Right after my eighth birthday in January, I began to long secretly for a bicycle. I watched with envy as the older kids whizzed about the neighborhood on their brightly colored beauties, with names emblazoned on the fork—Schwinn, Roadmaster, Raleigh. They were like thoroughbred horses, sleek and fast and beautiful.

High-quality tools in the garden are an essential investment. You buy them new just once, then enjoy them as they become even more valuable with age. A typical Big Box Store-bought implement may not last nearly as long. And certainly brings no cachet to the tool shed.