Basic gardening tools

[thenextday]

H and I divorcing....he has taken all gardening stuff.
I have never gardened in my life but need to give some attention to front beds. So what's the minimum I need? Trowel, gloves, weed killer for cracks in paving......

I need a proper gardener for back garden as its too big for me.

Trowel, gloves, watering can, secateurs (probably not spelled right), a fork the same size as the trowel. I use my big fork much more than my spade. You'll want a bucket or trug to keep these things in.

Ooh thank you!!!!
I just want to maintain everything as the house won't be sold for a year.

They are dearer than most brands, but we have a lot of Wolf tools; the tool heads fit onto a couple of different size handles, for different purposes.

But for the amount you need to do, just reasonable quality, maybe stainless steel with comfortable handles, individual tools are fine.

What are you realistically going to do?

A hoe would mean you could keep the beds weed free and slice off the weeds in the paving and no gloves would be needed as you just leave them on the soil. If you really want a minimum, a hoe on it's own and maybe some sort of deep dibber/weeder as pictured for getting deep rooted weeds out like dandelions...

The poster above has posted a pic of a tool I have been using all day today. A good hand weeding tool is very good for getting up stubborn weeds like dandelions. A hoe is good for chopping off the head of annual weeds, and you can just turn these into the soil and they will actually break down and feed your beds.

I would recommend a good electric hedge trimmer if you have hedges, they are easy to use and make a massive difference between making your garden look abandoned or cared for.

I use my secateurs all year round for all sorts of jobs and I would recommend getting a decent pair. TK Maxx usually sell good ones at a decent price.

Gardening gloves are a necessity as they protect your hands from brambles and thistles. I have loads but my favourite pair were actually sold as builders gloves. They have a very thick rubber layer on the inside of the hands and I bought mine for £2 from Aldi. They are the only pair that thorns haven't yet pierced.

A rake is a good item to have for moving Autumn leaves and tidying up after pruning hedges.

I would also invest in a mower that has a height adjustment so you can alter it to suit the length of grass you are cutting. It seems to be the difference between sweating away cutting your lawn or serenely strolling up and down with a smile on your face in the sun.

My absolute favourite tool is a japanese trowel with a serrated edge. It does what a trowel and a fork can do and more, and looks ten times cooler :)

Great recommendations !

Sorry about your divorce .

You don't have to spend a lot of money to get basic tools. They won't be the most robust ones ever, but if you're not intending to do much other than the odd tidy-up, you can get a handfork, a hand trowel, a proper sized fork and a spade from bargain stores like B&M for much less than in a garden centre.

Argos have loppers/secateurs cheap right now:

www.hotukdeals.com/deals/argos-value-range-3-piece-garden-cutting-set-argos-now-4-99-2149236

Be careful with weedkiller - glyphosphate has just been labelled a carcinogen . It's worth rooting out weeds with one of those daisy grubber tools posted above.

I second the recommendation for gloves. You will thank us when you unexpectedly discover buried cat poo!!