Choosing gardening tools
So this leaves us with the question of which tools do you start with on a reduced budget and what tools do you really need
A good set of hand pruning shears is your number one priority. You'll do more work with this set of tools all season than any other. So if you have a limited amount of money to spend - buy the best here and scimp on the rest.
As a second tool, I'd recommend something like my Ho-mi or Weed-eze tool in this video. This is an inexpensive tool and replaces a great many other tools throughout the year. By the time you add up buying a hand cultivators, hand trowels etc. (not to mention keeping track of them and lugging them around the garden) you're going to find you're money and effort ahead to buy this one good tool.
You're going to need a shovel. While it is not my favorite shovel (the rabitting spade is my favorite) a general garden shovel is your first choice. This is because it has the widest range of uses in the garden and while it isn't as good at planting perennials and other plants in the garden, it can do this job as well as a great many others the specialist shovels can't do.
If you don't mulch your garden, you're going to find a regular garden rake is a good idea. It can be used to do several things - from smoothing to hilling plants to doing a little weeding. You'll be surprised how adaptable it is when you don't have much else to work with.
After these basics, I'd go with a good hose. Not some cheapy thing that's only going to last a season or two before it bends/breaks on you. But a good quality rubber hose (mine are over 25 years old now) that will last forever.
A wheelbarrow takes up a ton of room but it's a handly thing to have around for hauling plants and supplies from car to garden. It's not necessary but it's a real back-saver if you're of a certain age.
If your garden is maturing and you have larger shrubs, then a good set of loppers is recommended for heavier pruning jobs.
These would be the basics in choosing gardening tools.
Mind you, if you're like me - you've got way more than this but this is all you really need to get going.
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