--- title: The Best Garden Tools for Mom description: Gardening tools are one of those purchases where you really do get what you pay for. In addition to being more durable, top-of-the-line garden tools make laborious tasks easier. Here’s a roundup of high-quality yet reasonably affordable basic gardening gear. authors: - name: Josh Garskof url: https://money.com/author/josh-garskoff-2/ at_money_since: 2013 articles: 42 covers: - Lifestyle - Housing - Insurance - Investing - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Shopping former_staff: true published: '2015-05-07T13:00:44.000Z' modified: '2024-04-16T05:48:06.000Z' section: Lifestyle tags: - Ask the Expert - curb appeal - home improvement - lawn & garden - real estate word_count: 316 canonical: https://money.com/the-best-garden-tools-for-mom/ type: Article source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![gardening tools](https://img.money.com/2015/05/150507_em_expert_gardentools.jpg) **Q: My wife and I started a gardening seriously a couple of years ago, and I want to get her some solid, high-quality tools for Mother’s Day to replace the standard “homeowner-grade” junk we’ve been using. Can you recommend a good basic set?** A: [Gardening tools](https://money.com/best-garden-tools/) are one of those purchases where you really do get what you pay for. Affordable, light-duty products will inevitably snap, bend, or fall apart if you put them through anything more strenuous than, say, planting annuals each spring. And you’ll find that top-of-the-line tools also make laborious tasks easier. Here’s a roundup of high-quality yet reasonably affordable basic gardening gear. **Hand pruner:** For everything from clipping overgrown bushes to removing spent flowers so a plant can produce more blooms, you’ll want a good set of [bypass pruners](http://www.homedepot.com/p/Felco-5-1-2-in-Bypass-Pruner-F2/202101401), such as those made by Felco ($53 at homedepot.com). **Hand tool set:** Look for heavy-duty metal hand tools, such as Lee Valley’s [3-piece set](http://www.leevalley.com/US/garden/page.aspx?p=70494&cat=52&ap=1) ($62 at leevalley.com), plus Fiskar’s [tool apron](http://www.amazon.com/Fiskars-Garden-Bucket-Caddy-Included/dp/B00005YX30/ref=pd_sim_lg_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=0NH2W4C3P3CWZ3WKP11Z), ($13 at amazon.com), which is designed to wrap around a standard 5-gallon bucket (about $3 at any home center) so you can carry all your tools and supplies in one hand. **Cart/seat:** Gardening means getting down into the dirt, either by kneeling or sitting on a comfortable seat. A [Tractor Scoot](http://www.gardeners.com/buy/deluxe-tractor-scoot/40-131.html?start=1&cgid=LaborSavingTools_Cat) ($90 from gardeners.com) is a seat plus a storage bin set on chunky wheels. **Gloves:** Make sure to get her a pair of good leather [gauntlet gloves](http://women.duluthtrading.com/store/product/womens-leather-gauntlet-gardening-gloves-22046.aspx), which protect wrists as well as hands. While you're at it, get yourself a pair too ($30 at duluthtrading.com). **Long-handled tools:** Perhaps nowhere is quality more important than with tools designed to quite literally do the heavy lifting. For starters, consider the [forged round-point shovel](http://www.amleo.com/union-razorback-round-point-shovel-with-48in-fiberglass-handle/p/613RP/), PROHOE 6-inch [scuffle hoe](http://www.amleo.com/prohoe-6-inch-scuffle-hoe/p/60S/), and Union half-moon [turf edger](http://www.amleo.com/union-half-moon-turf-edger-with-long-handle/p/404E/) ($46, $35, and $40, respectively, at amleo.com). **Read next:** [4 (Mostly) Cheap and Easy Ways to Green Up Your Grass](https://money.com/greening-up-the-grass/ "4 (Mostly) Cheap and Easy Ways to Green Up Your Grass") ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/the-best-garden-tools-for-mom/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Lifestyle", "item": "https://money.com/lifestyle/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Family", "item": "https://money.com/family/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The Best Garden Tools for Mom" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/the-best-garden-tools-for-mom/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/the-best-garden-tools-for-mom/", "name": "The Best Garden Tools for Mom", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2015-05-07T13:00:44.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/the-best-garden-tools-for-mom/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/the-best-garden-tools-for-mom/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2024-04-16T05:48:06.000Z" }, { "@type": "Article", "headline": "The Best Garden Tools for Mom", "articleSection": "Lifestyle", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2015/05/150507_em_expert_gardentools.jpg", "width": 2100, "height": 1402, "caption": "150507_EM_Expert_GardenTools" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Josh Garskof", "url": "https://money.com/author/josh-garskoff-2/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/josh-garskoff-2/#author", "image": "https://img.money.com/2014/06/140605_bio_author_garskof.jpg?quality=85&w=230&h=230&crop=1" } ], "publisher": "https://money.com/#organization", "datePublished": "2015-05-07T13:00:44.000Z", "description": "Gardening tools are one of those purchases where you really do get what you pay for. 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