I was close to a mini heart attack this weekend. I was so busy working on an interior design project for a client, that I barely had the time to take care of Matthew and even eat! With all the work fuss, I completely forgot that plants are living organisms, and no living organism can go a day without a little love and attention. And it’s been days! So when this morning I sat with a cup of coffee in the backyard and threw a glance at my flowers, I almost passed out; they were dead! My small floral garden looked so neglected and messy, so dry and like no one paid attention to it for years! Oh my God, the horror! Following my freakish order obsession, I left my coffee cup half full and decided I was going to bring the beauty of my floral garden back. The thing was, I didn’t have the tools. Darn.

So naturally, I got back to my coffee with my laptop and started digging: what should a gardener (yes, I am a gardener because I have a garden that I love, despite the unfortunate event) own in her arsenal of tools for grooming the perfect garden? The list of gardening supplies was rather long – on my embarassing surprise.

For starters, gloves

Especially for female gardeners like me, gloves are a non-negotiable part of the gardening supplies. You want your gentle, cream-nurtured hands to stay that way, and working with mud, grass and thorns isn’t exactly helping. There are specially designed gardening gloves made mainly of materials like thin synthetic fabric, latex and a pair made from suede for heavy duty works. If your garden is anything like mine, then get a pair of each cause you’ll need it.

A bootjack

For a hygiene freak like myself, a bootjack is a necessity, not a convenience. Especially in days when I do some digging, planting and soil prepping and my gardening boots turn all muddy and dirty. A bootjack makes a wonderful piece in the collection of necessary gardening supplies because it allows you to easily get off your boots and leave them away from your perfectly cleaned patio.

Spade, hand towel and a hoe

These three pieces make the basic gardening tool kit. With these you can dig, refresh the soil and plant new plants. A spade is what most home gardeners need to own because it’s the type of tool that can be used even for smaller jobs without creating too much of a mess. The hand towel is needed when you’re up for a tougher task that covers a larger plot surface, while the hoe is for digging purposes – like in my case, when you need to get rid of your old flowers and plant new ones.

This was just a short list of the essential gardening supplies that every gardener needs to own in order to maintain the health and good looks of their garden. If you have more space, or if your garden is oriented towards growing fruits and veggies, then the arsenal of tools may be a little larger, but the basics are the same for everyone.