Shovel: If you'll be digging a hole or moving compost from a cart in your garden at any time, you'll need a shovel. The business end is thin, rounded and pointed and the top portion is flat with a flattened lip or step so you can use pressure to reach the tough spots.

Make sure to look at how the top portion or head of the shovel is connected to the handle. If and when a shovel breaks that is usually the place where it is going to happen. For a connection that is sturdy, the top of the head should wrap around the handle. The handle on some shovels can be waist-high or they can be long and stright and are usually made of wood. The newer synthetic handles are strong and lightweight.

Trowel or Hand Fork: For tasks like transplanting and planting bulbs, you will need to get down on your knees. What is needed at that point is a short, sturdy digging tool with a handle that won't tire or injure your wrist. A trowel has a round point and a dished blade, like a shovel, but the blade is longer and thinner, only about 3 inches wide. As with shovels, the trowels most weekest point is where the head is attached to the handle, so check to see how that was done. If your garden soil is heavy or rocky, you may find that hand forks easier to use.

Pruners: A good pair of pruners is just as beneficial for the gardener as it is for the plant. A clean cut, made with a sharp pruner, will minimize injury to the plant and the wound will heal more quickly. Well-designed pruning shears should cut off dead flowers as well as good sized branches without straining or injury to your hand or wrist. There are two styles of blades, the anvil and bypass. Anvil pruners are strong but won't let you get quite as close as the bypass pruners.

Hoes: Hoes are excellent tools for weeding and should have a long handle so your back stays straight for longer periods of time. Good posture while weeding is very important. If you are uncomfortable while hoeing you won't get the work done that you need. Narrower, lighter hoe heads are easier to maneuver in a closely planted garden.

Garden Forks: These tools are used for loosening soil and mixing in compost. Garden forks are useful for digging, dividing and transplanting when the soil is moist. Most garden forks have 5 or 6 tines and the handles are waist-high with a D-grip. Be sure to check out how the head is attached to the handle just at you did with the shovel.

Garden Rake: There are two different kinds of rakes, the leaf rake and garden rake. A garden rake is made of steel and about 12 inches wide with 8 or 9 tines, and straight across the top. It is the perfect tool for smoothing the top of your soil for a planting bed or leveling paths between raised beds.

All these tools are part of every gardener's essentials for obtaining a good working garden.