What is your favorite/most useful garden tool ?

Nice to see you back Loli

 

Two people have already named border forks. I have to agree. Many years ago I gave up a full sized fork for a border fork; one of the best practical gardening decisions I’ve made. It has probably saved my back.

I also like those cloth gardening gloves. You can just put them in the washing machine. And good secateurs are invaluable.......I could go on and on.

 

My favorite garden tool is one that I don't lose, old age or just dopey or perhaps a bit of each.

 

My Joseph Bentley fork, spade and trowels. Also like my Felco pruning saw.

Nick

 

Hmm, I’ve been watching this thread, and thinking, long and hard!

My Felcos are nearly always by my side/falling out of a pocket.
The trusty 40l trug, of course - on a sloping garden, there are many places that a wheelbarrow just cannot be used, and the flexibility turns them from a carrying pouch to a weed-holder to a jug with pouring lip...
But there is also my Wolf weeding/planter knife hand-tool (I checked on their website to find the name - we call them the “dandelion-grubber”!). We have two, both worn so much from use, that they are more rounded at the end. Excellent for getting out weeds with a tap-root, even in stone/flint/chalk soil. Great for planting plug-plants, scraping weeds and dried soil from drive edges and between slabs or tiles.

 

A dessert fork is invaluable when transplanting small seedlings, especially cacti. My personal preference is Villeroy& Boch

 

When I go out into the garden I always have my wooden handled hand fork ( dunno the brand), a plastic trug and a digging fork. Spades are no good in my stone infested soil. There’s one tool that I find amazing for getting tap rooted plants out and that’s my Gardena weeding trowel...probably a 90% success rate at getting the whole root out

 

Oh and I forgot to mention...an old pillow packed into the plastic packaging from the new pillow...best kneeler ever!

 

I can kneel fine, but getting up is a very different matter... learned that the hard way

 

Easy, the beer fridge.

 

There are two. The small hand fork from way back. AND! At the end of last year I bought rechargeable grass cutters. hand size. I had had a pair way back to clear rough grass but it was too wet last year. The grass here was getting to knee height and I had failed to manage much with hand shears. So in I waded. Sat on the grass in the sun and went at it... Sweet victory ! I cleared 3/4 of it .. So the cutters are firm favourite .

 

This is, as my kids will not pinch it. They come and pinch my tools for the home and garden on a regular basis, then do not bring them back unless told.:rage:

 

I've seen threads like these multiple times over the years. There is not one tool for every job.
I have a no dig mentality, so I'll say hoe/swoe/secateurs/adjustable rake as hand tools.
Petrol toys....er, I mean tools for lawncare and fun/heavier pruning.
But, the one that gets used a lot.............garden hose