A traditional garden trowel has a large blade with curved sides and either a pointed or rounded end. The blade is sharpened all the way along the edge in order for it to be used for digging and for preparing soil for planting.
The curved sides enables it to scoop up large contents of soil without it falling over the sides.
Traditional garden trowels can be used to break up the hardest of soils, such as clay, and for planting flowers.
What sizes of traditional garden trowel are available?
The length ranges from 238mm (9.4″) to 370mm (14.6″). A longer length would be beneficial for reaching the edges of a wide border when planting flowers.
The width of the blade can range from 68mm (2.7″) to 88.9mm (3.5″).
The blade length is the distance between the top of the tang and the end of the blade, it can range from 125mm (5″) to 184.2mm (7.3″).
A larger blade would be beneficial for carrying more soil and for digging larger holes in the garden. This is particularly useful for planting flowers such as pulmonaria due to their wide roots.
The weight ranges from 100g (3.5oz) to 1.1kg (2.4lb). The large weight difference is due to the materials the trowels are made from.