Gardening tools to help you flex your green thumb

The best gardening tools will ease your way to success: whether you are crafting your dream garden, adding a touch of greenery to your urban balcony, or venturing into growing your own veg. From Ilse Crawford’s visionary watering can to efficient Japanese garden scissors, our selection is based on form as well as function. Here, we round up gardening tools that are a cut above, and sure to sharpen up your prowess. 

Gardening tools: Wallpaper* picks

Japanese garden scissors

Name: Sentei Garden Scissors Uekibasami
Brand: Niwaki 
Price: €29

Perfect for cutting blooms for flower arrangements, dead-heading and light pruning. With round handles made of forged carbon steel, the scissors are comfortable to use and work well for smaller hands, while being strong enough to make precise cuts, adding to the simple, satisfying pleasure of snipping back. Care for your scissors with camellia oil and occasional sharpening over time. Crafted in Sanjo, Japan.

Shop via: niwaki.com

Flower scissors

Name: Ikenobo Basami Flower Scissors
Brand: Banshu Hamono
Price: €155

Made using the same techniques that have been employed for generations by Japanese craftsmanship, these flower scissors are ideal for cutting thick stems, such as lilies. The blades are at an acute angle in order to cut without crushing the plant fibres, allowing for flowers to absorb water and last longer in your vase. The scissors are forged by hand by a 90-year-old craftsman using a single iron rod. Banshu Hamono originated as a family business, producing swords, then kitchen knives and now other items including gardening tools such as shears.

Shop via: japan-best.net

A sophisticated watering can

Name: Nurture Watering Can
Designer: Ilse Crawford, for Skultuna
Price: £160

Ilse Crawford brings Aladdin’s lamp to life to grant your garden wishes. The vibrant brass finish will bring a welcome gleam to your tool shed or greenhouse. Swedish brass specialist Skultana is known for its timeless home accessories, and this watering can will endure season after season. 

Shop via: scp.co.uk

An essential toolbox

Name: Grib Toolbox
Brand: Ferm Living
Price: €79

Providing portable storage for your gardening tools or serving as a trug for cut flowers, the Grib Toolbox is a handy solution outdoors and indoors. As well as black, Ferm Living offers softer colours: cashmere (cream), light grey, and olive. In simple, powder-coated metal, the toolbox features a spherical handle designed to rest comfortably in your palm.

Shop via: fermliving.com

A creature-inspired gardening kit

Name: Garden Fetish Tools
Designer: Godefroy de Virieu for Bacsac
Price: From €59 to €79 per tool

This playful trio comprises garden tools in the form of a stag beetle (fitted with mandibles for raking, a sharp spatula body for digging, and a wooden stand that lends the tool sculptural appeal when you're not using it); a mole (with claws to aerate the ground); and a toucan (with a beak that cuts). The tools are hand-forged by a small family business in the Netherlands in light yet robust carbon steel and bring fun to garden chores. 

Shop via: bacsac.com

Essential gardening set

Name: Garden Tool Set
Brand: Hay
Price: $39

Keen gardeners and budding beginners alike will dig Hay’s cute and simple aluminium alloy tool set. With two trowels and a fork, it makes the perfect gift, or treat yourself and get started on those weeds. 

Shop via: clothbase.com

Dustpan & Broom

Name: Dustpan & Broom
Brand: Normann Copenhagen
Price: £24

Spring is a busy time in the garden but it can also be difficult to keep up with the mess. This dustpan and broom offers functionality and an appealing aesthetic in one. The dustpan is shaped to fit comfortably in the hand and the brush, in wood and natural bristle, stows neatly in its hole when not in use. 

Shop via: nordicnest.com