steel bars together to pick up leaves in the strong polypropylene head. The PVC hand grips should make it comfortable to work for long periods of time.
Sneeboer Great Dixter Bulb Planter
- Buy now from Harrod Horticultural (£154.95)
Sneeboer has created this traditional bulb planter in collaboration with Great Dixter house in East Sussex, making it easy to take out plugs ready for new bulbs. Overall, it’s a metre in length and reaches a plug depth of 9cm. The wide handle is made from FSC-certified ash, and allows you to comfortably insert the bulb planter into hard ground.
Burgon & Ball Patio Weeding Knife
This tool may be an unusual-looking implement, but it’s just the right shape for scraping weeds out of the hard-to-reach gaps between paving slabs. This one is from Burgon & Ball, and it comes with an FSC-approved wood handle with a leather hanging cord.
Draper Budding knife
With a gardening knife in your pocket, you can easily prune plants and bushes as you go about various outdoor tasks. For classic design, try this one from Draper. It’s got an 8cm, stainless steel blade, which tucks into an FSC-certified oak handle. The classic design and high-quality materials make this a popular choice for seasoned gardeners.
Hori Hori tool for uprooting plants
The Japanese hori hori tool is a key gardening knife for anyone who needs to uproot plants or cut through foliage. With its straight, serrated blade, it quickly slices through tough materials. Opt for this one to get a handy belt sheath too.
See our full round-up of hori hori knives to find other great options.
Spear & Jackson Log Splitting Maul and Splitter
When the time comes to chop down logs from your garden, you’ll need a reliable maul. Spear & Jackson has crafted this one, designed to split wood chunks in half. It comes in three different sizes between 1.5lb and 6.5lb in weight, and you can also buy a useful splitting wedge to go along with it.
- See our full guides to the best splitting axes and log splitters.