Garden Tools & Equipment

Quick Answer The best cordless hedge trimmer for most UK gardens is the Ryobi OHT1855R ONE+ for everyday domestic use, the Ryobi OHT1850X for hard-to-reach hedges and taller boundaries, and the STIHL HSA 56 if you want premium build quality and are prepared to pay for it. I have used Ryobi ONE+ tools extensively in […]

When I first started gardening many, many moons ago, I always gardened bare-handed. It gave me a genuine sense of connection with the earth and the gardening process. It wasn’t long, though, before coworkers in my old IT 9-5 job were giving my dirt-stained hands and nails the look of horror. It looked like I’d […]

Quick Answer The best raised beds for most UK gardeners are galvanised steel (longest lifespan at 20 to 30 years), pressure-treated timber kits (10 to 15 years, most affordable), or composite WPC beds (15 to 20 years, minimal maintenance). For vegetables, aim for at least 30cm depth; for root crops, 40cm minimum. Fill with a […]

Not sure which scarifier to buy? BBC Garden Rescue presenter Lee Burkhill reviews the best UK lawn scarifiers for every lawn size and budget, from the Darlac DP888 manual rake to the Bosch UniversalVerticut and Hyundai petrol models. Includes a lawn size guide, hire vs buy costs, and honest opinions on which machines are actually worth the money.

Quick Answer The Hayter Osprey 46 is one of the best petrol lawn mowers for medium-sized UK gardens up to 500m². Built in Britain with a steel deck, Briggs and Stratton engine, and Hayter’s excellent Easy-Wash system, it delivers a sharp, consistent cut. The Autodrive version is the one to buy: the fixed 2mph drive […]

Quick Answer STIHL cordless strimmers are among the best-built grass trimmers available for UK gardens. The FSA 45 suits small gardens with its integrated battery and blade system, the FSA 56 steps up for medium gardens with replaceable 36V batteries, and the FSA 60 R handles larger plots with a 350mm cutting width and up […]

Quick Answer To design your own garden you need a handful of affordable drawing tools and measuring equipment. The essentials are A3 graph paper, tracing paper, a 10m tape measure, a compass and quality pencils. A lightbox and pop-up easel make the process considerably more comfortable, and coloured pencils or watercolours let you bring your […]

This guide is the one I wish had existed when I started out. Whether you are kitting out a new garden from scratch, replacing worn-out tools, or looking for gift ideas that a gardener will actually use, this is my honest, experience-led view of the best garden tools available in the UK in 2026. No […]

Quick Answer A tree ring is a circular metal, plastic, or stone edging that creates a clear, grass-free zone around a tree planted in a lawn. It takes around 30 minutes to install, prevents grass from competing with the tree for water and nutrients, and makes mowing much easier. Choose a ring sized to match […]

Starting to garden as a beginner can be daunting. You search the shed and find a rusty trowel, maybe a wobbly-handled spade that has seen better days. They may have even been left by the last owners, too ashamed to take them with them. You have a go at using them to find that they […]