One tool that I have that I absolutely love is a child's rake. When I first started gardening, 12 years ago, I was frustrated because many of the tools were too large for me (I'm only 5 feet tall). A hand rake is too short. So I saw these tools in Home Depot and I bought the rake. It's the perfect length for me and the smaller head is great for raking around roses and spreading compost and mulch. I hope it never breaks because I've looked but can't find another one anywhere.

My favorite tool is the ditch/trench digger. It has a super long handle & a narrow spade blade, so there's a lot less resistance at the dirt contact point. Makes digging holes a lot easier for me. It's also great for removing sod, and for cutting a neat line around a bed.

A little triangular Japanese hoe called a Sankaku. Don't think I will ever garden without one.

I use a Japanese tool called a nejiri gama to scrape out shallow weeds from my flower beds or make shallow furrows. If something has a large tap root I use a hori-hori, which is a garden knife. Between the two weeding is a lot easier than hand pulling.

The link takes you to some pictures of the various Japanese hoes. Cactus joe's sankaku is pictured there too.

Here is a link that might be useful: shovels and hoes