Now that warmer weather has arrived, you may be ready to start work on your garden. But all that digging and weeding can lead to aches and pains. So the Good Housekeeping Institute tested gardening tools with ergonomic or strain-reducing features to find the best.

"Here at the Good Housekeeping Institute we looked at 16 of the newest tools that claimed to be ergonomic. Out of those 16 we found some best of the best winners, we found some that worked, and some that didn't," said Kathleen Huddy, gardening director, Good Housekeeping Institute.

Both testers and pros gave green-thumbs-up to the Corona Egrip Trowel because it easily penetrated dirt. Another winner was the Fiskars Power Pivot Pruner. "The best thing about these pruners is you don't have to use very much hand force to close them so there isn't a lot of fatigue," Huddy said.

And if you need a light wheelbarrow, the Jackson Professional wheelbarrow from Ames True Temper is wider than most, and it has a spout in the front which makes dumping your load a breeze.

And Good Housekeeping says the Fiskars Power Pivot Grass Shears made the cut because they can go where a mower can’t. But the testers weren’t wowed by the Healthy Back Garden Kneeler. "You still end up going forward and that doesn't alleviate any of the problems," said Huddy.

Finally, to get your older garden tools ready for spring, Good Housekeeping says dunk them in a bucket of sand and vegetable oil. The sand removes stain and rust and the oil prevents future rusting. To learn more, check out the May issue of Good Housekeeping or visit www.goodhousekeeping.com.