The favourite tools of The Frenchie Gardener

In autumn the old olive and carob trees drop their leaves all over the beds, and this rake lets me collect them to use it for making leaf mould and for mulching.

When my seedlings leave the nursery for the open ground, this narrow blade goes deep enough to keep the whole root ball together, so they settle into the Sicilian soil without even noticing they moved.

I fell in love with this heart-shaped trowel because it’s not only romantic in form but tough at heart. "Green love to you!" Its sharp point plants my bulbs, draws seed lines and pries out the stones that hide in every corner of our Sicilian land.

After a long dry summer the beds go hard like terracotta, and four strong tines are all I need to open them up again for the autumn rains, without turning the soil upside down.

Wild fennel and thistles here push their taproots deep into the Sicilian soil, and this slim blade is how I get the whole root out in one go, with no effort, no chemicals and no drama.

Before creating a new garden bed on this rocky compacted Sicilian clay, this broadfork helps me loosen up the soil easily without disturbing soil life.

This is the tool which helps me to loosen up the topsoil slightly before planting: one side breaks the ground, the other turns it into something I can plant in.

For planting a young fig or lemon tree, or digging a basin to catch every drop of water, this compact shovel is exactly the right size for working precisely between the terraces.

This is my favorite tool to pot up some plants in containers. You can fill up your pots with compost soil in no time thanks to its perfect shape carrying a good volume of soil.

My favorite summer trowel! After some good gardening work, this trowel will be your best friend to open a nice fresh drink!