Hand Tools

A good garden trowel is the tool you reach for more than any other in the garden. Planting, weeding, transplanting, mixing soil in pots, cleaning out cracks in the patio. A trowel does all of it. But most trowels sold at big-box stores are stamped steel with plastic handles that snap off by the second season. A proper hand tool costs more upfront and lasts twenty years. I tested seven garden hand tools and trowels. Forged stainless steel, cast-aluminum ergonomic designs, good old carbon steel. I dug in clay, in sandy loam, in rocky ground. I left them in the rain overnight. I drove them through root systems that would break lesser tools. Some bent. A few impressed me. The ones below are the keepers. ...

Pruning is one of those garden tasks where having the right tool changes everything. Try cutting a 2-inch branch with cheap pruners, and you’ll spend the next 10 minutes wrestling and swearing. A good pair of loppers or pruners cuts cleanly, fits your hand, and makes the kind of snip that leaves a perfectly smooth wound the tree can heal quickly. We tested six of the best garden pruners and loppers in 2025 — bypass, anvil, ratcheting, and powered — to find the ones that cut cleanly and keep cutting season after season. ...

A shovel is the most basic garden tool, and the one that matters most. A good shovel cuts through soil, transfers your body weight, and leaves your hands intact after 20 minutes. A bad one bends on the first rock, snaps on the third dig, and makes everything harder than it needs to be. We tested 6 shovels and spades — round-point digging shovels, flat spades, trenching models, and ergonomic options — from $25 to $80. ...