If you’re growing plants for food or it’s a part of your job, you know how important it is to have all the core gardening tools needed to maintain the health and appearance of the garden.

While there are loads of fancy gardening tools you can buy online, only an essential few are a must for professional gardeners. Keep your garden manicured and properly landscaped with these top gardening tools:

What are the most common gardening tools?

There are dozens of gardening tools, but the ones you need will depend on the kind of tasks you do all the time. We suggest looking into hand pruners, loppers, and weeders along with shovels and rakes because these tools usually get plenty of use in the garden and beyond.

Where can I buy gardening tools online?

Buy from trusted online sellers to get your money’s worth. As you know, garden supplies aren’t exactly cheap, so it’s essential to get your tools from an honest vendor that specializes in garden supplies and tools.

We don’t mean to brag, but ECOgardener is one of the most recognizable brands of high-quality yet reasonably-priced gardening supplies. But don’t take our word for it; you can check out our online shop for our highest-rated items or visit our Amazon storefront to see our glowing reviews.

5 Gardening Tools for Pro Gardeners

Telescopic Pruner

AKA lopper or lopping shears, a telescopic pruner is an absolute must-have if you do a lot of pruning in the garden. It’s essential for pruning trees and shrubs, removing excess greenwood and deadwood as well as trimming and shaping plants at a great height.

What’s so great about telescopic pruners is that they come with adjustable handles. You can shorten and lengthen the handles using a locking mechanism. It’s a great tool to have if you’re used to carrying a ladder around while doing bits of yard work. Loppers come in different designs, but the most popular are those that feature a bypass-style blade like our very own, the ECOgardener telescopic pruner.

Our telescopic pruner boasts a lightweight yet durable body with super sharp blades that STAY sharp for longer. The ergonomic design fits your hand perfectly, minimizing fatigue, while the silicone wrapped handles provide a better grip. We’ve designed our telescopic pruning shears for everyone, including professional gardeners.

Hoe

What’s a garden without a hoe? The humble hoe happens to be one of the oldest garden tools ever to exist, and it remains one of the best to have for gardeners of all skill levels. The hoe is known for its versatility; it’s used to cultivate the soil, remove unwanted debris, create clean edging on the lawn, and dig around in the garden.

It features a wide paddle blade or stirrup and a long handle. The hoe is perfect for working the soil at the start of the growing season. It clears the garden of unwanted debris while breaking down compacted soil. It’s meant for tough plowing, so we suggest getting one with a long handle for a wider reach. Also, always choose quality over anything else because the material will affect the hoe’s durability.

Hand Trowel

Pro gardeners are always planting, transplanting, and potting, and these tasks require a special tool that provides versatility and accuracy - like a hand trowel. Think of a hand trowel as a small shovel - it’s used for transplanting and bedding small plants and seedlings. It can uproot weeds, dig holes on the ground, work compacted soil and move it around or remove unwanted debris in and around the garden.

Again, quality is everything. Choose a hand trowel crafted from durable, lightweight, and corrosion-resistant materials like stainless steel. The handle should be ergonomically designed for a firm grip. The hand trowel should be compact, so you can carry it around the garden and fit comfortably in your hand.

Rake

Just like the hoe, the rake is another essential gardening tool that every garden shouldn’t be without. A standard rake features a toothed bar set transversely to a long handle. This tool breaks down clods of dirt, moves soil, and clears an area of unwanted debris like fallen leaves, twigs, hay, etc. A rake is also helpful if you’re composting or weeding.

Not all rakes are created equally; some feature plastic tines while others have the more traditional steel-toothed bars. Those with plastic tines are often used for delicate jobs like raking leaves and dry debris, while steel toothed rakes are best for tough jobs like working the soil, clearing a large area of unwanted debris, and breaking down compacted soil. Rakes with shorter teeth bars cover small spaces, while wider rakes are suited for large lawns and gardens after using a mowing machine.

Shovel

Rounding up our list of the top 5 gardening tools for professional gardeners is the humble shovel. A shovel AKA spade features a flattened wide blade that’s either rectangular in shape or almost dome-shaped with a pointed blade. It’s used for various garden tasks, including digging, transplanting, and moving materials around.

A shovel is often used to work compacted soil, dig holes, lift sod, and move mounds of dirt from one area to another. It can be used to create clean lawn edging too! Shovels come in various designs but pro gardeners tend to stick to the traditional, regular shape (the one with a pointed tip) because it’s the most versatile. Choose a shovel with the right handle length. It should be crafted from a non-corrosive material with a balanced, solid handle.

Other Essential Tools

• Garden Knife
• Gardening Gloves
• Hand pruning shears
• Rain Gauge
• Weeder
• Hedge Pruner

Even the most experienced gardeners need the right tools otherwise, they can't get anything done. The gardening tools that we’ve listed above are not only the most versatile, they’ll also help you work in the garden safely. By investing in these gardening supplies, you can create and maintain the garden of your dreams!