About this product
Full description
If you could own only one garden tool, it would probably be a hand trowel. It digs the planting hole, scoops the compost, fills the pot, plants the bulb, lifts the seedling, and does a hundred other small jobs every time you set foot in the garden. It's the most fundamental tool there is — which is exactly why it's worth owning one made properly. This is a trowel built to outlast almost everything else in the shed.
The Burgon & Ball RHS BoronGreen Hand Trowel comes from the Sheffield toolmaker's most innovative range — and BoronGreen is genuinely something new. The blade is forged not from ordinary carbon steel but from boron steel, the same high-performance alloy used in the automotive and agricultural industries where toughness really matters. Add boron to carbon steel and you get a tool that's stronger, more durable, and holds its edge longer — all without any extra weight in the hand. The head is shaped into a wide, deep dish that carries the maximum load with every scoop, with sharpened edges that slice cleanly into soil to make light work of digging and planting.
What makes the range special, though, is that this performance comes with a real environmental conscience. The BoronGreen steel is made from 80% recycled steel — believed to be a first for UK garden tools — and the handle is turned from FSC-certified white ash, finished with a tough green powder coating on the head to resist rust. It's the rare tool that's better made and better for the planet, which is a combination we're always glad to find.
It carries the official Royal Horticultural Society endorsement and a 25-year guarantee — the kind of backing that tells you everything about how long the makers expect it to last. And there's a lovely finishing touch: a dark wood inlay set into the end of the handle, etched with the ampersand from the Burgon & Ball name, with a twisted paper hanging cord for keeping it tidy on a shed hook.
What it's for
The hand trowel is the workhorse of the border, the bed, and the potting bench:
- Digging planting holes — the pointed, sharpened head sinks easily into soil for bedding plants, perennials, and shrubs
- Planting bulbs — the deep dish lifts a clean plug of soil to the right depth in one motion
- Scooping and filling — the wide, deep blade moves compost, potting mix, and soil efficiently when filling pots and containers
- Transplanting — lifting and moving young plants and seedlings with their rootballs intact
- Working in compost or feed — digging organic matter or fertiliser into beds and planting holes
- Container and raised-bed work — the ideal size for planting up pots, troughs, and closely planted displays
Paired with the matching BoronGreen hand fork, it makes the classic two-tool set that handles the great majority of everyday gardening — the trowel to dig and scoop, the fork to weed and loosen. Add the BoronGreen claw cultivator for breaking up and aerating soil, and you have a complete hand-tool kit that should see you through decades of gardening.
Looking after it
Boron steel and FSC ash, properly cared for, make a tool that genuinely lasts decades — the 25-year guarantee is a clue:
- Knock off the soil and wipe the blade clean after use, especially in wet conditions
- An occasional wipe of oil on the metal keeps it in good order, though the green powder coating already resists rust well
- Hang it up to store using the twisted paper cord, keeping it off a damp shed floor
- Oil the ash handle lightly once or twice a year with linseed oil to keep the wood nourished and handsome
About Burgon & Ball
Burgon & Ball have been making garden tools in Sheffield since 1730 — nearly three centuries of steel-working heritage — and today they hold the official Royal Horticultural Society endorsement and lead the way in innovative garden tools. The BoronGreen range is a good example of that: traditional Sheffield tool-making expertise applied to a genuinely modern, sustainable material. We're proud to stock it.
About AllotMate
This hand trowel is supplied to us through our partners at AllotMate, who curate proper, well-made tools and equipment for gardeners and allotmenteers who'd rather buy once. We work with them through a direct fulfilment arrangement, which means your order ships from their warehouse straight to your door — the same Burgon & Ball tool, slightly faster delivery, and consistent stock.
Specifications
- Head: boron steel (80% recycled), wide deep dish with sharpened edges, green powder-coated for rust resistance
- Neck: precision-forged to an ergonomic working angle
- Handle: FSC-certified white ash with dark wood inlay and Burgon & Ball ampersand
- Hanging cord: twisted paper
- Dimensions: 31.5cm long × 7.5cm wide (head)
- Endorsement: Royal Horticultural Society approved
- Guarantee: 25 years
- Made by: Burgon & Ball, Sheffield (est. 1730)
- Supplied through: AllotMate
Buy a cheap trowel and you'll replace it every couple of seasons when the head bends or the handle works loose. Buy one like this and it becomes the tool you reach for, season after season, for the rest of your gardening life — and quite possibly the next gardener's too.
What's included
twisted paper hanging cord)
Care and use
- Knock off soil and wipe the blade clean, especially in wet conditions
- Green powder coating resists rust; an occasional wipe of oil helps
STORAGE:
- Hang up using the twisted paper cord, off a damp shed floor
HANDLE:
- Lightly oil the FSC ash handle (linseed oil) once or twice a year
GUARANTEE:
- 25-year guarantee - a tool to keep for decades
Pairs well with
Other products from the potting shed that work alongside this one.
