The ace of spades ... and other essential tools

Every gardener needs a collection of decent tools, and now’s the time to sort them out for the year ahead, says Monty Don

Although I cannot claim to be an expert handyman, I am a man who relishes hand tools of all kinds and will go to great lengths to find ones that look good, feel good in the hand and above all are good at doing the job that they were created for.

While there is a lot of truth in the saying ‘a bad workman blames his tools’ and a good gardener will make a lovely garden with whatever is to hand, it is also absolutely true that wellmade tools foster a kind of respect and sensuous pleasure that inevitably improves both the experience of gardening and the garden.

I have quite a collection of garden tools built up over the years but you actually need very few to garden well. However, it is worth getting the best you can afford – although you do not need to spend a fortune. Many of my own have been bought cheaply at auctions and clearances or ironmongers. Wherever they come from, at this time of year it makes sense to sort out your tools, clean and repair those you love and look to replace or invest in those you lack.

To start with, every gardener must have a decent spade. There are plenty of ‘bad’ spades out there but a good spade will hold its edge, feel light and easy to use yet be robust enough to dig as long as your back (or in my case, knees) will hold out. It should also be versatile enough to dig a hole for a large tree or gently chop a herbaceous plant into new sections. A border spade should have the same virtues but is much smaller and useful for working in tight spaces.

You also need a fork. I prefer square tines (as opposed to round or flat) of stainless steel that are not too long and not too curved and are robust enough to serve arduous use. A small border fork is also useful for lifting a plant without damaging its neighbours. It is worth stressing that digging is always best done with a spade. Keep the fork for breaking up the soil once dug or for lifting plants.

One rake will do but three is a counsel of perfection. For general preparation of a seed- bed, a round- tined flathead rake is best. A spring-tine rake doubles as a grass scratcher and leaf collector, and rubber rakes are invaluable for gathering up leaves from borders without damaging plants and seedlings.

If you grow vegetables you must have a hoe. The design of a hoe depends upon whether you push the cutting edge through the soil or pull it back towards you. For smaller, annual weeds it is best to push, cutting through the roots of weeds just below the surface of the soil. Keep it sharp and keep it small. Do not try to save time by using a big-bladed hoe. A small one is twice as useful. Bigger weeds are best chopped out with a swan-neck or draw hoe. A good mattock (shaped like a small pickaxe) can be very useful for rough digging as well as weeding.

You do need a good trowel or two for planting, one big and one small. A word of caution: cheap trowels just do not last, so go for quality of manufacture and metal, and the same goes for the final essential piece of gardening kit – decent secateurs. As with any cutting tool, they are only as good as the steel that the blades are made from. The shape, colour or detail of design is a matter of subjective taste but highquality steel holds an edge and makes pruning easy.

And that is really the secret to all efficient gardening tools. They should make your work easier and more pleasurable to do, and they should also look good. Just like your garden.

Monty and his dog Nellie get ready to dig in