Stocking your tool belt

Spring has arrived and now is the perfect time to assess your gardening hand tools. Whether this is your first garden or you’re a seasoned pro, the right tool for the job can make all the difference. I’m a member of our fine gardening maintenance team and here’s a list of my must-have tools for every gardener’s tool belt.

The tool wall at Ferny's

1. Gloves

Soil can be messy, wet, and cold, so, you’ll always find me wearing a pair of Showa Atlas gloves. They provide a good grip for lifting and carrying containers, bags of soil, or stone pavers and come in multiple sizes for a great fit. They’re affordable, can last for many seasons, and are easy to throw in the wash and line dry.

2. Bypass pruning secateurs

The keys to a good pair of bypass pruning secateurs is to have a set that easily and comfortably fits in your hard, is comfortable to open and close without too much effort, and can be cleaned and sharpened. I have small hands so you’ll find me using the Okatsune small bypass pruner No. 101. I love the satisfying click they make with each cut. They have an easy locking mechanism and stay sharp for longer. They can be prone to rusting and so I always keep a rag in my toolkit to dry them off.

3. Garden snips

Sometimes you just need to make a small cut on an herbaceous plant. That’s where my Okatsune buds cutting scissors No. 304 come in handy. They are great for fern cutback, perennial cutback, dead heading, cut flowers, and trimming out dead foliage. They’re sharp as heck and make a nice, clean cut.

4. Hori hori and / or hand weeding hoe

I love both my hori hori knife and my Japanese hand hoe for weeding, planting, and preparing soil. You’ll find me using a hori hori with a sharp serrated edge and measurements on the blade for accurate hole depth. My Kusakichi Bachi Hoe is my steadfast companion for stubborn weeds and gently breaking up compacted topsoil for planting.

5. Hand pruning saw

For larger pruning tasks and more precision cuts, a good pruning handsaw will do the job. My favorite is the Silky Pocketboy 170MM. It’s a versatile saw that can handle both larger and smaller branches, it’s lightweight and easy to hold, and the blade folds right up into the handle to create a compact tool that fits right in your pocket.  

6. Loppers 

A good pair of loppers are a must have if you grow multi-stemmed shrubs. There’s nothing better than getting a good cut with speed and efficiency when renovating shrubs and pruning small trees. My Bacho loppers cannot be beat. They’re not too heavy to hold and give me a nice clean cut on stems up to 1 3/4” in diameter, no smushing or tearing up woody stems.

Showa Atlas gloves