Starting from scratch: 10 tools every gardener needs

One of the questions we're asked most often is, "If I were starting from scratch, which garden tools should I buy first?" Building a collection of garden tools is something that happens over time, and it's easy to be tempted by tools that look the part but will be rarely used. However, to help answer this tricky question, we've chosen our selection of ten of the best tools that we love to use ourselves and believe every gardener should own.

Every gardener needs a pair of secateurs they can rely on. While tools such as the GR Pro and the Niwaki Okatsune 103 often steal the spotlight, the Niwaki Sentei Secateurs are a quieter hero - and every bit as deserving of a place in your toolkit.

Excellent value for money, their smooth spring action, exceptional balance and Japanese crafted razor-sharp carbon steel blades have earned them a loyal following. Built to be used, cared for and enjoyed for many years, they're a tool you'll find yourself reaching for every day.

A spade is one of the most fundamental tools in any gardener's collection, and Niwaki’s Golden Spade elevates an everyday essential into something rather special. Its distinctive golden finish brings a touch of character, but beneath the surface lies a tool built for serious work. Whether you're digging, planting, edging or moving soil, the robust blade offers exceptional strength without unnecessary weight, making even the toughest jobs feel more manageable.

A garden scoop may be one of the more traditional tools in the shed, but it's also one of the most indispensable. Perfect for planting, potting and moving compost with ease, it's a tool you'll reach for time and time again throughout the gardening year.

This special edition scoop includes a cleverly designed serrated edge, making it just as useful for opening bags of compost as it is for filling pots and planting holes. Created to celebrate Sneeboer's 25th appearance at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, it combines thoughtful innovation with exceptional Dutch craftsmanship - and serves as a lovely reminder of one of gardening's most celebrated events every time you put it to use.

Whether you're shaping hedges, trimming shrubs or tidying perennials, Niwaki’s Mini Shears make light work of larger pruning tasks. Forged from high-quality SK steel, the blades deliver clean, precise cuts, while the bright red handles provide a comfortable, secure grip (and make them reassuringly easy to spot amongst the garden clippings).

Keeping lawns and borders crisp can sometimes feel like a thankless task. However, this edging tool earns its place on our list for its ability to create clean, precise lines between lawn and border with very little effort

Its sharp blade glides through even firm soil, making it an essential tool for gardeners who appreciate a neat, well-kept finish. Beyond tidying edges, it's equally useful for marking out new vegetable beds, defining planting areas or rediscovering pathways that have gradually disappeared beneath a season's worth of enthusiastic growth.

Hand-forged in the Netherlands by the master craftspeople at Sneeboer, this beautifully balanced garden rake is built to last a lifetime. Its finely crafted stainless steel tines glide effortlessly through borders and beds, gathering fallen leaves, stones and other garden debris with remarkable ease—a hallmark of the thoughtful design and exceptional craftsmanship for which Sneeboer is renowned.

Gone are the days of wrestling with flimsy, ineffective rakes. The long, ergonomically designed handle helps reduce strain on your back, making even the biggest clearing jobs far more comfortable. It's one of those tools you'll wonder how you ever managed without.

If deep-rooted weeds are a constant frustration, this is one tool you'll be grateful to have close by. Designed to remove stubborn taproots with precision, its long, slender profile slips easily into the soil, allowing you to lift weeds cleanly without disturbing neighbouring plants or carefully tended borders.

The sharp V-shaped stainless-steel blade reaches right to the root, making quick work of dandelions, docks and other persistent intruders, while the smooth ash wood handle feels comfortable and well balanced in the hand. Simple, effective and beautifully made, it's one of those tools you may not realise you need - until the first time you use it. Then you'll wonder how you ever gardened without it.

Wonderfully versatile, this mattock and fork combine two hardworking tools in one, making light work of everything from breaking up compacted soil to creating a fine tilth ready for planting.

Designed to tackle the tougher jobs with less effort, it takes much of the strain out of digging and cultivating, while its compact size makes it equally useful for working between established plants and in tighter spaces. Rather than filling the shed with specialist tools, this is one dependable companion that will earn its keep season after season.

If you haven't yet discovered the Hori Hori, you're in for a treat. Earning itself a cult following amongst gardeners, we find ourselves reaching for this versatile tool almost every time we step outside. Whether being used as a trowel, weeder, planting knife, root slicer, divider (the list goes on!), it excels at almost everything. A true gardener’s essential.

Designed by the legendary plantsman Christopher Lloyd and named after the celebrated Great Dixter garden, this bulb planter is an indispensable companion when autumn arrives. Thoughtfully engineered with a comfortable handle and sturdy foot bars, its extra-long handle offers excellent leverage, while the robust construction ensures it will serve you faithfully for many seasons to come.