Hand tools

Tools are a gardener's best friend – and top of the list come your trusty hand tools, pressed into daily service for everything from pruning to digging to sowing to weeding. In our garden centre you'll find the basic kit for starting out: border spades and forks to turn your soil, hand tools for close-up weeding and secateurs for pruning, trimming and dead-heading.

  • For trickier jobs there's a huge variety of more specialist tools in our garden centre. We have hoes to suit every purpose, whether it's earthing up potatoes or more delicate weeding; and our range of rakes make short work of levelling seedbeds, collecting autumn leaves or clearing up debris.
  • Pruning tools are an essential part of a gardener's armoury: in our garden centre you'll find loppers for thicker branches. Plus we have specialist weeding tools for winkling weeds out of the toughest corners.

Please ask the staff in our Emersons Green garden centre for more information and advice about the range of hand tools we have in stock.

The gardening tools you need to get started

In our garden centre, you will find the basic kit for starting with gardening. This basic kit consists of:

  • border spades and forks to turn your soil;
  • hand tools for close-up weeding;
  • secateurs for pruning, trimming and deadheading.

A border spade is smaller than a regular spade and has a flat blade that enables you to dig down into the ground. Spades and forks are convenient when you want to loosen the soil or break up lumps in the soil. But sometimes, you need something smaller to get your garden free of weeds. That is where hand tools such as hoes and secateurs come in. Dig up the roots of the weeds to get rid of the stubborn plants that keep springing up in your garden by using a hoe. When the roots are too big to dig up entirely, you can use secateurs. They are also great for cutting thick branches and stems. Other hand tools include trowels, knife weeders and rakes. You can turn your garden into a weedless paradise by keeping close to the ground.

How to choose the proper hand tools for gardening?

When you are just getting started with gardening, it can be hard to know which garden tools to choose. First of all, always check if the tool allows you to work in a comfortable position. Gardening is hard work, so using tools that put you in a problematic place are strongly discouraged. Next, try to find out if the hand tools work for troublesome weeds that have deep roots. Ask our staff for advice by telling them about the weeds you have to deal with in your garden. They can recommend hand tools that enable you to tackle these weeds. Look for tools with sharp edges with a sturdy handle. Also, don’t forget to ask about the maintenance of your tools. Do they need frequent sharpening and cleaning? Don’t be afraid to ask our employees all the questions you have!