Have a small garden, patio or balcony? Discover the essential gardening tools you actually need, without filling your shed with equipment you’ll rarely use.
You don’t need a huge garden to enjoy gardening – and you certainly don’t need a huge collection of tools. If your outdoor space is a patio, courtyard, balcony or compact garden, having the right handful of tools is far more useful than filling a shed with equipment you’ll only use once a year. In fact, with a few good-quality basics, you can tackle most of the jobs a small garden throws at you.
The key is choosing tools that are versatile, easy to store and comfortable to use. Here’s our guide to the small garden tools worth having in your kit.
1. A good pair of secateurs
If there’s one tool every gardener should own, it’s a decent pair of secateurs!
They’re invaluable in a small garden, where you’ll probably find yourself pruning shrubs, cutting back perennials, deadheading flowers and tidying up plants in containers.
Look for a pair that feels comfortable in your hand and isn’t too heavy. Good-quality secateurs should make a clean cut without requiring you to wrestle with the branch.
Keep them clean and sharp and they’ll become one of the most-used tools in your garden. We’ve got plenty to choose from at Hildreth’s.
2. A hand trowel
For planting up pots, bedding plants, herbs and smaller plants, you really don’t need a full-sized spade.
A sturdy hand trowel is one of those wonderfully simple tools that you’ll reach for constantly. It’s ideal for digging planting holes, moving compost, dividing plants and doing a bit of weeding.
If you’re gardening mainly in containers, a good trowel may be all the digging equipment you need.
3. A garden fork
A small hand fork is particularly useful for container gardening and smaller borders.
Use it to loosen compacted compost, remove weeds and work around plants where a larger garden fork would simply be too cumbersome.
It’s also useful when you’re refreshing containers and removing old roots or spent plants.
4. A pair of gardening gloves
You don’t need a different pair of gloves for every possible gardening job, but you do need a good pair.
Choose something comfortable that gives you enough dexterity to handle small plants while protecting your hands from thorns, rough stems and dirty soil.
If you have roses or other particularly prickly plants, it’s worth investing in a more robust pair for pruning.
5. A small garden rake
A full-sized rake can be awkward in a compact garden, particularly if you’re working between borders, pots and furniture.
A smaller hand rake or compact garden rake is much easier to manoeuvre and is useful for clearing leaves, tidying borders and getting into those difficult corners.
And if you have lots of pots, a hand rake can be surprisingly useful for gently breaking up the surface of compost.
6. A pair of loppers – if you have larger shrubs
This is one tool you might not need at all.
If your garden consists mainly of pots, herbs, bedding plants and small shrubs, your secateurs will probably do the job.
But if you have established shrubs or thicker branches that are too large for secateurs, a pair of loppers can make pruning considerably easier.
Choose a compact pair rather than a huge set designed for tackling large trees. You want something suited to the scale of your garden.
7. A watering can
Even if you have an outside tap, a watering can is incredibly useful in a small garden.
It’s ideal for watering containers, hanging baskets and newly planted areas, and gives you much more control over where the water goes.
For a balcony or patio, choose a smaller can that’s easy to lift when full. A long, narrow spout can also make watering pots much easier without disturbing the compost.
8. A kneeler
This isn’t technically a tool, but anyone who spends a lot of time gardening will appreciate having one.
Small gardens often mean lots of planting and maintenance at ground level, whether you’re working on borders, containers or pots.
A comfortable kneeler can make weeding and planting much easier on your knees – and many double up as a handy seat.
9. A good pair of hand shears
Depending on what you’re growing, hand shears can be useful for trimming grasses, herbs, small hedges and soft growth.
They’re not an essential for every small garden, so consider what you actually grow before buying them.
If your garden has a small hedge or lots of ornamental grasses, however, they’ll quickly earn their place in the shed.
10. A compact garden hose
If your garden is small, you may not need a huge hose reel taking up half the shed!
A compact or lightweight hose is often much easier to manage, particularly if you only need to reach a patio, a few borders or a handful of containers.
For balconies, a watering can may be perfectly adequate. The best watering solution is simply the one that makes the job easy enough that you actually want to do it.
What you probably don’t need
One of the advantages of a small garden is that you can be selective. You probably don’t need a full-size garden fork, large wheelbarrow, long-handled hoe and collection of specialist pruning tools unless your garden genuinely calls for them.
Think about what you actually grow and the jobs you regularly do.
A patio filled with pots requires a very different toolkit from a small garden with mature shrubs and a lawn. And don’t be tempted to buy something simply because it looks like an essential piece of gardening equipment. If you’re unlikely to use it, it’s just going to take up valuable storage space.
How to make the most of a small garden toolkit
When space is limited, storage matters almost as much as the tools themselves.
Look for tools with hanging holes or storage loops so you can keep them neatly on a wall or inside a compact shed or storage box. Keeping tools clean and dry will also help them last longer.
It’s worth spending a little more on the tools you use most often, particularly secateurs, trowels and gloves. A well-made tool that’s comfortable to use is likely to give you years of service, whereas replacing cheap tools every season can quickly become a false economy.
And remember to clean your tools regularly. Brush soil from blades and handles after use, dry them properly and keep cutting tools sharp. A few minutes of care can make a surprising difference to how well they perform.
Your small garden toolkit, sorted!
For most small gardens, you can get an awful lot done with surprisingly little equipment.
Start with:
- Secateurs
- Hand trowel
- Hand fork
- Gardening gloves
- Small rake
- Watering can
- Kneeler
Then add loppers, shears, a hose or other equipment according to what you actually grow.
The aim isn’t to have the biggest collection of gardening tools. It’s to have the right tools for your garden – ones that make everyday jobs easier, don’t take up unnecessary space and are enjoyable to use.
After all, a small garden should mean less time searching for the right tool and more time enjoying the space you’ve created!
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