The basic tools 

To get started you will need only a few basic pieces of gardening equipment.  If you need to obtain new tools then these should be well made and of reasonable quality that you feel comfortable using.  You don’t need to buy the top of the range or spend a fortune at this point so start off with a collection that you can afford and will do the jobs in your garden.

I suggest you will need to start off with the following:

Hand fork and trowel.  Use for planting small plants and removing weeds.

Spade. Use for digging and making holes when planting larger herbaceous plants, trees, shrubs and climbers.

Border fork.  Use for cultivating areas between established plants

Springbok rake.  Use for clearing leaves from borders and lawns and removing moss and debris out of lawns

Hoe.  Use for effective and faster weeding when weeds are not too big, otherwise you will have to do it by hand using a fork or a trowel.

Rake.  Use for preparing seedbeds, collecting up fallen leaves and weeds, and finishing off gravel paths and mulches on border.

Wheelbarrow.  Useful for moving bulkier materials like compost, mulches, gravel or carrying away weeds and grass clippings, a builder’s rubber bucket is a useful smaller scale alternative.

Lawnmower (if you have got a lawn).  A small electric model with or without a grassbox is cheap enough for most small gardens if you don’t let the grass grow too long.  For larger lawns then you will need to buy a larger machine if you do not want to spend all your time mowing.

Hosepipe.  For maximum access this should be about one and a half times the length of your garden so it reaches into all the difficult areas.  Although with hosepipe bans becoming more frequent you may be limited to its use then you will need a watering can which is useful when watering young plants. .