Hand tools for the garden: shovels, rakes and hoes

Hand tools are the basis of every garden. Whether you're digging over a border, raking up leaves or removing weeds between paving slabs: with good tools it goes faster and is less hard work. On this page you can compare spades, shovels, rakes, hoes, weeding tools, grass shears and wheelbarrows from, among others, Fiskars, Gardena, Wolf-Garten, Spear & Jackson and Talen Tools.

What do you need?

• Spade and shovel: a spade has a flat, straight blade for digging and edging. A shovel is wider and more curved, for moving soil, sand or compost.
• Rake: an ordinary garden rake for levelling soil, a leaf rake or lawn rake for gathering leaves and moss.
• Hoe and weeding tool: for loosening weeds between plants and digging roots out of the lawn. For joints between paving slabs there's a joint scraper.
• Hand trowel and hand tools: for planting and repotting in borders and containers.

What should you look out for?

Wheelbarrow and gloves

A wheelbarrow is essential when moving soil, compost or pruning waste. Pay attention to the capacity in litres and the number of wheels: one wheel is more manoeuvrable, two wheels are more stable with a heavy load. Good gardening gloves prevent blisters and scratches from thorns.

Look at the material of the blade (hardened or stainless steel), the length and material of the handle and the shape of the grip. A handle of the right length prevents you from having to stoop. Some brands work with an interchangeable system, where you use one handle for various heads. For pruning work see pruning tools, all types can be found at garden tools.