If you’re like me, then there are many people in your life that have so much, you’re unsure what to buy them for Christmas. As winter progresses, I look forward to yard work and, of course, gardening. My gardener friends, like me, want tools and tips to make their jobs easier and more efficient, so why not give gardening tools as Christmas presents?

To help you buy for others (or yourself), I have compiled my list of favorites and reasons why they make gardening so much easier. I have arthritis issues, and these save drudgery, pain and time.

My no. 1 tool is the hoe and cultivator hand tiller. This marvel, which I affectionately call the dooga dooga, cuts roots, breaks up the ground, cultivates clods and makes furrows, all with an ergonomic handle of soft, absorbent plastic. It is a hoe, cultivator, claw rake, weeder and trowel, all in one. And my hands love it. This tool is my “pet,” and Bill knows better than to mess with this baby!

Second, hand pruners are handy for all occasions. They must be clean and sharp to take out that stray branch or tough weed, and you want a clean, sharp cut to any plant.

Hand pruners reduce tearing — that “chewed” look after trimming a branch.

Next, when I was a child it was called a yard broom, but current terminology calls it a tine rake. This tool is easy to keep clean and used for raking leaves, muck off the pond, around plants and any other lightweight work.

The steel rake is designed for the heavy lifting, and so is my husband!

The branch lopper with compound action is a wonder. This heavy-duty pruner “shifts gears” when the handles come close together, so less pressure (from my arms!) is needed to cut those low hanging branches or rose canes.

My last must-have tool is my bulb planter. When I was a child, we had this tool and I loved it then, and I love it now. We had to hunt to find just the right one. It is waist high at the handle and has a cup end similar to a tube.

It shows how deep the tube end is going into the ground for perfect bulb planting. I just set it down, apply my foot to one side, then jump on the other, and I have the hole for that spring bulb. I set it in, eye at the top, tap the end over the bulb and tamp it down. Come spring, my tulip, daffodil or muscari will burst forth announcing the season.

Finally, an easy to use rain gauge is a gift that keeps on giving. Most plants in the garden need an inch of rain per week, so gardeners can keep track of rain vs. the need for irrigation throughout the growing season.

Merry Christmas, all my fellow gardeners. This year, feel free to buy something new for yourself — and the gardeners you love.