THE leaves are starting to fall, the lawn needs rejuvenating, the beds could do with a tidy-up, and overcrowded plants can be lifted and divided.

Autumn is potentially a busy time in the garden so it’s essential to have the right tools for the job to help make the season relatively pain-free.

There are some tools which will make your life easier in autumn and if you invest in the best now, you will appreciate their quality in years to come. Here are some essential tools for particular jobs:

  • Trimming and pruning: Secateurs: It’s worth tidying up shrubs in beds and borders at this time of year, cutting out old or diseased wood to make way for new growth in spring. There’s a wealth of secateurs on the market but I would invest in a good quality pair. Felco No.6 secateurs have blades made from high quality carbon steel, while the handles are made from forged aluminium alloy (£59.99, www.felco.com and Wyevale Garden Centres). Fiskars award-winning Quantum B100 bypass secateurs (£65) are also a good product, available nationwide in garden centres, DIY stores and online: fiskars.co.uk l Plant bulbs. You can use a hand trowel and fork to do this job, but bulb planters lift a core of soil, enabling you to plant bulbs quickly and are useful in soil that holds together well but is not to heavy. Instead of having to kneel to do the job, you can buy them with a long handle so you can push the planter in with your foot. Burgon and Ball’s Long Handled Bulb Planter was an RHS Chelsea Garden Product of the Year finalist this year. (RRP £29.95 available from www.burgonandball.com and many garden centres).
  • Clearing leaves: It’s important to clear leaves from the lawn because they can smother and weaken grass roots, reducing their oxygen intake. Any leaves which have settled in the crown of plants should also be removed, although those lying on the soil in beds and borders can be left to decompose. There are many rakes on the market but among the best is the Fiskars Garden Light Leaf Rake, available in medium or large. (RRP £29.99 available from DIY stores, garden centres and online: www.fiskars.co.uk). If you want mechanical help, try Bosch ALS 2500 garden vacuum to collect the leaves from the patio and shred them. (RRP £79.99, www.bosch-garden.com) l Lawn care: Springtine rakes: These are perfect tools for removing thatch and moss from the lawn in both autumn and spring. Wolf-Garten’s springtine rake is a good bet (£29.99 (handles separate) www.wolfgarten-tools.co.uk, and through leading garden centres). Alternatively you can buy electric scarifiers for large lawns. Which? Gardening found the Al-Ko Combi-care 32VLE Comfort Lawn Rake/ Scarifier (£169, available www.al-ko.com or from Al-Ko dealers) to be its best buy in tests.
  • Autumn and winter digging: Digging in organic matter to enrich your soil is one of the primary jobs in autumn, and a good garden fork is perfect for this. Buy the best one you can, as so many cheaper ones end up with prongs bending or snapping under duress. Try the Bulldog classic premier garden fork (RRP £50.67 or RRP 49.74) from www.qualitygardentools.com