Garden Tools & Equipment

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 […]

Quick Answer The best garden tools in the UK for 2026 span four categories: hand tools (trowel, secateurs, hori hori, spade, fork), lawn and garden maintenance tools (hoe, shears, leaf rake, bulb planter, loppers, pruning saw), lawn care machines (mower, scarifier), and carrying tools (wheelbarrow, plastic trug). Invest properly in the tools you use daily […]

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 […]

Quick Answer For most gardeners, a thick EVA foam kneeling mat, at least 25mm thick and ideally 40mm on hard surfaces, is the best first purchase, and it should have a waterproof rather than water-resistant cover. Knee pads suit continuous tasks like border weeding, and a kneeler seat with proper handles is the better choice […]

The shift from petrol-powered to cordless battery-powered garden tools has been one of the most significant changes in UK domestic gardening over the last decade. When I started in garden design, petrol was the professional standard and battery tools were the weak compromise you gave to someone who did not know better. That is completely […]