12 Essential Tools To Keep Your Garden in Tip Top Shape

Between overgrown bushes, grass that always seems a bit too long, and tricky to care for plants, gardening can feel impossible. But it doesn’t need to be that way!

In fact, there are plenty of gardening tools that’ll have your garden looking as fresh as a daisy - excuse the pun – in no time at all! 

From the best garden power tools to the smaller garden must haves, we’ve got 12 gardening essentials to help keep your garden in tip-top shape, below.

Before we get into our definitive gardening tools list, let’s start with the safety orientated garden essentials: protective gardening clothing!

Between thorns and broken branches, it can be easy to get a few scuffs and scrapes on your hands when gardening. That’s why gardening gloves are essential for keeping your hands safe! Thick, padded gloves will give you the best protection, but whatever pair you go for, make sure they’re a good fit for you.

TOP TIP: Eye googles are another bit of protective gear to add to your garden must-haves, as these are a dab hand at shielding your eyes when trimming hedges.

With the proper protection sorted, we can now explore the first of our best garden power tools, to keep your outdoor space in tip-top shape all year round. Let’s talk lawn mowers!

Cordless lawnmowers are the easiest to work with, as you don’t have to worry about pesky wires getting stuck in the blades. Our range of mowers are all cordless, designed to make light work of this gardening task, ensuring your backyard is BBQ season ready in no time.

TOP TIP: When it comes to getting the edges of your grass neat and tidy, you may find it easier to use a smaller and more agile grass trimmer instead of your lawn mower.

Looking to cultivate a garden even the most prestigious of flower shows would be jealous of?

You needn’t get any state-of-the-art equipment when a simple spade will do the job just fine!

Whether you’ve potted a few plants in your time or are undeniably green-fingered, you will know how essential spades are for a range of gardening tasks – cultivating soil, reshaping beds, and creating planting holes.

Slightly rounded edge will cut through most soils with ease, while a pointed edge is best for gardens with rocky soil. Whatever edge you go for, make sure your spade is made from stainless steel, to avoid rust.

Weeds can cause havoc in your garden, but we’ve got one cheap garden tool that will have them sorted in a jiffy. Any guesses? We’re talking about a hand trowel!

Pesky plants like weeds can root themselves quite deep into the soil, but a hand trowel can be used to dig out the whole weed – roots and all! You can also use this essential garden tool to transport the plants you do want from planter to soil. Who doesn’t love a two-for-one?

Plant holes dug and weeds removed, now we can prep the soil to ensure your flowers, veggies, and herbs have a healthy place to grow – this is where a hoe comes in.

Hoes are one of the best gardening tools for tilling your soil, this is where you shift the soil around to disturb it, preparing it properly for planting. For light and soft soil, you’re best off with a scuffle hoe, whereas a warren hoe is sturdier, ideal for gardens with rocky soil. 

Similar to a hoe, a garden fork can be used to prep your soil for planting. However, it has another handy use in the garden as well.

Whether fresh or old, soil can occasionally form clumps, making it tricky to properly plant your flowers, veggies, and herbs. A garden fork is an excellent tool for breaking up these lumps, creating a smooth and even surface for your plants.

Next on the garden must-haves list is a rake, and these garden essentials have plenty of handy uses for your outdoor spaces.

Rakes can be used to level your soil, as well as any pebble paths, to create a smooth and even surface. What’s more, those nuisance autumn leaves may look lovely on trees, but they’re not so great when littered all over your garden. So, you can use your rake to sweep leaves to the side, making it easier to pop them in the recycling – clean and tidy!

Now we’ve explored a few handheld garden essentials for planting, let’s move on to some more of the best garden power tools, starting with a hedge trimmer.

Bushes and hedges can become overgrown quite quickly, leaving your garden looking ever so slightly dishevelled. Hedge trimmers make light work of, well, trimming your hedges to keep them uniform and fresh.

TOP TIP: Make sure to use eye goggles here, as bits of broken branches and leaves can fly off quite quickly and haphazardly with a hedge trimmer!

Hedge trimmers may take care of the brunt of your hedge related gardening tasks, but pruning shears are excellent garden must-haves for the more fiddly aspects.

You can use this gardening essential to safely cut back thicker branches on your hedges or trees, helping them stay uniform and tidy. What’s more, you can also use pruning shears to take tree, flower, and herb clippings, which you can then plant in your garden – another versatile essential garden tool!

We’re reaching the end of our definitive list of the best garden tools to keep on hand, but we can’t finish things up without mentioning a garden hose!

Even with the dreary, rainy British weather, watering your grass is essential lawn maintenance to keep it healthy, especially during the warmer summer months. You can get different fittings for your hosepipe, but we recommend a sprinkler for gently watering the length of your garden and a jet spray attachment for cleaning patio and deck areas.

Hoses are excellent garden must-haves for watering grass, but a watering can might be a little easier for watering plants, herbs, and flowers alike!

You can get metal and plastic watering cans, but plastic ones are slightly easier to keep in good nick, as they won’t rust over time. But if you do prefer a metal one, make sure to empty and dry it after every use, and store it in a dry area until you need it again.

We’re sure you’re wondering what the final tool on our gardening must-haves list could be, so let’s not keep you waiting – it’s a wheelbarrow!

From moving heavy materials like stones and bricks to helping shift debris and rubbish blown in by the wind, wheelbarrows are just another essential gardening tool with multiple uses. You can even use your wheelbarrow to mix concrete for paved areas, as well as DIY fertiliser for keeping your plants healthy!

Wheelbarrows typically come in plastic or metal options, both are useful, but metal ones are better for carrying heavy loads. However, just like the watering cans, make sure to keep metal wheelbarrows in a dry area when not in use, as this will help avoid any rust.

And we’re done – you now have the 12 essential gardening tools to get your outdoor space summertime ready! If you’re looking for more gardening top tips like how to make your own compost or what to do with grass clippings, head over to our blog!