You can now buy "designer" gardening tools—but are they worth it?

Bright yellow sunflowers, ruby red roses, the softest pastel hydrangeas... there's no denying that gardens are beautiful. But the tools we use to create them? Eh, not so much—until now.

Garden Glory has released a line of "designer" gardening products, including leopard print garden hoses, a diamond-shaped bird feeder, and metallic gardening gloves. And while they're much prettier than your run-of-the-mill trowel from Home Depot, are they practical? We asked our gardening expert, Barbara Hobens, to weigh in below.

Why would someone want luxury gardening tools?

Imagine: You've put in all the work, from planning your garden to planting all of the flowers to watering them on the regular... only to have the final result ruined by a hideous green hose and ratty gloves laying nearby. That's what Garden Glory hopes to prevent—and why it was originally created.

A sleek white hose hanging on a snakeskin holder or a modern jade watering can not only boost your home's curbside appeal (I've been watching too much HGTV), but also make you feel happier in your outside space. After all, there's something to be said for loving the products that you use, even the mundane ones. Plus, when your diamond spade is as much decor as it is a tool, you'll no longer feel guilty leaving it in the pot.

How expensive is Garden Glory compared to regular gardening tools?

Don't think those pretty products are going to come cheap. For example, our top-tested garden hose sells for $32 on Amazon, compared to the $99 that the Garden Glory hose will cost you. And our experts' favorite pair of gardening gloves are just $7, almost a tenth of the price of the metallic "designer" ones that are $59.

Are fancy gardening tools worth buying?

It depends on how much you care about functionality. Can they replace all of your standard tools? Probably not, according to Hobens. While she loves the fun hoses and nozzles (and the lion's head pots), she says, "The rest of the products are truly 'show' pieces. The watering can is pretty but for indoors only. And the bird feeder is, well, very unpractical for too many reasons."

However, noting that the Garden Glory line is "truly an extravagance," Hobens thinks it's perfect for the gardener who has everything. Her favorite is the garden hose, which you can drink out of (a huge plus in Hobens' book!). "No retailer I have seen offers these colors and the hose quality—even with the price point and the fact that you have to buy the nozzle—really tempts me," she says.