You don't need to spend tons of money filling your tool shed with every gardening gadget at the hardware store. Most gardeners can get away with ten basic tools: a sturdy hand trowel, a stirrup hoe, a square blade spade with a D-shaped handle, bypass hand pruners, a garden fork, a leaf rake, a bow rake, a hand cultivator, a wheelbarrow or garden cart, and a hori hori knife, which is a serrated Japanese garden knife used for dividing plants, making furrows, and weeding. Here's how to purchase useful, high-quality tools that can last a lifetime if taken care of. more »