Every gardener needs the appropriate assortment of garden hand tools. Garden hand tools typically encompass the following:

• A trowel. A small tool with a pointed, scoop-shaped blade used for digging as you’re setting plants in the ground. Also handy to have at your potting bench (if you have one).
• A cultivator. An implement for loosening the soil and removing or destroying the weeds around your plants.
• A transplantor. An implement used to gently loosen plants for movement to new locations (be careful with the roots and be sure to properly prepare the new location for your plant).
• A pruner. An indispensable tool for trimming branches and making cuttings. Avid gardeners will invest in the best pruner available and keep it by their side in a belt-mounted holster. Arguably the most popular garden pruner is the Felco 2 pruner.
• A dibble. This is a very handy, pointed garden tool that is used to make holes in the soil, especially for planting bulbs or seedlings.
• A bulb planter, used for creating perfect holes for planting your bulbs.
• A folding saw for trimming branches.
• A bypass lopper for cutting through limbs too large for your hand pruners.

Garden hand tools should be comfortable to work with, sturdy and durable. A good collection of garden hand tools will serve you well for years. Be sure to treat your gardening tools with the same respect you treat any others tools. Keep them clean. Oil them if called for by the manufacturer’s recommendations. Keep them out of the rain (nothing more disappointing than realizing you’ve forgotten your gardening tools out in the open when that sudden downpour comes along).