Border spade/fork:
Traditionally, digging tools are made in two sizes, and the smaller ones are described as "border" spades and forks (also known as "ladies"), because their size makes them more suitable for working among plants and borders. Being smaller and lighter, border spades and forks are sometimes a better buy for female customers or those who are less-abled.

Bowsaw:
A saw with a curved steel frame and a narrow blade. Designed for cutting living or "green" wood, it has large ?open? teeth to prevent the saw from jamming in the cut, and to ensure the sawdust is cleared efficiently. They generally come in two blade sizes 21" and 24".

Bulb planter:
A steel tool shaped like a small flowerpot with an open base and a handle on top. Used for planting bulbs in lawns and borders, it is ?screwed? into the ground to remove a plug of soil with the turf intact. The bulb is positioned in the hole, and the two halves of the handle are squeezed together to replace the plug of soil on top.

Bypass pruner:
A pruner, secateur or lopper with a scissor-like cutting action. Bypass pruners give a cleaner cut than anvil types and are easier to sharpen. But they can distort or ?spread? if asked to cut too thick a stem (the maximum thickness it can cut is around 20mm).

Carbon steel:
Traditionally, all garden tools were made of carbon steel, which is exactly what it sounds like: steel made with a percentage of carbon. It's strong and malleable, but it isn't rust-proof, so carbon steel tools should be cleaned after use, and wiped over with a oily rag if they are not going to be used for a while.

Chain saws:
They come in a variety of sizes, both petrol and electric. Chain saws are used to cut large branches or entire trees and should only be used with appropriate safety gear by people who fully understand their operation and handling. Improper or careless handling can do significant damage to trees, surrounding buildings and people.

Cultivator:
There are dozens of different types of cultivator, all with the same purpose: to break up large clumps of soil into what gardeners call 'tilth' - a fine, crumbly soil which gives plant roots room to expand and which easily absorbs water. Cultivators are available with long or short handles.

Cylinder mower:
A lawnmower with a multi-bladed cylinder which revolves against a fixed lower blade, cutting the grass with a scissor-like action. Cylinder mowers give a very fine finish to the lawn and can be used to achieve classic lawn striping, but they tend to need more frequent maintenance and adjustment than other types. Available as hand-propelled, electric or petrol-engined types.

Daisy grubber:
A simple little hand tool for digging daisies and other problem weeds out of lawn with minimum disturbance to the turf.

Dibber:
A simple pointed tool with a handle, used to make a hole for a seedling to be planted in.

Digging spade/fork:
A digging spade/fork has a larger head than the smaller ?border? varieties. They generally come in two different shaft lengths 28" and 32" - to suit people of different heights. See border spade/fork.

Draw hoe:
A draw hoe has a thin blade, which is fixed at an angle to the shaft and can be used for weeding but is better for drawing or earthing up soil. It is also known as a swan neck hoe.

Dutch hoe:
A hoe with a long handle and a short, flat blade fixed at an angle and sharpened on both sides. It is pushed and pulled back and forth just beneath the surface of the ground, breaking up compacted soil and slicing off weeds.A hoe with a long handle and a short, flat blade fixed at an angle and sharpened on both sides. It is pushed and pulled back and forth just beneath the surface of the ground, breaking up compacted soil and slicing off weeds.

Edging shears:
Shears with a long handle allowing the user to trim grass at the edges of the lawn that the mower may not be able to cut. Some feature a special geared mechanism to ensure a straight cut and telescopic handles that adjust to the gardener's height.

Edging tool:
A long-handled tool with a sharp half-moon curved blade, used for cutting a fine edge where a lawn meets a flowerbed.

Floral clip:
A small cutting tool similar to conventional scissors, but with small thin blades. It is ideal for cutting flowers, pruning small plants, or taking cuttings. Use whenever precision is required.

Folding pruning saw:
A folding saw with a plastic handle and a short, narrow blade. Designed for cutting living or ?green? wood, it has large ?open? teeth to prevent the saw from jamming in the cut and to ensure the sawdust is cleared efficiently.

Forging:
A method of working metal by hammering it into shape while it's red-hot. The molecular structure of the metal remains intact during the process, which means that forged tools are extremely strong - much stronger than tools, which are welded together from different components. It isn't always possible to distinguish between them by sight, however, so look for a label or sticker that says 'fully-forged' or 'solid-forged'.

Fork:
A digging tool with four prongs or 'tines', used mainly to break up soil. Garden forks are used for a variety of other purposes (levering up paving slabs, digging out tree roots, aerating lawns), however, some of which they are not designed for, so it's a good idea to recommend a fully-forged fork.

Grass trimmer:
An electric or petrol-engined tool with a spool of nylon line that rotates at high speed. They are used for trimming long grass around rockeries, tree trunks etc and are also good for cutting back general, light vegetation.

Hand fork:
An A small fork, usually with three tines, used to cultivate soil and dig out weeds in confined areas.

Handles:
Traditionally, garden tools had wooden handles; plastic handles are equally popular nowadays, although many gardeners still prefer the 'feel' of wood. Spades and forks are available with D-shaped handles (traditionally more popular in the south) or T-shaped ones (more popular in the north).

Hoe:
There are many different types of hoe, but they all have a similar purpose: soil cultivation and weeding. Look under Dutch hoe and swan-neck hoe.

Hover mower:
An electric or petrol-engined lawn mower with a rotary blade which creates a downdraught of air, allowing the mower to float across the grass on a cushion of air, cutting as it goes.

Lawn rake:
A rake with a long handle and a broad head of springy plastic or steel tines, designed for raking up grass cuttings, dead leaves and hedge prunings. It can also be used for removing weeds from ponds and scratching out moss.

Lawn scarifier(power or manual):
A lawn scarifier removes the dead material, primarily grass cuttings or moss, that gather around the base of grass shoots, thereby letting more water and air through, which enhances the soil and grass condition.

Lawn shears:
Shears with angled blades allowing the user to easily tidy up the lawn, ideal for getting the longer grass stems the mower has not cut.

Line & pins:
Traditional garden rope line and wooden pins are ideal for ensuring straight rows when planting vegetables or shrubs in your garden or allotment.

Long-handled tools:
A generic term for tools designed to be used in a standing position: spade, fork, rake, hoe and so on.

Loppers:
A heavy-duty pruning tool that looks like an oversized pair of secateurs, usually with handles about a meter long. Used for heavy-duty pruning, and lopping tree branches. (see anvil and bypass for different types).

Mattock:
A digging tool with a long wooden handle and a curved steel head. It has a flat blade and a point and is used for breaking up hard, compacted ground, and as a lever for lifting paving slabs or embedded stones. Similar to a pickaxe, but with a flat blade instead of a point.

Pickaxe:
A digging tool with a long wooden handle and a curved, pointed steel head. Used for breaking up hard, compacted ground, and as a lever for lifting paving slabs or embedded stones. Sometimes called a pick.

Pressed steel:
Pressing tools from sheet steel is a cost-effective alternative to forging, but the end result is usually less durable. It tends to be used for shovels, not spades and forks.

Pruners:
See anvil pruners and bypass loppers.

Pruning knife:
See anvil pruners and bypass loppers.

Rake:
A long-handled tool used to break up surface soil and for clearing rubbish.

Riddle:
A riddle is a steel constructed garden sieve, with mesh for screening of garden soil or compost and removal of stones and gravel.

Rotary Mower:
A lawn mower with an electric motor or petrol engine mounted on a plastic, pressed steel or cast aluminium deck, with four wheels and a single horizontal rotating blade beneath the deck. May be pushed along or self-propelled, and the petrol engine may be pull-start or electric start. More expensive models have a height adjustor to vary the cut.

Scythe:
The traditional reaping tool, with a long curved blade and a long wooden handle, designed for two-handed use. It is often used to clear heavy vegetation.

Secateurs:
Also known as pruners, they are the essential garden cutting tool. Available in two types, anvil and bypass, and a huge range of specifications and price points.

Shears:
Long-bladed cutting tools with a scissor action, commonly used for trimming hedges and shaping shrubs. See also edging shears and lawn shears.

Shovel:
A long-handled tool like a spade, but with a wider blade with upturned sides. A shovel is designed for a specific purpose: lifting and moving loose material like gravel, sand, compost or topsoil. A spade can be used as a shovel, but a shovel should not be used as a spade as it not designed for digging.

Sickle:
A traditional tool for cutting long grass, designed to be used one-handed, with a razor-sharp curved blade and a wooden handle. Also known as a grass hook.

Single-handed grass shears:
A small hand tool, which can be operated with one hand, designed for trimming grass and soft foliage. Shears are available with either fixed blades or blades that swivel to enable you to cut plants without twisting your wrist.

Spade:
A digging tool with a long handle and a broad, flat blade. The blade can be stainless steel or carbon steel; the shaft can be wood, plastic, glassfibre or tubular steel; and the handle can be wood or plastic. Some digging spades have extra treads welded to the upper edge of the blade to protect the sole of the user's boot or shoe and to stop feet getting tired.

Stainless steel:
Steel made with chromium and nickel to make it rust-resistant. Virtually all stainless steel is fabricated, which is weaker than solid-forged. A highly polished stainless steel spade is ideal for digging in clay soils, because the soil is less likely to stick to it than to a carbon steel blade. However, due to the lower strength of stainless steel, it is recommended that a border size be selected when digging in very heavy clays. As stainless steel is less ductile than carbon steel, it is more brittle - so for digging in stony ground, a carbon steel blade is preferable.

Swan-neck hoe:
A hoe with a long handle, a curved neck and a short blade. It is used with a downward chopping action to break up the soil and grub up weeds.

Three-pronged cultivator:
Designed to break up the ground for planting, aeration and weed control, this type of equipment is ideal for gardeners who consistently make additions or changes to their outdoor space.

Topiary shears:
Single-handed topiary shears are used for precise shaping of hedges, bushes and shrubs.

Transporting trowel:
Narrower than a normal trowel and generally used for transplanting bulbs and seedlings. Some are marked with a depth gauge to aid the process.

Trowel:
A small digging tool for one-handed use, with a curved blade.

Turfing iron
A type of spade designed specifically for cutting and lifting turf, with an angled, pointed blade. It is also known as a turf cutter.