A spade is one of the most useful tools to have in the garden; it may be used for edging beds, digging holes for planting, slicing under turf and working soil improvements into the garden.

Some people may find a standard spade with a 28x19 cm (11x7 in) blade too heavy to use for long periods of time, and may find a border (or 'ladies') spade with its smaller blade (23x13 cm or 9x5 in) more comfortable. As its name suggests, a border spade is also useful when digging in the confined space of a bed or border.

You may want to consider buying a spade that has a tread to make it less arduous to push the blade into the soil. Do bear in mind however, that this will make the spade heavier.