If I were restricted to one gardening implement it would always come down to the border spade. Short of snipping twine, or preparing a deckchair gin and tonic, there is little I can’t achieve in the garden with this hardy, slim-size and most cooperative of tools.
Whether it’s digging out borders, edging lawns, planting-out, laying mulch and – lay aside thy fork! – dividing perennials, this is the perfect tool for me.
The tools I couldn’t be without …
Border spade
Buy: £42.99, burgonandball.com
Turnbuckle wire tensioner
Without adjustable tension, all garden wires will eventually slacken, which is a nightmare for climbing plants, espalier fruits and vines alike. Enter the turnbuckle: a hook at one end, an “eye” at the other and a tightening casing in the middle, these are added to a wire (hooked on to a vine eye or wall screw) to ensure perpetual tautness. I find myself purchasing more of these than any other single garden item – they’ve never let me, or my plants, down.
Buy: £2.54, diy.com
Hori Hori knife
Niwaki’s Hori Hori knife is a prime example of a comparatively “luxury” tool that actually serves an invaluable function. It’s the implement gardeners so often live without yet quietly covet, hoping someone will one day gift wrap. Known as a Japanese trowel, yet more closely resembling a Shakespearean dagger, the hard-wearing, steel-wrought Hori Hori’s versatile uses include excavating stubborn, deep-rooted weeds, planting seedlings and harvesting crops.
Buy: £32, niwaki.com
One thing I could live without …
Years ago I was kindly given a “potato harvester”: a bevel-edged, slatted scoop of a hand tool made for thrusting into the earth and sieving out ripened potatoes. It remains beautiful on the shed shelf, but could never quite compete with the joy of rummaging with hand and fork.
Matt Collins
The tools I couldn’t be without …
Natural twine
Natural fibre twine or rope made from jute or hemp is relatively low cost, renewable and handy for all sorts of situations from tying in heavier climbers, to securing young saplings to tree stakes. Thicker 4mm twine is particularly handy for tougher jobs, such as attaching to polytunnel or greenhouse beams to twirl around tomato vine stems, or supporting heavy fruit-laden plants without the need for canes. Twine is better than metal or plastic ties because it is soft on plant tissue and will eventually rot, making it good for the environment and preventing it from cutting into expanding plant stems and branches, as metal can over time.
Buy: £0.40/m, thehempshop.co.uk
Long-handled trowel
For years I’ve been using a 30cm long-handled trowel and hand fork, and I would choose them over regular-length hand tools. I find the extra length is much easier for reaching into existing plantings to add new plants or to remove any. It also gives more leverage when digging into heavy soil, protecting my wrists from repetitive strain, which I have to be mindful of, working in other people’s gardens as well as my own.
Buy: £14.94, primetools.co.uk
One thing I could live without …
Rooting hormone powder has been around for decades, said to help cuttings root, but the tub I bought years ago sits in our shed unused because cuttings root perfectly well without it. The most important thing with cuttings is to maintain warmth to encourage growth and humidity to prevent them drying out.
Jack Wallington
The tools I couldn’t be without …
Super-Birki clogs
There would be a line of mud from my backdoor right through the house that was deep enough to sow seeds in if it wasn’t for these clogs. Pleasing shape, with a sole substantial enough that you can dig in them. Warm in winter, particularly when paired with goat socks and, best of all, you can chuck them in the washing machine when they get too filthy.
Buy: £60, birkenstock.com or £59.98, nisbets.co.uk
Copper gardening tools
The idea here is that copper will deter the slugs. I can’t attest to that – my garden is still full of them – but what these tools will do is save your wrists. I have had my trowel for years; it remains sharp and can cut through even compacted, difficult soils. It’s a joy to handle, lightweight and comfortable, and the more you use it the more the copper shines.
Buy: £42.40, thenaturalgardener.co.uk or from £50, burford.co.uk
Watering can
I inherited my Haws watering can from my mother, so it’s easily 50 years old and is still in perfect condition. One of the things I love about this design is that even when it is full to the brim it won’t spill when you walk with it. Its balance is impeccable and the long spout means it is easy to reach pots at the back of a cluster. The “one gallon” is particularly good if you don’t want to handle a heavy can and I’ve always favoured the oval bedding rose heads (turned upwards) for the gentlest of rain-like showers. It is by no means a cheap watering can, but it is a present for life (and beyond).
Buy: £80 (one gallon), haws.co.uk
Two things I could live without …
I wouldn’t buy brand new wooden garden furniture: it’s expensive and it’s hard to do it sustainably. If it’s well made, which is frankly all you want, then it’s better to buy second hand. It really only starts to look nice when its silvered and bit weathered, so you may as well let someone else look at it while it’s orange. Tip: if you want it to last, you need to cover it over the winter! Try preloved.co.uk, eBay, Facebook Marketplace, vinterior.co, or your local antique shop or reclamation yard.
I wouldn’t buy semi-mature trees; that’s anything with a stem of more than 20-25cm diameter and roughly more than 2 metres tall. Buy a whip (they start at 30cm tall and go up to 100cm) for a fraction of the price. Within five years or so it will start to catch up, within eight you won’t be able to tell the difference. A semi-mature tree needs A LOT of love to happily settle in – it was invested in life elsewhere. A whip may look insubstantial, but it is still at a stage where it can adapt, and requires a fraction of the water to do that. Also, there’s a lot less wastage environmentally in transportation, and in materials to wrap and move it. And for the price of one semi-mature tree you can buy a small forest of 30cm whips.
Alys Fowler
The tools I couldn’t be without …
Sentei secateurs
I’ve always prided myself on being something of a gardening minimalist. I don’t covet shiny gadgets or strimmers, my shed holds more bird food than it does tools. Those that are in there are mostly hand-me-downs that are good enough. What I am particular about, however, are blades: I basically only use Niwaki for anything sharp – from pruning saws to secateurs. My trustiest are the Sentei secateurs; a 30th birthday present from my brother which I intend to use for ever. They’re not the most advanced model Niwaki makes, but that means they’re less intimidating. They wear beautifully with the seasons, which only makes them more deeply satisfying to clean and sharpen.
Buy: £38, woodandmeadow.com
Enamel bucket
I have a couple of white, blue-rimmed enamel buckets with lids, and a sturdy black plastic one with a pouring groove, that kick around by the shed and are used pretty much every time I garden. From shuffling compost around to collecting weeds (let them sit in a few inches of rainwater to mould down for several weeks and you can throw them on your compost pile), hydrating new plants before you bed them in, collecting molluscs to re-home and, of late, giving the toddler a receptacle in which to gather his precious gravel, they are just so handy. Secondhand ones are cheap and charming; I found mine at local hardware shop.
Buy: £26.54, amazon.co.uk
One thing I could live without …
Gifted plant pots without holes in the bottom are invariably relegated to Olio (the community app for giving away, borrowing or lending stuff locally for free). They drown plants or become swimming pools for molluscs.
Alice Vincent
The tools I couldn’t be without …
Opinel knife
I was given an Opinel No.08 by the wonderful food grower who first trained me, as a congratulations gift for making it through my first growing season under her tutelage, and it has been a reliable companion and colleague ever since. Whether it’s swiftly helping get the salad harvest done, assisting in the pruning of the tomatoes’ side shoots or being poised to cut an emergency piece of twine, every grower needs a solid, quality knife in their pocket at all times.
Buy: £9.95, cyclaireshop.co.uk
Blundstone boots
Much of the most robust outdoor workwear is tailored for men yet, thankfully, the best work boots – Blundstones – come in women’s sizes. Sturdy yet comfortable, their Chelsea boots are my go-to choice on the days when I’m working on the farm. I know so many farmers who swear by their Blundstones – plus, unlike other work boots, they genuinely look great.
Buy: antique brown boot, £190, blundstone.co.uk
Thermal gloves
I struggle with chilly fingers. Having worked my way through too many gardening gloves in search of a winter-ready pair, I finally found these gamechanging thermal ones made by Briers. They’re thick without being restrictive, and they keep my fingers from turning blue while I’m getting on with the jobs that need doing during the colder months of the growing season.
Buy: £5.10, justgloves.co.uk
One thing I could live without …
While I’ve never bought one, I’ve always thought that soil moisture meters seem utterly pointless when you could simply stick your finger in the soil and feel the moisture level for yourself.
Claire Ratinon
The tool I couldn’t be without …
Hand lens
One of the best ways to master plant care is learning how to observe your plants, and the best tool for that is a hand lens. This little piece of kit will allow you to see leaves and flowers under x10 or x20 magnification. You’ll be able to see fascinating features like trichomes (plant hairs) more clearly, and you may also spot some less welcome guests. Many houseplant pests, such as red spider mite and the younger life stages of thrips and mealy bugs, are impossible to see with the naked eye, so wielding a hand lens can help you spot trouble and treat it before it becomes an infestation. If you can, try to get a good quality lens – triplet lenses are the best – and buy a lanyard so you can wear it round your neck. Lenses get lost (or trodden on) easily.
Buy: £38.95, watdon.co.uk
One thing I could live without …
The one thing I always suggest people don’t spend money on is a plant mister. Spraying water on to plant leaves is an inefficient way to boost humidity, and if you do need a spray bottle for applying feeds and the pest treatments, a plastic spray cleaner (thoroughly washed out) is durable and effective.
Jane Perrone
