When it comes to looking after a garden, there are, of course,
so many great tools to get your hand on
that are made for very specific tasks.
But if you just want to get started, you need very little.
I reckon a good pair of snips, the best quality you can afford.
I've had these for over 20 years
and they're still in perfect working condition.
Something to dig with - I'm a spade girl - and of course a good bucket.
Really handy for carrying weeds around or soaking plants in.
It's a great bit of kit.
But if you are getting more serious
or you're looking after a bigger garden, you might want to scale up.
Of course, a wheelbarrow is a big investment,
but if you buy a good quality one, it'll be with you for years.
I've had this nearly 20 years
and they are really good for moving stuff around.
Of course, when you don't have holes in it, you can soak plants in it.
And they make a fantastic seat to sit and plan your next moves.
You can get barrows with four wheels, which are really stable,
right through to the traditional single wheel,
which is my preference.
I really like the way they walk along with your body's movement.
And sometimes I see people sort of bending
and trying to push things uphill,
but what you need to do, even with a heavy load,
straight back, nice and comfortable,
and if you walk forward, the barrow will go with you.
One big tip I have for using wheelbarrows,
and it might seem obvious but I've made this mistake
so many times myself,
is always park it when it's light
in the direction that you're going to want to go
when it's full and heavy,
because doing that manoeuvre with a barrow full of compost,
well, it's not easy.
See what I mean?
When it comes to choosing your barrow,
of course like any tool, it's best to pick the tool
that is best for your job.
And this one I love, it's got a narrow tyre, it's light,
I can use it all day
and I use it for lots of purposes.
Whereas this big, fat tyre on it, it's fantastically stable
if you're moving really heavy loads - gravel, sand, those sorts of things -
but really, for me, day to day, it is too heavy.
So a little barrow is the winner.
Bigger is not necessarily better,
is a good thing to apply across the board.
It comes to watering cans or big heavy loppers.
It doesn't necessarily always pay to get the biggest tool.
Something like a shifting shovel,
you can get them in small, medium and large heads.
And I've found that I can much more quickly move 50 medium heads
than I can 30 really large ones,
and I'm much less likely to hurt myself while doing it.
So now I always make sure that I pick the tool up in the shop.
I feel what it's like in the hands, whether it's comfortable to use.
And then of course, I imagine it loaded with the heaviest stuff I can,
wet compost, and then if it feels good, that's the tool for me.
Of course, while you can buy tools to suit almost any job,
there are things just lying around the house
that can make really good garden tools.
This is just a sieve from an Asian grocer.
It cost me 10 bucks, it is a fantastic soil sieve.
I use it to separate the big particles out of potting mix
to make a seed-raising mix.
And knives.
Well, a butterknife is fantastic for getting weeds out between pavers.
And then a serrated breadknife, if you can grab one of these
from the op shop, if you're laying turf,
they're fantastic for cutting those rolls,
or of course cutting down through the root bowl
when you're dividing up a plant.
And it doesn't end there.
Even a humble milk bottle can be transformed
into an incredibly useful tool.
You know, gardening is great and you don't need anything to get started.
You don't need any particular tools,
but as your knowledge and your skills grow,
you might want to increase your kit a little bit,
give it a bit of thought.
'Cause that way, you'll save your body and your budget.