monty don garden trowel Sneeboer Monty Don Planting Trowel - Victoria BC Canada

I first spied, and admired, the long-handled version of this Old Dutch Trowel being used by Monty Don on BBC Gardener’s World.

I liked the look of the longer-and-sturdier-than-usual trowel handle, the offset head, and the way he used it to dig into soil with a stabbing motion then pushing back and forth - instead of a more typical digging/scooping motion. My curiosity was piqued!

The sharp sides and pointed end allow you to easily cut through the soil. Use it for planting bulbs, seedlings and small plants or use the large head for breaking and turning the soil. It is particularly useful in the vegetable garden if Monty’s example is anything to go by.

Fun fact:  this is the tool used to plant millions of bulbs by the gardeners at Keukenhof Botanic Garden in The Netherlands, famous for its incredible and opulent annual displays of Dutch-grown spring-flowering bulbs. They plant 7 million bulbs in the display gardens every year!

Which handle to choose?

The large handled version is a bigger, heavier tool with a fairly stout handle, a good fit for medium-to-large sized hands.

We also have a model with a shorter, slimmer handle that’s a better fit and grip for small hands but with the same-sized head.

And we now have a cherry wood model with a mid-sized handle.