The Best Gardening Tools and Equipment of 2023

A good garden shovel is one of the most basic tools you Hooyman Digging Shovel. Featuring a heavy duty carbon steel head and no-slip grips for each hand, this shovel provides efficiency and ergonomics.

The slightly-serrated blade cuts well through everything from hard ground to roots. The lightweight fiberglass shaft is durable, but light enough to use for long stretches.

If you want to handle smaller tasks like planting seeds or small bushes, consider a hand trowel, as well.

The Flexzilla hose is the best garden hose you can buy. It’s light and flexible without sacrificing durability or performance, and its lightweight construction and smooth surface make it maneuverable at any distance.

Both ends of the Flexzilla have comfort grips that allow the hose to twist freely, making it easy to maneuver around the yard. The Flexvilla’s titular flexibility did lead to a couple of kinks as we pulled the hose taut, however, it un-kinked itself after a moment, so the brief kinks didn’t end up being an issue at all.

Our durability test involved smacking the connectors against concrete three times as hard as we could. The aluminum fittings held up just as well as the brass fittings of other hoses we tested. They emerged with just a couple of scuffs.

The flexible nature of this hose also made it a breeze to coil and carry from one place to another. It can’t touch the portability of an expandable hose, but it was the easiest to move, coiled or expanded, of the standard hoses we tested.

The Flexzilla’s neon green color is impossible to lose in your home garden beds. That could be a positive or negative depending on your preferences, but it also won’t heat water to the extent that a darker hose might. The Flexzilla’s lead-free material is safe for all members of the family to drink from.

The Dramm 12424 One-Touch Shower & Stream is simple, elegant, effective, and high-quality. As the name suggests, the dial’s only two options are shower and stream. Flow is controlled by an easy-to-adjust rear thumb throttle. Between those two settings, the Dramm can perform most garden and yard tasks besides misting.

The full-pressure stream is one of the most powerful jet streams we tested, pushing soil off a dirty deck fast. The full-powered shower delivers a medium-fine, drenching spray for rapid but gentle watering that won’t damage delicate leaves. At low pressure, the spray is perfect for sprinkling seedlings without washing them away.

The only drawback to this otherwise-perfect spray is that its watering radius on “shower” is small compared to other models, making it less useful for big yards.

See more of the best hose nozzles we tested and reviewed.

StoneBreaker Gardener Gloves are excellent all-around gloves for most light to medium-duty gardening and yard work. The available small, medium, and large sizes roughly correspond to glove sizes 7-9.

At about $20 a pair, the StoneBreaker Gloves aren’t cheap, but they’re ruggedly durable. They’re a great all-purpose pair for anyone who only wants one set of gloves. Made of goatskin and fabric, they’re sensitive enough for weeding, but sturdy enough for grabbing thorny stems and rough-edged bricks. They’ll also keep blisters at bay during long pruning sessions.

The slim profile of the fingertip seams keeps them from interfering with fine-detail work. The light color and breathable fabric backing helps them stay cool on hot, sunny days, and the palms are water-resistant.

There are a few downsides. The backs aren’t water-resistant, they’re on the pricey side, and they have to be washed by hand. The cuff is long, but the elastic isn’t particularly tight, so some dirt may fall in.

While Amazon lists these as “women’s” gloves, their unisex design and size range will fit most men. It’s also the most protective glove we tested that can still work a touchscreen.

See more of the best gardening gloves we tested and reviewed.

Our testing backed up Felco’s stellar reputation. Their hardened steel blades cut cleanly through every plant you’re likely to encounter in your garden, from delicate flower stems to half-inch diameter branches. That versatility is a huge advantage. You can cut down the last year’s growth on your yew hedge, trim your roses, give them a quick clean, and then snip a few basil leaves to pretty up your plate of spaghetti.

All of your cuts will be clean and straight, with no crushed or mangled stems or half-cut branches. And with 22 different replacement parts available, you can keep these pruners in good repair pretty much forever. They may be more expensive than other pruning shears on this list, but they’re built to last, with a lifetime warranty to back that longevity up.

Although the manufacturer says that the F-2s have a one-inch cutting capacity, that “capacity” depends on your hand strength. If you’re a weekend gardener and don’t spend much time flexing with grip strengtheners, you’re not going to be able to cut through a one-inch branch even though the shears can open wide enough.

When cutting softer plant materials like raspberry canes, the action can feel a little sticky, as though the mechanism is getting ever so slightly stuck. However the cuts are still clean. The lock is easy to close with your thumb, but can be hard to re-open one-handed.

See more of the best pruning shears we tested and reviewed.

This tornado of a leaf blower claims it can move 600 cubic feet of air per minute. Based on our testing, that’s easy to believe. The Worx WG520 was unmatched in clearing leaves off any surface from a distance, including wet, matted leaves that had glued themselves to the pavement.

To avoid blowing all your potted plants off the porch, the Worx WG520 has a speed dial to adjust its air blasts from its hurricane-pounding maximum down to normal leaf-blower levels. For $60, this is an effective, powerful machine. It’s light enough to carry easily at 7.2 lbs., and aesthetically, it looks less like a radioactive “Fortnite” gun than any other blower we tested.

The Worx’s one downfall is that it’s loud for a corded pick, spewing up to 82 dB at its highest speed. The noise is higher-pitched than landscapers’ gasoline-powered blowers and less annoying at a distance. Still, you should wear ear protection when you use this blower.

See more of the best leaf blowers we tested and reviewed.

The Truper Tru Tough is a mix of all of the best qualities a rake can offer. It’s light enough that it’s easy to maneuver, but heavy enough to hug the ground as you drag the rake towards you. The metal tines and substantial weight make it efficient enough that one sweep is usually enough. It worked very well both on harder ground and in slightly longer grass.

It emerged as a consistent favorite in our testing. While it didn’t always sweep up every acorn or pine needle, the long handle’s fiberglass construction and cushioned end make it manageable to hold for longer periods of raking. It’s not the widest rake we tested, but that actually worked out well. The loss of horizontal coverage is made up for in maneuverability, raking efficiency, and ease of storage.

The rake is connected to the handle by two bolts, boosting its longevity. Lastly, this Truper comes with a 25-year limited warranty. While more expensive than some others, it’s built to last far beyond what you might expect from a rake in addition to its top-notch performance.

See more of the best rakes we tested and reviewed.

If you have a patch of green to tend, it’s a safe bet you care about the environment, too. This corded Greenworks trimmer is a safer bet on that front than lithium batteries or gas.

At only 5.2 pounds, it’s very lightweight. It’s also reasonably balanced, thanks to an adjustable auxiliary handle and shaft. We found it comfortable to use for longer periods of time, though taller users may find that it doesn’t extend quite far enough.

Its auto-feed dual-line and 180-degree rotating edger help it operate efficiently and effectively, despite its modest 4-amp engine and 13-inch cutting range. One important note: It has a hair-trigger power button. Always unplug it between uses or when making any adjustments to the machine or strings.

See more of the best string trimmers we tested and reviewed.

A composter is a great part of any garden-care tool set, and this trapezoid-shaped outdoor bin was the best one we tested. Indoor bins have a temperature advantage that can help your composting, but if you want a traditional option (or just don’t want compost inside your home) this is a great choice.

The bin was easy to add to. The opening is wide enough that you can shovel in leaves or leftover garden plants. The sides have plenty of holes for ventilation, but they aren’t fully open. They let in air and moisture and cut down on the smell, but they also keep bugs and animals out.

We did run into an issue with mice digging under the side of the bin to get to food scraps. However, we addressed it by pushing the “teeth” of the bin further into the ground and placing large rocks around the edge to keep them out. If we did it again, we’d use a few pieces of wood as a frame to make the bottom secure from the start. Flat ground works best, but you could probably get away with a bit of a slant.

Because of the trapezoid shape, the bin fits up to 65 gallons, almost double what most bins can hold. We added to the bin every few days, and even then only filled it about halfway.

While we had plenty more room, it was also nice to have empty space in the bin. The leeway let us use a thin shovel or tool to stir the pile. Since this bin doesn’t spin, we tried to move the materials inside once a week to help break up clumps and spread the heat.

Our favorite feature is the four sliding doors at the base of each side. They made it easy to check on the bottom of the pile and measure temperature and moisture levels. We also imagine it makes emptying the soil at the end of the process easy, as well. The roomy interior, multiple openings, and secure closures make this bin well worth the price.

See more of the best compost bins we tested and reviewed.

The True Temper wheelbarrow is useful any time you want to carry something heavy, bulky, or awkward through your yard. It can travel over most yard obstacles and steps, and it holds more than 3 cubic feet of mulch flat (or up to 6 cu. ft. mounded) in the spacious tray.

This wheelbarrow makes everything easy. It comes assembled at the store, so there’s no searching for stray screwdrivers or ratchet wrenches to put it together. The coated metal handles are smooth and strong. In our tests, it traveled easily over all but the largest branches in our obstacle course and pushed through sand while fully loaded.

By far the best feature is how easy this wheelbarrow is to control. Even when fully loaded with bricks, the True Temper never felt like it was falling or “running away” downhill. The single flat-free rubber tire is sturdy, but soft enough that it easily rolls over rough ground, rocks, and branches. The single-wheel construction allows it to pivot around a 1-foot diameter turn.

On the other hand, this wheelbarrow is big and it weighs almost 46 pounds. It can be stored standing on its nose end, but it still takes up a lot of space. And for longevity, it’s best to store it inside.

If you are still concerned about tipping, you might consider a garden cart. You’ll still be able to transport plants, tools, and yard debris, but the extra wheels add stability.

See more of the best wheelbarrows we tested and reviewed.

The second-generation Rachio 3 Smart Sprinkler Controller currently tops our list for its abundant, easy-to-use options and straightforward installation.

The model we tested offers control over eight zones (sometimes called "stations"), though there's an additional model that supports up to twice that. Smart home junkies will appreciate the integrations with Nest, Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Samsung SmartThings, and Apple HomeKit. There's even a host of IFTTT recipes available to customize your sprinkler even further.

The Rachio app has a busy interface, but it's easy to navigate. You can set a custom schedule yourself. However, you can also upload photos and enter details about factors like soils and sunlight, and the Rachio app will formulate out based on the details you entered.

When we let the Rachio 3 set the watering schedule, we chose the Flexible Daily schedule option. This feature uses public weather data to determine soil moisture depending on the questions you answered.

Additional features include Weather Intelligence, which can automatically skip a session if rain or excessive wind is underway. There’s also Smart Cycle, which splits watering times into shorter, more frequent cycles to prevent runoff. For more accurate results, you can choose to sync the Rachio 3 with a personal weather station, like the Netatmo.

The Rachio 3 isn’t the most affordable smart irrigation controller, but it does offer the most features while still being easy enough for anyone to use. Serious gardening hobbyists will like the Rachio 3 for its fine-tuned smart scheduling and robust automation abilities.

See more of the best smart sprinklers we tested and reviewed.