Learn about garden tools that you may not even own yet and why you should consider adding them to your garden tool collection (especially now).
You may not be using all the garden tools you need for the best garden maintenance.
How would you even know if that was true? Is there a tool that could make your maintenance faster or more efficient? What makes one tool better or more useful than another tool?
Below are the top 10 garden tools that you may not actually have (and that you absolutely should have) in your possession.
Right. Now.
In addition, any of these garden tools would make a great gift to beginning gardeners, first-time homeowners, or anyone in between (including yourself 😉).
Get ready to shop like a gardening pro.
Read our Top 10 Garden Tools post to learn the following:
- Which top 10 tools you should own for your garden tasks.
- Tips and advice on each tool to help you optimize their use in your garden.
- Where to purchase each of our tools suggested with easy, clickable links for the most up-to-date price.
Types of Garden Tools
Almost all garden tasks you face can be completed easily and efficiently with our must-have tool list below.
From power tools to hand tools, our tool list is based on tools we seriously could not live without in our 20+ years of landscape and garden experience.
You’ll learn about each tool as well as information to help you purchase each tool. We’ve included tips and advice to help you be successful.
This article is intended for any beginner to the slightly more advanced gardener who is looking for must-have garden tools for their tasks.
Essential Gardening Tools
1) Pruning Shears: Corona ClassicCUT Bypass Forged Pruning Shears
If you are new to gardening, you need to invest in a great pair of pruning shears. Once you find the right pair, we guarantee you’ll have them around for a very long time.
Our hands-down favorite pruning shears are the Corona ClassicCUT Bypass Forged Pruning Shears for so many reasons!
The Corona ClassicCUT pruning shears are the best basic pruning shears you can buy because they are built with strength and dependability. Other pruning shears out there might feature pivoting lower handles that are more ergonomically shaped to fit your hand better
These bypass pruning shears are a must for any gardener, whether a newbie or a seasoned veteran, as these shears are versatile, durable, and dependable.
Tips and Advice:
- Keep any metal pruning shears, like the Corona ClassicCUT Bypass Forged Pruning Shears, dry when storing.
- Spray some WD-40 or add a couple of drops of 3-in-1 Oil around the moving parts and on the cutting blade to keep them maintained and in working order for their next use.
- Make sure to store them in a cool, dry place. Hanging on the wall of a garage works well.
Recommended Resources:
2) Hula-Hoe: The Flexrake Hula-Ho Weeder Cultivator w/ 54-Inch Wood Handle
Whether you enjoy weeding or not, the Hula-Hoe is a must-have for any gardener!
The Flexrake Hula-Ho Weeder Cultivator w/ 54-Inch Wood Handle makes weeding a snap. This tool scrapes and literally severs weed roots from the ground.
The repeated action of pushing and pulling with the hula-hoe drastically speeds up your weeding chores making it so easy. You’ll wonder why you haven’t used one of these before!
Tips and Advice:
- When using any Hula-Hoe, make sure the Hula-Hoe blade is level with the soil grade so you don’t dig down further in the soil than you need to.
- To sever the weeds from the soil most efficiently, you will need to lower the handle slightly when pulling the hoe toward you and raise the handle up slightly when pushing the hoe away so you can get underneath the weed.
Recommended Resources:
- DIY Garden Minute Ep. 14: Weeding- The Disruption Strategy
- Ep. 21: Proactive Weed Control Strategies For Any Season!
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3) Pruning Loppers: Fiskars 28-inch Bypass Loppers
Loppers, in addition to pruning shears, are a go-to tool for your garden for so many reasons. As a pruning tool, loppers are best suited for larger stems or branches over 1-inch thick and up to 2 or 2 1/2 inches in diameter.
Bypass loppers are preferable to anvil loppers because they give a cleaner cut while not crushing the stem tissue, which elongates the healing process for the plant after the cut.
Our lopper pick, the Fiskars 28-inch Bypass Loppers, cuts stems and branches up to 1 1/2 inches in diameter, where larger stems Sean prefers to use his hand or chainsaw.
Tips and Advice:
- Like the pruning shears, be sure to clean and oil your moving points and cutting blade when you are finished using it so it’s ready for next time.
- Use some WD-40 or a couple of drops of 3-in-1 Oil.
- Make sure to store them in a cool, dry place. Hanging them up on the wall of a garage works well for storage.
Recommended Resources:
- Best Loppers For Your Pruning Needs
- DIY Garden Minute Ep. 5: Pruning Shears vs. Loppers- What’s the Difference?
4) Drop Spreader: Scotts Turf-Builder ™ Classic Drop Spreader
A good fertilizing routine will assist in plant and lawn seasonal biological processes, their continued root growth, and respiration. A drop spreader will work well in many different gardening situations and is easy to use to accomplish this.
In addition to fertilizing your lawn, this drop spreader can be used for planting new seed or overseeding areas of your lawn. Scotts Turf-Builder ™ Classic Drop Spreader is our favorite fertilizing tool and will definitely get the job done.
As opposed to broadcast spreaders, drop spreaders are preferred because whether you walk at a fast or slow pace, the drop spreader will physically drop fertilizer or seed in a uniform area consistently.
A broadcast spreader distributes fertilizer or seed at different distances depending on how fast you walk thus requiring you to walk consistently at the same pace to get an even distribution. In our experience, this consistency is very hard to maintain which is why we recommend a drop spreader instead.
This tool, Scotts Turf-Builder ™ Classic Drop Spreader, is best used in medium to large turf areas for fertilizing and seeding.
Tips and Advice:
- Before you fertilize, make sure to cut your grass to about 3+ inches (7.62 centimeters). This helps equipment and other materials reach the soil surface.
- If you use a large gap-opening on the spreader (high number setting where the spreader is dropping a lot of material), be sure to lower the number on the gap-setting so no tension remains on the mechanism when not in use.
- If you leave the setting on high, the continuous tension on the mechanism can damage the calibration and you can end up wasting material with future use.
Recommended Resources:
- Ep. 24: Fall Garden Mulching and Lawn Maintenance
- DIY Garden Minute Ep. 16 – Foolproof Fall Fertilizing!
5) Pruning Hand Saw: The Fiskars 7-inch Power Tooth Soft Grip Folding Saw
Any gardener will need to prune their plants at least once a year to help improve the aesthetic look of your plants.
The Fiskars 7-inch Power Tooth Soft Grip Folding Saw pruning handsaw is a great go-to hand tool for any beginning or advanced gardener that they will use over many years to keep their garden looking great! It can also interchange with a 10-inch saw blade!
Either the 7-inch or 10-inch cutting blade is engineered so that it rips fast through 3 and 4-inches branches fast with 7-teeth per inch on either blade. Aggressive cutting power in a lightweight, durable hand tool!
Tips and Advice:
- As with pruning shears and loppers, be sure to clean and oil your moving points and cutting blade when you are finished using it so it’s ready for next time. Use some WD-40 or a couple of drops of 3in-1 Oil.
- Our “3 Pillars of Pruning” system refers to why you should prune your plants.
- Click here to watch this YouTube clip on how to apply the 1st Pillar of Pruning.
- In general, only Pillar 1 should be followed in the fall. You might be able to apply both Pillar 1 & 2, but only if there isn’t any threat of tissue-damaging freezing temperatures during and a couple of days after that pruning.
Recommended Resources:
6) Power Polesaw: The Sun Joe 8-inch, 7-amp Electric Telescoping Pole Chainsaw
In any gardeners’ proverbial toolbox, there should be a power pole chainsaw.
We recommend the Sun Joe 8-inch, 7-amp Electric Telescoping Pole Chainsaw. It’s exactly what it sounds like, a chainsaw on a pole.
Great for hard to reach, tall limbs that need to be thinned out or for removing broken or damaged branches of trees that you wouldn’t be able to reach otherwise.
They come in both electric or gas-powered varieties. We highly recommend this chainsaw because it is not as heavy as the gas-powered versions.
For electric power, the Sun Joe 8-inch, 7-amp Electric Telescoping Pole Chainsaw is the exact product to do the job. It can reach up to 9-feet from your standing location and cut up to 7.5-inches thick branches, with automatic lubrication for the bar chain.
This pole chainsaw can provide up to 15 feet overhead reach and has a 2-full year warranty! That’s pretty fantastic if you ask me! The only real drawback is if you don’t want to drag a cord behind you as you work, and whatever you do, don’t cut the cord or it will be electrified-city for you.
Maybe a gas-powered chainsaw is more your style, but just be aware that the gas-powered chainsaw will be much heavier, and you will need to mix your gasoline.
Tips and Advice:
- Be sure to buy an extension cord, especially if you don’t have one, so you can venture out into your yard. A 50-foot orange cord is ok, but 100-feet or more is better. Make sure to get a “3-prong” cord so it has a grounding wire.
- Oh, and also get some extra bar oil to keep that oil reservoir full so you don’t burn up your chain and bar.
7) Hedge Trimmer: The Sun Joe Multi-Angle Telescoping Convertible Electric Pole Hedge Trimmer
This tool is AWESOME. It’s both a handheld regular hedge trimmer and a pole trimmer in one. And, it can convert between both! Isn’t that great?
If you have an English Laurel or a Boxwood hedge, some low growing Vinca, or even some larger growing Euonymus shrubs, you might need to trim your hedges more than twice a year. You are going to want to trim and shape them to your liking, and a hedge trimmer is what you need.
In seconds, you can switch between a regular and pole hedge trimmer for whatever your hedging needs call for.
It has dual-sided cutting, extends to a 13+ foot cutting reach, and has a Full 2-year Warranty!
It also has a pivoting head so you can get just the right cutting angle and shape.
The Sun Joe Multi-Angle Telescoping Convertible Electric Pole Hedge Trimmer is the perfect tool for multi-uses and is electrically powered so you aren’t polluting the air either.
Tips and Advice:
- Be sure to buy an extension cord, especially if you don’t have one, so you can venture out into your yard. A 50-foot orange cord is ok, but 100-feet or more is better. Make sure to get a “3-prong” cord so it has a grounding wire.
- Oh, and also some WD-40 or a couple of drops of 3-in-1 Oil to keep your oscillating dual cutting blades working smoothly and clean after each use.
8) Backpack Blower: The Husqvarna 350BT, Professional 2-Cycle Gas Backpack Leaf Blower
This is THE backpack blower you have to own! Seriously.
We love ours and use it all the time. We can take on our fall leaves, clean up our dirt and gardening messes on walkways or driveways, and we even take it up onto our roof to aid in cleaning our gutters.
Sean has used this same particular blower for over 10 years and it just keeps running with the most minimal maintenance of any power equipment he has ever owned. Seriously.
This is a precision piece of machinery that keeps running and can literally knock you off your feet with soo much power if you aren’t braced for it. The Husqvarna 350 BT, Professional 2-Cycle Gas Backpack Leaf Blower should be your next purchase!
Tips and Advice:
- Be sure to get some 2-cycle oil to mix into your gas, as this blower engine doesn’t have an oil reservoir.
- Oh, and get some hearing-protection when running this machine! The 3M Peltor Optime 105 Safety Hearing Protection Ear Muffs are a great set! Some even have a built-in radio.
9) Power Edger: The Worx 2-in-1 Electric Lawn Edger, with 7.5-Inch Cutting Blade
Most lines throughout a garden follow some design or pattern. However, some of your most important lines are along the walkways, paths, and garden bed edges that guide you to special entrances, thresholds, views, art, and seating areas of a garden. This is where a power edger comes in handy.
The Worx 2-in-1 Electric Lawn Edger, with 7.5-Inch Cutting Blade. This unassuming tool will keep all your garden path and walkway lines clear, crisp, and well-defined!
It’s 2-in-1 action of using it either as an edger or trencher makes it versatile.
It’s light enough to lift with one hand and powerful enough to wield a 7.5-inch carbon-treated, steel blade to trim and cut away excess soil and turf so you always have a clean edge.
It also comes with an adjustable handle height that pivots for comfortable use down long pathway stretches. There is even a guide assist to mark and show you where your cut needs to be. Check here for the warranty.
Tips and Advice:
- Be sure to buy an extension cord, especially if you don’t have one, so you can venture out into your yard. A 50-foot orange cord is ok, but 100-feet or more is better. Make sure to get a “3-prong” cord so it has a grounding wire.
- Oh, and also get some WD-40 or a can of 3-in-1 Oil to apply after every use to the cutting blades, bolts, wheels, and other moving pieces so they keep working smoothly.
10) Metal Fan Rake: The Emsco 22-Tine Metal Leaf Rake; 22.5 inch handle
This last tool you might not know about, but you should definitely have in your tool-box! This garden tool is not sexy or glamorous, but it’s very important. It’s the trusty metal fan rake.
We use our fan rake year-round in the garden, but especially when gathering leaves, cleaning up messes or working areas, spreading and raking in grass seed, spreading and leveling mulch (and much more).
The Emsco 22-Tine, 22.5-inch long handle, Metal Leaf Rake should be your go-to tool for all of these various garden jobs.
It’s versatile, light and easy to use.
The metal tines make it great for use on harder gravel, concrete, or asphalt surfaces. Another bonus, with its red color you won’t be able to easily lose it in the garden.
Tips and Advice:
- Be sure to clean off any debris from the tines before storing your rake.
- Also, secure it well if placing in the back of your truck, as it can easily fly off because of its light-weight.
Recommended Resources:
- Top 7 Reasons Mulching Your Garden Is Beneficial
- Fall Leaf Clean-Up, Simplified – DIY Garden Minute Ep. 11
Garden Tools Conclusion
With the tool tips we outlined above for each tool, you should have no problem learning how to use each garden tool in your own yard.
You will be a master of your own garden in no time!
Now we want to hear from you!
Which of these tools do you think you could benefit from and need for your own collection? Let us know by leaving a quick comment below!
Thanks and see you in the garden!
~ Sean and Allison
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Learn about garden tools that you may not even own yet and why you should consider adding them to your garden tool collection (especially now).
