One of the many benefits of working at a garden center is getting to assist customers with creating heartfelt gifts for their loved ones. A few weeks ago, a customer explained that he and his wife had recently bought a house with a yard and that the following day was his wife's birthday. He wanted to give her a beginner gardener's tool kit to start their garden together. After I mopped up the puddle of d'awwww that I had melted into, I realized that I didn't have an on-hand answer. Working together, we figured it out, and it went a little something like this:

PROTECTIVE GEAR

• sunscreen

• bug repellent spray

• gloves

• brimmed hat

HAND TOOLS

• trowel or hori hori

• hand rake

• hand pruner

• harvest basket or colander

WATERING

• watering can

• garden hose

• watering wand (attaches to garden hose)

For a more detailed explanation of these tools, check out this excellent blog post at fix.com. These tools will get you started with smaller projects such as planting in containers or raised beds. For bigger projects, you may need long-handled tools such as shovels and rakes, power tools, and/or lawn care machinery.