If your garden is small in size, such as a courtyard garden, or limited in space due to an inner city location, then it is important to choose tools that are designed for use in a small garden.
The size of your garden will limit the size and number of plants that can be grown within it. This will automatically rule out the need for large, petrol powered garden tools such as lawn mowers, bush cutters and chainsaws. The sheer size of these machines will make them too unwieldy to maneuver around the restricted space, and it is unlikely that a garden of this size will create enough work to need industrial level tools.
For most small gardens, manual, hand held tools will meet the required needs of the gardener.
Cultivation implements such as garden forks, spades, rakes and hoes will adequately deal with the maintenance of any flower beds and vegetable plots. While a push along, manual cylindrical lawn mower, scarifying with a lawn rake and aerating with a garden fork will keep any lawns neat, trim and healthy.If you would prefer to use motorized garden tools, due to limited strength, age or motor skills and so are not able to use manual ones, most tools are available in small, lightweight, cordless electric models. Due to the low maintenance the average small garden requires, the usual problem faced by gardeners using cordless electric garden tools, a short battery charge life, will not be an issue.
In addition, their compact size means they can be stored away when not in use in a small space. Hedge trimmers, strimmers, lawn edgers, leaf blowers and grass shears are all available in cordless models and take the physical exertion out of garden maintenance.For gardeners who own a small lawn, the use of an automatic water irrigation system may also be worth considering. These systems can be controlled either by a timer or manually by turning on the tap. The compact size of the garden will not require miles of hose piping and so be relatively cheap to install, yet remove the physical strength needed to carry heavy buckets of water around.