As a product tester, I can vouch for these QVC gardening essentials

Watering is the foundation of any garden, especially in the summer months. A wall-mounted, retractable hose reel like this saves space and means you don't have the boring task of winding up your hose reel after watering.

Bypass pruners are essential for pruning your plants and keeping them healthy. Best of all, these have adjustable width, so if you and your partner share gardening chores but have different hand sizes, you can both use the same pair. It also means that and you can close the opening for fine, detailed pruning, and open it wide for cutting through thicker branches.

Once you've bought a kneeler, you'll wonder how you ever gardened without one. This is my favorite model. Comfortable memory foam offers great support for your knees, and it's also waterproof, so you can kneel in morning dew without getting wet.

It seems strange, but a reliable pair of gardening shoes can be as essential as a good spade. You need something comfortable and waterproof but easy to slip on and off when moving from your home to your backyard. Reviewers say these Martha Stewart Skechers are incredibly comfortable, perfect for long hours in the garden.

I've tried this spade, and while I think the O-grip handle is a gimmick, the blade is genuinely excellent at cutting through tough roots. It also excels at turning over rocky soil.

Sweeping is one of the least interesting tasks in a back yard, and this twin push sweeper makes it a lot faster. Just push it over a patio or a path like you're mowing the lawn to pick up leaves and debris in minutes.

A good pair of loppers is essential for pruning trees to keep them healthy. These loppes from Worx are some of my favorites, with comfortable handles and a tough, sharp blade that effortlessly slices through thick, hard wood.

These are my favorite style of gardening gloves. They have a tough leather palm for working with brambles and thorns, but softer material on the thumbs and first two fingers for more delicate work. Best of all, it's touch-screen friendly, so you can still use your phone if you're reading a step-by-step gardening guide.

This is one of my favorite hedge trimmers. Because it's cordless, it's lightweight and there's no risk of cutting through a power cable. This means you can achieve an incredible precise cut on your hedges.

A spotless patio is impossible without a good pressure washer. This model from Karcher is one of my favorites as it does a remarkable job at cleaning dirt and stains from patio stones.

Many leaf blowers are single-function, but I like testing this model because it can also mulch and vacuum leaves. Rather than blowing leaves around into piles that you then have to clean up, you can vacuum them into a bag, or turn them into nutritious mulch on the spot.

Keeping hoses tidy can be tricky, so a hose holder is an essential. Best of all, this model is decorative, turning your hose from an eyesore into part of your garden design.

Hard-wearing gardening bags like this are vital for almost any gardening task. Whether you're pruning, weeding, or picking up leaves, these bags will help you tidy up your work as as you go.

This is one of my favorite trimmers. Not only does it do a great job at cutting long grass at the base of trees, but you can twist the cutting head 90° and use it as a lawn edger, too.

Not everyone needs these, but easy-grip tools like this are crucial if you have fine-motor disabilities like arthritis or Parkinson's.