A quick list of garden hand tools

How much you enjoy gardening can depend heavily on whether or not you're using the right garden hand tools for the job. Here's a quick list of must-have tools.

• The trowel is an essential tool for planting and lifting small plants, especially in confined areas such as windowboxes and other containers.
• Choose a sturdy trowel with a long blade, but make sure the blade's not too broad.

• Use your hand fork to till the soil (a garden claw is also good) and to loosen the soil when weeding around small plants.

• Use your pair of long-handled pruners to cut branches that are too high up to reach otherwise.
• You can also use the extra leverage that this tool gives you to cut branches that are too tough or thick for regular pruning shears.

• Shears are used for clipping and shaping hedges and trimming small patches of grass.
• It's important that your shears are well-balanced or they'll be tiring to use.

• A hose with a trigger nozzle saves water and is compulsory in some cities and towns.
• When not in use, neatly wind up your garden hose and hang it on a large hook or bracket securely attached to a wall near your outdoor tap.

• A four-tined, strongly made fork is invaluable for aerating lawns, turning over a plot between crops, breaking up clods of earth, lifting root crops and large plants.
• This tool's also useful for shifting garden mulch and compost.

• A flat spade is an indispensable tool for breaking up or removing soil and for digging holes for planting trees and shrubs.

• A lawn rake is designed for collecting fallen leaves and lawn clippings and for removing moss and dead grass.
• Garden rakes have short sturdy teeth and are used for seedbed preparation and soil levelling.

• Hoes are used for tilling, cultivating and weeding.
• There are several types of hoes.
• These include the Dutch hoe, which is used to cut through weeds at soil level.
• The mattock is also a kind of hoe, and is used with a swinging action to break up areas of hard ground and to dig out deep-rooted weeds.

• Watering cans are ideal for irrigating small gardens and potted plants, and for watering during hose bans.

• Use a pruning saw for cutting off branches that are too thick for pruning shears.

• Pruning shears are used for pruning woody stems up to about 10 millimitres (3/8 inch) thick and soft shoots of any thickness.
• Pruning shears must be kept clean, rust-free, oiled and sharp.
• Dull pruning shears will make ragged cuts and damage your plants.

• Wheelbarrows are vital for transporting plants, soil, compost, garden debris and other tools.
• The most suitable wheelbarrow for heavy work is one with a single wheel and an inflatable tire to cushion the load.
• Barrows with two wheels are very stable and easy to load and unload, but are less manoeuvrable on uneven ground.

• A well-made bucket is useful for transporting small loads without having to fetch your wheelbarrow.
• You can also use a bucket for mixing fertilizer and as a receptacle for weeds.

Keep this quick list of garden hand tools in mind to choose the best ones for your gardening jobs.