If you enjoy gardening as much as I do, you will do well to spend a little more on your tools. Apart from price, what other items do you factor in when buying equipment?

Do you have small garden or a large one? A small garden will not require the same large equipments that will prove helpful when working on a wide plot of soil. A ride-on mower is unnecessary if you only have a small strip of lawn.

Will your wife be using the tools?  You may want to concern yourself with the weight of the items and how much strength it will require to use them aptly.

1. A rake is a basic requirement for any home garden. The strong rake with the flat head and sharp metal prongs is used for smoothing a garden bed, clearing out the last of the bumps and weeds. The plastic rake is intended for leaves and grass clippings only.

2. Shears will be useful but only if you have a hedge, or plan on growing one.  Otherwise, feel free to skip it. Choose shears with curved blades -  they keep branches from sliding out when cut.

3. Forks are used for turning and aerating compost and breaking up lumps of soil. Choose a sturdy, more expensive fork ($100+) -  the cheaper ones cannot handle heavy soil and will create more work for you.

4. Look for secateurs that have blades that can be sharpened or replaced. They need to stay sharp, otherwise they can damage your plants.  Try to find a unit with tension control. Secateurs can damage you from between $50 to $130.

5. A chipping hoe is a handy tool for getting rid of small weeds. The Dutch or push-hoe is slightly more user-friendly as the action required to use it does not jar the neck and shoulder quite so much.

6. Pruning saws will do for trees and large shrubs what secateurs do for small plants. They have narrow curved blades that fit between branches easily and slices them as you pull the saw backwards. They are a great buy for $40.

7. A shovel has a scoop blade and is best used to move around dirt and garden soil. A spade has a flat blade great for cutting edges, digging and dividing plants. The edge of a spade should be kept sharpened for clean and efficient cutting will cause the least amount of damage to plants. These are a basic garden necessity and usually cost from $30 - $50.

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