by LAURA LANGSTON

When it comes to choosing garden tools, the number of options can leave consumers bewildered. What is essential? Much depends on an individual gardener’s needs. However, there are a few tools that every gardener should own, regardless of their garden’s size or style. Here’s a look.

A classic bypass hand pruner, sometimes called secateurs, is high on the must-have list. The two curved blades on a bypass pruner produce clean cuts that won’t tear plants’ tissue. This makes them ideal for trimming shrubs, perennials or flowers, as well as the occasional soft branch.

Related to the hand pruner are snippers or snips. Snips shouldn’t be used for cutting woody material, but they are ideal for harvesting or pruning fresh greenery, for precise work on plants or for getting into tight spaces.