Quality Garden Tools Blog

Allot of Old Rubbish?

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 17:49:00 +0000

I first visited an allotment in 1979 – I was 8. I remember being struck by the neat rows of green shapes lining the plots like fat, leafy soldiers on parade. There were also irregular rows of knurled old men bent over, lovingly tending their brassicine armies. Many of these gentlemen were not only producing crops for their own table, but also for friends and relatives. The thing that stayed with me for many years however, were the wonderful Heath Robinson contraptions that had been constructed by these allotment generals; yogurt pot seed scatterers, mechanical wind powered bird scarers, tractor tyres used to raise carrots out of the range of the hated eponymous fly, refuse sacks used as potato planters, plumbing pipes to frame fruit cages, old beer glasses used as mini individual cloches and even a bicycle driven irrigation system!

The above is not designed to be the nostalgic ramblings of a bitter, fat, balding gardener on the verge of his forties, but more an exercise in contrast to the current explosion in demand for allotments.

This week the gardening world heard the extremely sad news of the passing of Geoff Stokes, the general secretary of The National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners and tireless campaigner for allotment gardening. I spoke to Geoff many times on the telephone and there was little he didn’t know about allotments, including the very complicated area of allotment law/legislation, on which he was an expert.

Ever since the late 1500s the British poor were allowed to grow vegetables on allotments near their tenanted cottages. By the Enclosure acts of the mid 1800s, over two thousand acres were already marked as ‘field gardens’, again to produce food for the poor. The Allotment Acts of 1887 and 1908 put into law the responsibility of provision of allotments by councils for their own citizens. Since the high point of 1943 where there were 1,400,000 plots the number of British allotments has dwindled to the 1996 figure of 297,000 (although this will have almost certainly dropped again during the last decade).

With the roots of allotmenteering deeply buried in providing cheap soil to those with limited funds and no land, I wonder how today’s middle class ‘allotment land grab’ would strike the pioneers of the original allotment legislation. Ealing Council’s own report of April 2008 showed that over 50% of new plot holders fail within the first 12 months and yet there is an allotment waiting list of approximately 300 people each having to wait about 18 months before a new plot becomes available. Similarly, in December 2008 Woking Borough Council had 769 plots with 153 people on waiting lists. Have we yet reached the point where fundamental questions need to be asked about who qualifies for an allotment plot? Should families be given priority? Or perhaps the retired? Or unemployed? Should they be for people with no gardens (as was originally intended)? Or means tested? Are the plots too big? Or too small? Are allotments still a sanctuary for working men, brow-beaten by their demanding jobs and families?

With well intentioned suburban families now embracing the ‘grow your own’ explosion, are we seeing a shift in allotment culture from those original working class heroes with their ‘make do and mend’ philosophy to a media inspired, shinier sort of plot holder? Will my son’s first impressions of allotment gardening be car parks full of 4x4’s and Toyota Prius’, with brightly coloured, Boden clad families quickly transplanting newly delivered Thompson & Morgan ‘plug plants’ between violin lessons and family therapy sessions? Rather than seeing unhygienic cups of tea and greasy bacon sandwiches produced on ancient camping stoves, will my son come to think of ready-cut Waitrose carrot batons, washed down with Daylesford Organic grape juice and maybe an Oatmeal & Manuka Honey Savoury Biscuit (as an after prep school treat) as normal?

The ‘Grow Your Own’ Junta (both media and trade sponsored) have told us that many of the problems of life (obesity, healthy eating, children’s concentration, family cohesiveness, horticultural education, community spirit, etc) can all be improved by growing veg. I am sure that this ‘trend’ has helped to fuel the massive increase in allotment waiting lists with no consideration being given to those who have limited incomes and no garden.

The thing that upsets me the most though, is the disappearance of the wonderful inventions I saw on the allotment as a boy. When I recently visited an allotment in a Surrey commuter belt town, I was greeted by pressure-treated blond wood raised beds (with decorative corner finials), fruit cages with sweeping peaked roofs and Victorian ‘style’ cold frames – thousands of pounds worth of kitchen gardenalia with half a dozen rows of very ordinary looking vegetables trying to grow in the gaps! An allotment should not be a status symbol, nor should it be a place for the well-off middle classes to ‘do their bit’ for the environment. I think we need to make sure that every plot available is being used to produce good food for someone who really needs it.

You can visit the website of The National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners at: www.nsalg.org.uk

Victoria & Albert and Ethel Museum

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 10:49:00 +0000

Many of you will know that the Victoria & Albert Museum in London houses the national collection of textiles, covering a period of 2000 years. What you may not know is that Ethel Gloves are now available in the V&A shop.

New in the UK, Ethel’s gardening gloves have a proud reputation for fabric design and add some much needed glamour to the ladies gardening glove market. Let’s hope that the gloves will be a great success for both the museum and for Ethel Gloves.

You can shop with the V&A museum here.

Ethel Gloves are now available at: www.qualitygardentools.com/gardening-accessories/gardening-gloves/ethel-gloves/viewcategory

Addicted to Tools by Cleve West

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 11:35:00 +0000

I wouldn’t describe myself as obsessive but when it comes to tools there may well be something going on that’s not altogether healthy.

A well-made spade carries as much fascination for me as the flower of Michelia yunnanensis just about to burst its furry-brown indumentum (that’s a hairy casement to you and me). The sensation of a pair of loppers comfortably slicing through a one-inch woody stem is as satisfying as the smell of freshly cut grass.

Old tools carry the fascination a stage further. Well made; well used; each with its own peculiar dent, nick or scratch, they carry the ghosts, not to mention the sweat, of previous owners. But antique implements don’t always approve of being brought out of retirement. Shafts and handles tend to be more brittle and have to be used with respect if they are to last. Some that I’ve bought are never used but stored with the idea that someday I will find a suitable wall on which to display them as icons of honest hard work.

A brand new tool is always a treat and it pays to buy the best you can afford. It’s very much a personal thing so I would never buy anyone tools as a present unless I knew exactly what they needed. A tool must feel part of you; an extension of your being. The weight, height and shape all have a bearing on how comfortable or annoying a tool will be. A well-chosen tool can last you a lifetime.

Most of my time visiting garden centres is spent looking at tools rather than plants. Just the other day I was looking at a post-hole digger knowing full well that I don’t have any post-holes to dig and have no plans for any in the future either for me or anyone else. But tools, like the Sirens of Greek mythology, know the art of seduction and whisper things like “Ah yes, but look at how efficient we are.” I nod to myself thinking “yes you are a fine piece of invention, why on earth did I struggle with a spade all those years of building gardens?”

The next thing I know I’m holding it, slightly annoyed that the blades are taped up and there isn’t a patch of earth for me to dig a perfect post-hole. I set them back on the stand and consider their form before walking away. It’s a bit wanting in the aesthetic department if we’re honest and I really don’t need a post-hole digger. But it’s not finished with me yet. “OK I’m not as beautiful as the onion hoe you have in your loo at home,” (how on earth does it know that?) “But I could make light work of fencing your allotment in and keeping out all those pesky rabbits.” I have it in my hands again. Beads of sweat are now forming on my forehead and my hands are quivering as I do my best to wrench myself away. I know I don’t need it and money could be better spent on a pair of loppers or extendable pruners. “You know you want me,” it says nonchalantly knowing full well it has the upper hand.

People are looking at me now as a low, resigned moan goes on for little longer than would be considered normal in A & E let alone a garden centre. I make a last, Herculean effort to wrench myself away.
“The rabbits…remember the rabbits!!” it says panicking, “you lost half your crop of lettuce to them last summer, your carrots were a joke and this spring they’ll be multiplying like…well, rabbits. You need me!”

It has a point but at the same time it has told me exactly why I don’t need a post-hole digger. You see the rabbits live under my shed so in effect I’d be fencing them in. This is my chance. I make my way quickly to the exit, quietly pleased with this uncharacteristic measure of self-restraint but I’m stopped short of the door by another voice, this time the cashier. “So, er…shall I put that on your account then Mr West?”

I look at the post-hole digger in my hand with a mixture of contempt and unbridled joy. “Oh yes,” I say, meekly, “sorry about that…too much on my mind.” And I have. I’m thinking of my new toy, wooden posts, nails, chicken wire and how fencing the rabbits in and keeping them off other people’s plots is about as community-spirited as it gets at an allotment.

See? I needed it after all.

Thanks to Cleve for being our first ever 'Guest Blogger'. You can check out Cleve's website at: www.clevewest.com

Great Loppers

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 22:42:00 +0000

In the latest chapter of my occasional (very occasional!) series on my favourite gardening tools I will be looking at loppers.

Loppers are an interesting ‘in-between tool’ for jobs that are too small for a saw, but too big for secateurs. I use my loppers (I have about 3 sets) as much as I use my secateurs – they are great for getting low down without bending (I tend to creak) for cutting suckers on roses & trees and they are also perfect for making clean, precise cuts on the lower branches of fruit trees.

I often talk about how important it is to make neat, clean cuts on trees and shrubs so as to avoid diseases and loppers are perfect for this task. Technically loppers have very similarly shaped blades to secateurs and very similar handles to shears; this means they cut almost as precisely as secateurs, but offer more leverage and therefore more power because of the longer handles.

Because of this increase in power, branches up to 2" (50mm) can be severed relatively easily (although I tend to use a saw above 1½"). The ratchet and gearing mechanisms available in some loppers mean that thick branches can be cut with less effort and are particularly popular with older gardeners.

My pick of good loppers are:

1. Bahco P1980 Heavy Duty 800mm Bypass Loppers: The ‘daddy’ of all loppers. Cuts branches up to 2" (50mm) with aluminium handles and heavy duty cutting head. Suitable for prolonged use and tough jobs – these Bahco loppers won’t ever let you down!
2. Felco Bypass Loppers Carbon Fibre Handles: A very good idea from one of the best name in gardening tools. These loppers cut branches up to a diameter of 35mm, but the strong, light carbon fibre handles are interchangeable – long or short for different tasks.
3. Spear & Jackson Razorsharp 21" Geared Bypass Loppers: Heavy duty loppers with ‘a bit of help’. Although not light, these loppers have a geared mechanism decreasing the effort needed to cut. The large cutting head is PTFE coated to reduce friction and aid cleaning.
4. Bahco PG19 Expert Bypass Telescopic Loppers: Get some extra reach. These great quality loppers have extendable handles that with just a quarter turn increase the handle length from 60cm to 90cm. The extra reach is particularly useful for pruning low tree branches.
5. Bulldog Bypass Ratchet Lopping Shears: Best loppers for value. Bulldog’s ratchet action loppers can cut branches up to 4" thick and also have handy extending handles. These loppers are particularly good for those of us who aren’t as strong as we used to be!
6. Bahco P1660 600mm Bypass Loppers: The loppers I use. No fuss, no gimmiks, just a really great set of traditional loppers. Not to heavy, the length is just right for jobs above my head and at ground level (I try to avoid bending if possible!) and I keep them razor sharp.

As long as you keep the blades clean and sharp, your loppers will be one of the best garden tools in the shed.

All the above loppers can be seen at: www.qualitygardentools.com/hand-tools/loppers/viewcategory

Ethel Gloves Now Available in the UK!

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 22:32:39 +0000

The Ethel has landed! I got a very excited email from the Quality Garden Tools office this afternoon announcing that the new range of Ethel Gloves are now available in the UK.

Ethel have developed their designs around the motto ‘Fashion. Function. Protection.’ and aim to not only protect women’s hands, but also to offer great ‘feel’ for the wearer as well as fashionable fabric design and colour co-ordination so that you always feel great wearing them.

Because I knew the gloves were arriving I had already sent ‘trial samples’ to many of the women in my life: My wife, daughter, mother, sister-in-law, sister-in-law’s neighbour and mother-in-law’s best friend. The response has been 100% positive from the gals, but I am still not satisfied as none of the sizes fits me (Ethel only currently manufacture ladies gloves). This means I cannot put the gloves through my own rigorous testing and have to rely on the testament of others (not easy for a closet control freak!).

What I can tell you about the gloves (priced at £12.99 per pair) is very impressive. They feature breathable two-way stretch fabric backs which not only keep hands cool and dry, but also ensure the gloves snugly fit the contours of a woman’s hands. All the palms and fingers are covered in synthetic suede which lasts up to four times longer than leather but is just as comfortable. The fingers are also reinforced for strength and have rubberised grips and extended cuffs.

The gloves come in both traditional fleur-de-lis and checked patterns and also more contemporary patterns inspired by snakeskin and seaweed. The suede palms also come in contrasting and complementary colours, but don’t worry about ruining them in the garden – all Ethel Gloves are machine washable!

Children are not forgotten either, with a couple of classic fleur-de-lis patterned gloves (£9.99 per pair) that are just the same as Mum’s grown-up versions.

My favourite glove in the range is the Rose gauntlet (priced at £21.99 per pair) which is made of snag resistant ballistic nylon keeping hands cool, dry and protected. Unlike other brands’ bigger leather versions, these gauntlets are light and close-fitting making them more touch responsive.

When I was asked to write about a range of gardening gloves for women I greeted the task with some trepidation, not to say a little scepticism, but I have learned a lot – mainly that women get much better deal when it comes to choosing decent gloves for gardening in!

Ethel Gloves are now available at: www.qualitygardentools.com/gardening-accessories/gardening-gloves/ethel-gloves/viewcategory

Try to Find a Happy Media

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:49:00 +0000

Last week the cream of British gardening media descended on the RHS Lawrence Hall in Vincent Square, London to hear about which garden tools, plants, accessories, machinery, seeds and other horticultural sundries would be ‘on trend’ in 2010.

The Garden Media Guild ‘Press Event’ is always a warm and friendly event (despite tons of snow for the last 2 years!), with much catching up, back slapping and general industry ‘chat’. Many of the attendees are ‘serious’ gardeners themselves and demonstrated this by wearing woolly hand-knitted angora jumpers, tousled twig-laden hair, muddied designer wellies and other items of ‘gardener’s chic’.

The ‘form’ is that manufacturers and suppliers line the impressive art-deco hall and wait, ready to pounce on the unwitting journalists walking around. Many of the exhibitors are well known names like Unwins Seeds, Bulldog Tools, Hilliers, Fiskars, Bosch Garden Tools, Haddonstone, Avon Bulbs and many more – all keen to show off new and exciting products.

This year I managed to meet up with many of ‘the great and the good’ of British gardening journalism, including the lovely Christine Walkden who is currently starring in ‘an evening with Christine Walkden’ touring theatres around the country. For details of venues and ticket availability please click here. Lila Das Gupta (a star) was also at the event; enthusiastic and knowledgeable about everything and loved by all (including me!). I also bumped into Adam Pascoe (a seriously nice guy) who is editor of Gardener’s World magazine, Helen Yemm (Telegraph), Cinead McTernan (The English Garden) and saw the fabulous Pippa Greenwood in the distance (running away?!) as I left.

Many of you will not be surprised to find out that the main trend in garden products for 2010 is ‘Grow Your Own’ and companies will continue to cash in on the phenomenon sweeping the country. I spotted loads of new varieties of vegetable seeds, and interesting planting containers along with new fertilizers and composts aimed at this sector of the market.

With a free lunch for all, the Garden Media Guild ‘Press Event’ was a guaranteed success – no problem finding a happy media!

To comment on this or any other posting please email me at: info@qualitygardentools.com

The World's Largest Spade

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 11:35:00 +0000

Many of us struggle with standard length garden tools and have found the increase in long handled tools a welcome development to the industry. Bulldog however have taken this trend a little too far and built a spade that measures 3.61 metres/11 feet 8 inches. Obviously the spade is not designed for human use (unless you happen to be a giant!), but was built to raise money for charity.

The spade has been awarded a ‘Guinness World Record’ for being the world’s biggest spade and weighs in at 180kg. It beats the previous world record holder by over 1½ feet and marks Bulldog’s 230^thanniversary for British manufacturing. On display for the first time yesterday at the Garden Media Guild press event in London the spade was greeted with amazement by the country’s gardening media personalities (including me!).

Over the coming year the world's largest spade will travel around the country and appear at various horticultural venues such as the Chelsea Flower Show, the Eden Project, Hampton Court and the RHS gardens at Wisley. Fred Foot marketing manager for Bulldog Tools told me that he ‘hopes that this feat of British manufacturing will raise many thousands of pounds for charities in the UK.’

As everyone who reads this blog regularly will know, I like to call a spade a spade – but this really is a very big spade indeed!

To see the Quality Garden Tools range of Bulldog Tools visit: www.qualitygardentools.com

You can read about this world record spade at: www.bulldogtools.co.uk/blog/94/the-worlds-largest-spade

Silky Smooth Sawing

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 18:11:00 +0000

One of the unwelcome side effects of this month’s snowy weather was the damage that the weight of snow did to the branches of shrubs and trees. My garden was not spared this ‘treat’ and so I have spent some of this week restoring my trees to their former glory.

When limbs are broken in this ‘mechanical’ fashion, the break is very rarely clean. Rough edges and breaks become collecting areas for disease or fungi and so making a smooth, clean cut close to the trunk is essential to encourage the healing process to take place. If the branch is about 1" (25mm) I can make a very clean cut with a pair of loppers, but if the branch is thicker than this I always use a Silky Saw.

Cuts should always be made slightly above a bud, or close to the ‘collar’ (the swollen area where the branch meets the trunk). In the case of cutting back to the main stem, take care not to damage the collar as this is the area that will ‘heal over’ the cut branch. It is also advisable to make an undercut about 12" from the trunk and then an overcut, this will prevent the bark tearing and will leave you with a small stub which can be cut more precisely.

A sharp saw is essential when performing these tasks and it is worth remembering that the bigger the saw’s teeth, the faster the cut and the rougher the finish. The best pruning saws like Silky will cut on the pull stroke and eject any chips efficiently to prevent the blade from clogging.

Many of you already know how much I like Silky Saws, but I was not aware of how much other garden journalists love these Japanese saws. They have been recommended by Lila Das Gupta in Gardener’s World Magazine, were the ‘Editor’s Choice’ in a recent test in The English Garden Magazine and have been listed by the Daily Telegraph ‘Gardening’ section as a great pruning tool.

For those of you who are mourning the lost limbs of your favourite trees and shrubs, I sympathise and hope that by pruning back the branches they will flourish anew over the coming years.

Remember that all sawing should be Silky Smooth Sawing!

Silky Saws are available here: www.qualitygardentools.com/hand-tools/saws/silky-saws/viewcategory

What's Hot!

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 23:42:00 +0000

Competitions, marks out of 10 and public votes seem to have become the (unsavoury) flavour of the televisual decade. Simon Cowell seems to have gone from a man who wore his trousers higher than your grandfather to a 21st century cultural Mao, whose opinion is valued above any politician and whose image is all-pervading. In this blog posting I hope my comments will be a little kinder and less judgemental than those we have come to expect from Mr. Cowell!

Each year readers of this blog ask me which garden tools and accessories are the bestsellers at Quality Garden Tools. So, ever the people’s servant, I have managed to get hold of the ‘Hot List’ for 2009.

Quality Garden Tools have told me that this Top 10 list has been ‘averaged’ to take into account both bestsellers in volume and in sales value. Many of the tools have been previously recommended not only on my blog, but also on other websites and blogs.

So if you want to own only the most popular garden tools on the market then this is what every up-to-date garden shed should contain!

1. Bulldog Wizard Rake – This rake continues to be the most popular tool Quality Garden Tools sell. This result comes as no surprise to those of us who own this fantastic all surface rubber tined rake.
2. Kärcher K365 Jubilee Pressure Washer – A national TV campaign and great free accessories led to big sales of this pressure washer in 2009. The pricing also helped make this the best selling power tool of the year.
3. Briers Lined Hide Gloves – The first of the Briers range in this list is a classic soft, fully lined leather gardening glove, especially good during the first chilly months of the year.
4. Silky Gomtaro 300mm Saw – At last gardeners are beginning to realise how good Silky Saws really are. I have used this saw for a number years and it is so much better than anything available at your local garden centre.
5. Spear & Jackson Stainless Steel Children's Trowel & Fork Set – Really popular, with massive sales in the last few weeks before Christmas. A great present for any junior allotmenteer or gardener!
6. Briers Children’s Rigger Gloves – Always a good seller, these rugged rigger style gloves protect little hands and offer great value for money (especially if being bought with pocket money).
7. Bulldog Pedigree Stainless Steel Digging Spade – An essential garden tool that looks and feels great. The stainless steel blade ensures that soil does not stick and the Ash handle adds strength.
8. Haemmerlin 5200G Pick Up Wheelbarrow – Regular readers of this blog will know how I feel about this great wheelbarrow. All I can say is if you haven’t already bought one, why not!
9. Toro Super Electric Blower Vac – This is one of only two power tools on the list. Voted as a ‘Which?’ magazine choice, the sales of this blower vac in 2009 were more than all previous years combined!
10. Tina 605 Grafting/General Purpose Knife – A really useful tool for every gardener. This handmade, extra sharp horticultural knife will last for years and years.

All of these tools are great for both professional and keen amateur gardeners alike and are available from: www.qualitygardentools.com

The Good Book

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 17:14:00 +0000

With Great Britain ‘enjoying’ one of the coldest Winters on record, I thought it might be the perfect time to list a few books for gardeners to curl up by the fire and read.

Choosing (and reading!) good gardening books is a favourite hobby of mine – the fat gardener doesn’t just spend all his time thinking about secateurs and other garden tools! Reading is a great way to relax and improve the soul and by reading a good gardening book you can sometimes learn how to improve the soil as well!

The books I particularly recommend (in no particular order) are:

• Dear Friend and Gardener: Letters on Life and Gardening by Beth Chatto & Christopher Lloyd. This is a wonderful book by two of the world’s most brilliant gardeners.
• RHS A-Z Encyclopaedia of Garden Plants edited by Christopher Brickell. I just keep returning to this great book month after month, year after year. Two boxed volumes packed with great plants.
• The Tulip by Anna Pavord. A bestselling book, this is a work of obsession and all the better for it!
• Of Flowers and a Village: An Entertainment for Flower Lovers by Wilfrid Blunt. A lovely, perceptive book about a Surrey garden and its eccentric, but insightful owner.
• Jekka's Complete Herb Book by Jekka McVicar. Britain’s foremost herb gardener and herb expert’s guide to herb varieties and many of their uses.
• Grow Your Own Veg by Carol Klein & the RHS. Written by the doyenne of home veg production, this book is for those gardeners who have embraced the ‘grow your own’ revolution.
• Perfect Plant, Perfect Place by Roy Lancaster. The Godfather of gardeners, Roy Lancaster knows more about plants than anyone alive! This book helps us mere mortals find the right plant for every spot in the garden.
• Designing Gardens by Arabella Lennox-Boyd. Pure, unadulterated garden porn! Beautiful designs, planting ideas and garden features fill this fantastically photographed (by Andrew Lawson) volume.
• A Year in Christine's Garden by Christine Walkden. A gentle and relaxing look at what happens when a professional gardener suddenly becomes a television personality.
• Cassell's Trees of Britain and Northern Europe by John White & David More. This wonderfully illustrated book is a must-have for any tree lover.
• Plant Names Explained: Botanical Terms and Their Meaning, a Hillier Gardeners Guide. Ever wondered how and why plants are given such odd sounding names? This book explains many of those tricky Latin terms.
• Garden Tools: An Illustrated Guide to Choosing, Using and Maintaining by John Negus & Valerie Bradley. Until I write my own, the only reference book for those interested on the inside of the garden shed!

The above is not designed to be a ‘best of’ list, but simply some of the books I have enjoyed reading over the last few years. So make yourself a hot chocolate, turn up the heating and dream of Spring. Remember that many of these books will be best enjoyed ‘dipping in and out of’ not to be read in one session!

If you have any comments or suggestions about this list please email me on: info@qualitygardentools.com

Snow Place Like Home

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 13:43:15 +0000

Its days like this when you start to wonder whether the whole ‘global warming’ community have been playing a huge practical joke on us all. If you look at my garden this morning you may have just cause in worrying more about the coming of the next ice age rather than the popular theory that southern England will soon be enjoying the climate of the Mediterranean!

This is certainly not the time for me to be writing about spades, forks, secateurs or indeed any other types of garden tools – although a garden shovel would be useful for clearing snow from doors, gates, driveways and paths.

We all either enjoy the snow or loathe it, but what does it mean for our gardens? Much of the damage done to plants in this weather is mechanical – the weight of the snow can break the limbs of plants, even trees and large shrubs which can accumulate quite a lot of weight on their branches. Frost damage is another problem, with new buds and foliage being worst affected as they tend to be located on the top or on the outer margins of plants, where it is colder.

This snowy weather is not all bad for the garden with much needed moisture being added to the soil as thawing comes into effect. There are also many plants and seeds that require the changes in temperature to trigger growth from the soil in Spring, with many native seeds actually needing the frost for their germination.

I always try to take a photograph of the garden when there is fresh snowfall. I think the garden gets a fairytale quality with the structural plants giving just a hint of the garden’s shape beneath the pristine white blanket of snow. This year’s photograph is attached (taken this morning) it shows the cottage garden almost completely covered and was taken from almost the same position as the photo in an earlier posting here.

Hopefully you can enjoy your garden, even in the current snowy conditions either from the heated safety of the indoors or by building a snowman with the children outside!

The bulldog garden shovel can be found at: www.qualitygardentools.com/hand-tools/cultivation-tools/other-cultivation-tools/id-BUL-7120772890/view

A New Range for the New Year

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 17:09:50 +0000

First, let me wish you all a very happy, healthy and prosperous 2010!

It is with great excitement that I write regarding a considerable commercial development for Quality Garden Tools in the New Year. Over the last year the company have been in talks with Ethel Gloves (a subsidiary of Mechanix Wear Inc), an American glove manufacturer to establish a distribution for the product in the UK.

Ethel Gloves began life on 1st April in the great (and sunny) state of California and have quickly become known in the USA as a leading brand of ladies gardening gloves. Quality Garden Tools is recognised throughout the UK and Ireland as distributors and retailers of garden tools and accessories and feel that the 3 qualities of ‘Fashion. Function. Protection.’ exemplified by Ethel Gloves will be well received by British gardeners.

The gloves are due into the UK towards the middle of February and should be available to www.qualitygardentools.com customers by the beginning of March and through select garden retail outlets shortly afterwards. The gloves are all made to fit the contours of a lady’s hand and feature durable synthetic suede palms with reinforced finger tips, rubberized grips and two way stretch fabric backs. The colours and designs bring a much needed ‘breath of fresh air’ to the garden gloves we have all got used to seeing in garden centres.

I can also confirm that in partnership with Quality Garden Tools, Ethel Gloves have applied for stand space at this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show – so let’s keep our fingers crossed we will see them at Chelsea in May.

I managed to get my hands on (if you’ll pardon the pun) a few pairs of Ethel Gloves in advance and they have all been very well received by friends, journalists and most importantly my mother!

So why not join the Ethel Gloves family yourself in 2010?

You can have a sneak peek at the Ethel Gloves range at: www.ethelgloves.com

A Big Christmas Thank You

Thu, 24 Dec 2009 16:50:00 +0000

The Fat Gardener and all the team at www.qualitygardentools.com would like to wish all customers and website visitors a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

The last twelve months have been tough economically, but gardeners are a resourceful lot and the leap in popularity of ‘Grow your Own’ is testament to this. We all know that gardens are worth investing in because they repay with years of pleasure and vegetable gardens repay your investment even more quickly and with more tangible (or edible) benefits!

My blogging will continue into 2010 with lots of interesting things to write about; Quality Garden Tools will be adding some new power tools to the range, as well as one of gardening’s best loved British brands (watch this space!). There will also be the announcement of a very exciting new venture for Quality Garden Tools with a company in the USA – I will be breaking the news on this blog in the New Year.

Once again I hope you have a great Christmas and a peaceful New Year.

Send comments or questions on the QGT Blog to: info@qualitygardentools.com

A Visit to an English Garden

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 23:30:00 +0000

When one is invited to visit an English Garden, one is entitled to assume there will be flower borders, shrubs, a pond and maybe a few fruit trees and a vegetable garden. Last week I visited the offices of The English Garden magazine, a different type of English Garden admittedly, but no less interesting in its own way!

I managed to meet up with Cinead Mcternan, the magazine’s Deputy Editor who had just returned from a successful evening at the 2009 Garden Media Guild Awards. The English Garden had won two ‘gongs’; the first a ‘new talent’ award for Stephanie Mahon and also the ‘Garden Column of the Year’ for Jackie Bennett. The magazine was also short-listed for a number of other awards at the lavish ceremony.

The English Garden magazine has always been one of my favourites, with a great mix of fabulous gardens, quality advice from top writers and gardeners, beautiful photography and the best in garden tools, accessories and products. There is a US version also available with the same high levels and blend of content.

The magazine is situated in a modern, open plan office in Cheltenham whose walls are covered in a complicated mini-version of the next month’s publication, with articles and features fitting together like a jigsaw puzzle. I was introduced to some of the editorial team (sadly missing Tamsin Westhorpe, the editor) who are all rightly proud of the magazine.

Interestingly, Quality Garden Tools provide the e-commerce for The English Garden’s online tool shop and in the coming months The English Garden editorial team will be giving the site some great new seasonal tips as well as some advice on each of the featured garden tools. The tool shop will be offering some exclusive garden tool sets which should make great presents for gardeners.

If you are interested in benefitting from the excellent Christmas offers and taking out a subscription for The English Garden magazine, click here.

The English Garden Tool Shop can be visited at: www.qualitygardentools.com/english-garden/

Garden Tool Awards 2009

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 11:44:00 +0000

With the gardening industry handing out gongs for almost anything at this time of year, I thought I would add my own garden tools ‘oscars’ to this already cluttered marketplace. The criteria, voting procedures and rules for the awards are very simple: I choose whatever I like! So, without further ado…

• The best ‘new’ garden tool award goes to Spear & Jackson for their Razorsharp secateurs with interchangeable blades – perfect for those of us who still use different secateurs for different garden tasks.
• The ‘value for money’ tool award is awarded to Felco for their really useful model 310 pruning shears (currently just £8.99).
• The pruning tool award goes to Silky Saws for the amazing (and popular) Gomtaro fixed blade saw with sheath – so much better than other brands of saw.
• The best digging tool award is won by Bulldog Tools for their Shrubbery spade – a very useful miniature spade which I use constantly.
• The best cultivating tool award is awarded to Bulldog Tools for their Evergreen compost fork – it is both strong and essential for compost producers.
• The best gardening power tool award goes to Bosch for the AHS52Li 18volt cordless hedge cutter which is light and environmentally friendly without sacrificing any power.
• The best children’s garden tool award is won by Spear & Jackson for their beautifully made mini stainless steel trowel and fork set – my daughter wouldn’t be without them!
• The most innovative tool award is awarded to Haemmerlin for their 5200GG ‘Pick-Up’ wheelbarrow – so many great features I would not/could not be without it.
• The best garden accessory award goes to Briers for their fantastic Royale gauntlets – comfortable, warm and protective!

Finally, (cue drum roll and palpable sense of anticipation) my most prestigious awards:

• Best garden tool for 2009 is awarded to Kärcher for the K365 Jubilee pressure washer – a power tool which was not only hugely popular, but also well made with a fantastic range of ‘extras’ included.
• Best garden tool manufacturer for 2009 goes to Silky Saws for their faultless product quality, excellent availability and impeccable customer service.

So it just leaves me to finish my cigar, bag up my dinner jacket for another year and congratulate all the award winners for a successful 2009.

All these ‘award winning’ garden tools (plus many more) can be purchased at: www.qualitygardentools.com/

Put to the Sword

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 14:47:00 +0000

For many years Wilkinson Sword products have graced the shelves and display stands of our local garden centres and have become known for straddling both the keen gardener and the professional retail sectors. Their garden tools are not cheap, but do offer good value for money when you take into account the amount of innovation and design that goes into their products.

Sadly, from 2010 Fiskars will no longer use the Wilkinson Sword brand on their gardening tools and will revert back to the parent company’s name, Fiskars. With many of their products this process has already started and the black and orange is unlikely to ever bear the name Wilkinson Sword again.

Fiskars have promised to spend £2 million on marketing support over the next three years, but this is unlikely to win over all of the loyal customers who have come to recognise Wilkinson Sword as a brand they can trust and tend to associate Fiskars with the ubiquitous orange – handled scissors. On the positive side there has been almost no change to the range of garden tools Fiskars are selling, they just appear with a different label.

This follows a long tradition of British shoppers having to get used to rebranding with Marathon bars, Jif, Midland Bank, Dixon’s and Norwich Union just some of the brand names we have had to mourn in the past (Snickers, Cif, HSBC, Currys.digital and Aviva if you’re interested).

Wilkinson Sword is unlikely to be as upsetting a loss to many as some of the high street’s bigger names, but it is never the less sad to see it go even if I still get to use my PowerGear loppers, hedge shears and secateurs!

Will Wilkinson Sword’s loyal customers back the newly branded Fiskars tools or will they put them to the sword? Only time will tell.

The whole Quality Garden Tools range of Wilkinson Sword/Fiskars tools can be found here.

Santa's Little Helpers

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 14:38:00 +0000

One of the most important results of the ‘Grow Your Own’ revolution has been the ‘growing’ interest in gardening for children. Many kids now know the difference between carrots and cabbages – a major step forward!

Christmas is often a time when expensive garden tools can be given as presents (either to yourself or someone else!) and anything that makes gardening easier is always a treat. My daughter’s garden tools have been a real success, not only is she often to be seen tending her own little patch, but also sometimes offers to help me with my tasks.

Remember, when choosing garden tools for children it is important to get the right kit – weak, breakable ‘toy’ tools will not allow children to develop the right skills needed for digging and cultivating and may also be dangerous if they break. Good, strong tools like Bulldog’s children’s tools are made in exactly the same way as the adult versions and will allow you to teach your protégé how to dig, weed, hoe and rake correctly.

Size is also important when it comes to children and very large, heavy spades and forks are likely to strain any child trying to use them and not only will this put them off gardening (possibly forever), but it may also cause injury. Children have small hands, so hand tools such as trowels and weed forks should be proportionately smaller that an adult’s, not in this case because of the weight, but so that children can grip the tool safely and securely. Spear & Jackson’s stainless steel children’s hand trowel and fork set is perfect for those small planting and weeding jobs in the garden or on the allotment.

Please also remember there are bacteria populations of anything from 100 million to 3 billion per gram of soil (very few are harmful) and some areas may also have discarded glass and other rubbish lurking beneath the surface, so children should try and wear gloves when gardening (tetanus shots are painful!).

With your son, daughter, grandson, granddaughter, niece, nephew, friend, sister or brother properly kitted out and ready to garden, the gardening world is your oyster and if you take the time to show your new little helper how fulfilling growing plants and vegetables can be, then you should (all being well) have a free gardener for life!

The children’s garden tools range can be found at: www.qualitygardentools.com/hand-tools/childrens-garden-tools/viewcategory

Great Garden Tools Ideas

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:22:00 +0000

When I first started writing The Fat Gardener blog during the pre-credit crunch era of March 2008, one of the Quality Garden Tools products that most surprised me was the Silky Saw. For many years I had used one of the original orange Sandvik (now rebranded Bahco) bow saws which although not great had been used regularly for 10 years without problem (please see earlier article ‘A Cut Above the Rest’). The Silky Saws are lighter, easier to use and cut much, much quicker – a pretty unbeatable combination.

This got me thinking – how many of the other garden tools sitting in our sheds should we be upgrading to make life easier? I have listed a few of my ‘most improved garden tools’ below.

• The Haemmerlin 5200G Pick-Up Wheelbarrow – This barrow not only has none of the normal, annoying bolts in the tray, but also has notches in the tray so you can carry gardening tools without them rolling off.
• Spear & Jackson Razorsharp Secateurs with Interchangeable Blades – An easy way to cut down on the amount of secateurs you carry. Whether you need anvil, bypass or snips, just change the blades.
• Wilkinson Sword (Fiskars) PowerGear Bypass Loppers – The revolutionary gearing mechanism multiplies cutting power by three times. Great if you ever struggle with meaty branches.
• Briers Lavender Washable Gardener Leather Gloves – All the strength and comfort of leather with the easy care of cotton. Just pop in the washing machine after use and tumble dry on low heat.
• Silky Saws – A fantastic improvement on standard saws with faster cutting blades and comfortable handles. For many years these Silky saws were only available to professional tree surgeons, but not any more!
• Bulldog Treaded Tree Planting Spade – Bulldog’s great new spade for planting hedges, trees and bulbs. The narrow blade is perfect to dig small planting holes even in heavy soils.
• Black & Decker Electric Lawnraker – Forget the back-breaking work of scarifying the lawn. This lawnraker is the perfect garden tool to remove the thatch of dead grass from your own lawn and leave it looking really healthy.
• Bosch Rotak 36v Lithium-Ion Cordless Lawnmower – A real innovation in cordless battery power. This lawnmower is lightweight, economical and very environmentally friendly with very consistent battery power.
• Hozelock AC+ Water Timer – Perfect for when you go on holiday, but need your precious plants and pots watered. No need to bribe the next door neighbour, this timer will ensure that when you get back your plants will still look great.
• Bosch Ciso 3.6v Cordless Secateurs – I often get asked by elderly and arthritic gardeners whether there is anything they can use to continue pruning. These cordless secateurs are rechargeable and work with a simple trigger action.

I hope the above will be useful for those of you looking to update or replace garden tools – remember, life isn’t always meant to be hard and nor is gardening!

All the above tools can be seen at: www.qualitygardentools.com

Delivering Service

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 22:12:00 +0000

First can I apologise for sneaking into the territory of The Fat Gardener uninvited like this. However, I thought that this might be a useful forum for me to discuss the challenges facing Quality Garden Tools (and other mail order companies) with the delivery of our products.

Quality Garden Tools use three main carriers to deliver items ordered by customers. For bulky items (mainly Haemmerlin wheelbarrows) we use Nightfreight, on a 3 – 5 day service (the quickest available). For long handled, heavy and oddly shaped hand tools like Bulldog Tools and most power tools we use UK Mail (formerly Business Post) and their 24 hour (next working day) delivery. Finally, small items like Felco secateurs, Silky Saws and Briers Gloves we use 1st Class recorded delivery with Royal Mail.

Over the last 5 years we have managed to keep our postage and packaging charges unaltered at £3.95 which we feel offers good value to our customers. The only time that this varies is with wheelbarrows, which because of their bulky nature incur a £5.00 supplement. It may be worthwhile knowing that with the exception of some of the lighter items which are posted we make a loss delivering everything else.

The recent Royal Mail strike has caused us some delays, not only with regards to the post, but also with the overworked carrier companies – so at this busy time please bear with us.

Next posting: The Fat Gardener as normal!

If you have any comments or suggestions please email me on: info@qualitygardentools.com

Gardening Blogs

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 14:59:00 +0000

Blogging is one of the success stories of the internet revolution. It has captured the imaginations of many ordinary (and some not so ordinary!) people around the world. You can now read a blog about almost anything – even garden tools!

Gardening has become a very popular bloggers’ topic and there are hundreds of blogs available to the intrepid (online) explorer.

Some of my favourites are (in no particular order):

• Pippa’s Gardening News. Pippa Greenwood's very useful and informative blog about all matters garden.
• Matthew Appleby’s Gardening Blog. A sometimes irreverent look at the horticultural industry.
• Veg Plotting. Prolific (and very good) blog from rural Wiltshire – recommended by everyone!
• Garden Rant. Some very cross American ladies who hate traditional gardening stereotypes.
• My Garden. The RHS community site with loads of blogs and more gardening info than you could ever need.
• In The Green House. Lila Das Gupta’s blog on all things greenhouse.
• Guerrilla Gardening. The ‘movement’ started by Richard Reynolds to illicitly cultivate neglected city space.
• My Tiny Plot. Great little blog from Bath about vegetable gardening and some cooking tips.
• Suttons Grow Your Own Club. The blog of the famous seed supplier with lots of information and not just about seeds.
• The Garden Monkey. Funny, interesting and knowledgeable blogger whose real identity is (as yet) unknown.

Hopefully the ten blogs mentioned above will give you loads of interesting garden biased information, but please don’t forget to keep reading (and writing to) The Fat Gardener – even if I only ever blog about garden tools!

The Fat Gardener’s posts can always be read at: www.qualitygardentools.com/blog/

Essential Tools for Autumn

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 22:38:00 +0000

As the leaves begin to colour, fade and fall I begin to think about the vast amount of jobs I need to do in the garden before Winter arrives.

I have written about rakes and blowers in the past and we always sell many of each during the Autumn. Blower vacs are especially popular these days as they reduce leaves into such small particles which aid their decomposition and speed up the production of a really good leaf mould compost.

It is important to rake up your fallen leaves, not only for the sake of presentation, but also because pests and diseases like to over-winter under piles of leaves. These pests include the Horse Chestnut leaf minor which are disfiguring (if not destroying) Chestnut stocks in the south of England and Photinia leaf spot.

The best rake available is the Bulldog Wizard or Merlin rake which allows the gardener to ‘sweep’ leaves on uneven surfaces like drives, paths, decking and patios whilst not damaging underlying lawns or borders. If you want a light leaf rake that will rake up large amounts of leaves then a plastic leaf rake will be the right choice particularly if it has a strong, long handle.

With cold, wet, windy weather coming, a pair of good gloves like Briers Royales will help to protect your hands (the best garden tools you own) from the elements. Gardening gloves are especially useful if you are picking up piles of leaves which may have hidden spikes in them!

Scarifying your lawn with a Bulldog Springbok rake will pay dividends in the long run, removing all the dead thatch and allowing new grass shoots to grow through in the Spring. Your lawn would also benefit from using a spiking fork to stop compaction occurring in the roots.

This time of year is when many of us decide to prune trees and hedges. Whilst I prefer to do this in the Spring, there is no denying that with fewer leaves on the trees ‘shaping’ can become a much easier task. It is important to keep any cuts you make smooth and clean. Sawing with a Silky Saw will ensure a very quick, clean cut and using the best loppers you can afford will mean that the wound on the tree will heal quicker and with less chance of infection.

Late season planting can also be effective while the soil is still warm(ish) and a good stainless steel trowel will make life much easier, whilst a strong border spade is perfect for digging bigger planting holes for shrubs.

If you look after your tools during the Autumn months they will certainly look after you and you will really reap the benefits of your hard work when Spring comes.

You can comment on this blog by emailing me at: info@qualitygardentools.com

Indian Summer

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 16:36:53 +0000

It is not very often in the UK that we get to celebrate surprisingly good weather. We often complain that Summers are unusually cold or Winters unusually wet, but for the weather to be helpful to the gardener is a new sensation for us all! As I write this, there is what can only be described as an azure blue sky above me and the sun is actually warm on my face. This has meant that there is very little leaf drop in the garden and I still have the colour in the borders not only of the Autumn favourites, but also some Salvias, roses and even Agapanthus to remind me of July.

The soil being warm this late in the year is allowing me to clear up some of the beds and borders without losing fingers to frostbite (always a concern). I am also not so worried about the more tender perennials being killed of by an early frost before I have time to move them under cover.

Many gardeners I speak to ‘close shop’ during the Autumn and Winter months and leave the garden alone, preferring a warm cup of cocoa in front of a warm fire. Whilst I sympathise with this point of view (especially the cocoa – I’m not called The Fat Gardener for nothing!) it is a pity to lose the months of the year when you can get many jobs done which you don’t have time to do during the growing season.

I will be writing soon on this blog about gardening jobs for the Autumn, but scarifying the lawn, mulching borders or trimming hedges are great jobs to get on with now and I promise they will ensure an even better garden come the Spring. With these three jobs in mind, if I had to recommend the essential garden tools for Autumn they would be:

1. Bulldog Springbok rake for scarifying the lawn.
2. Bulldog Compost fork for mulching the beds and borders.
3. Bahco Professional hedge shears for giving boundaries some Winter shape.

I should have probably mentioned a leaf rake – too late now, but I’m sure you have one of those already!

Enjoy what could be the last of this year’s sun and let’s hope we have an Indian Winter as well as an Indian Summer!

Quality Garden Tools Leaf rakes can be found at: www.qualitygardentools.com/hand-tools/rakes/lawn-and-leaf-rakes/viewcategory

Where the Axe Falls

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 12:12:13 +0000

With Autumn almost here those of us with open fires start thinking about chopping up all the firewood we will need for the cold months ahead.

If you need to remove a dying or dead tree in your garden then you will probably need to use a chainsaw, but most logs can be easily reduced to a manageable size by using an axe, splitting wedge or splitting maul.

Whilst a felling axe can be used to chop a tree down, a hatchet or hand axe is normally used for reducing cut logs to kindling and taking off branches which make the logs unwieldy. I keep a very small hatchet by the fireside at home to split off combustible kindling from logs that are too big to fit into the grate.

A good splitting wedge or splitting maul is an essential tool for the amateur woodsman. Often when a large tree has been felled the timber is cut into very large logs, a splitting maul or wedge (struck with a sledge or club hammer) will allow you to quickly reduce these logs into smaller segments. The reduction in size will help in shortening the ‘drying out’ time of the timber and also reduce the chances of damp or mould affecting the wood.

Axes are precision striking tools and when you need to use them, they must be sharp. Keeping your axe sharp will require little effort as long as you are prepared to ensure that blades are not left to stand wet, are not used in soil (to remove roots) and are wiped down with an oily rag after use. Sharpening should be undertaken little and often to maintain a razor sharp edge; either a flat or curved sharpening stone will work, but I find a rectangular stone anchored to a work bench is best for me. Try to ensure that you remove any burrs on the steel blade as these, if left unchecked will cause splits along the blade’s edge.

To ensure that you do not come to any harm whilst using your axe or splitting tool you should ensure that you have some good leather gloves and at the very least are wearing goggles or safety glasses to protect your eyes from flying debris. Of all the garden tools that you own, your axe is amongst the most lethal so please be careful as fingers and toes are hard to replace!

Remember, when you sit in front of your roaring December fire all the work you did to produce the logs will be long forgotten – enjoy!

Quality Garden Tool’s range of axes and splitting tools can be seen at: www.qualitygardentools.com/hand-tools/axes-and-splitting-tools/viewcategory

The Spear is Here

Sun, 06 Sep 2009 15:02:00 +0000

Earlier this year I wrote about the chance that Quality Garden Tools would be stocking products from Spear & Jacksons excellent range of garden tools. This week the first Spear & Jackson garden tools order arrived at the Quality Garden Tools warehouse ready to be despatched.

The initial range covers secateurs and other cutting tools (including the Razorsharp secateurs with interchangeable blades) and hand tools including trowels and weed forks.

I have used the same Spear & Jackson Neverbend stainless steel hand trowel and fork for about 8 years and they are still working perfectly (even though they are a little worn down!). The trowel has a gratifyingly sharp edge having been plunged into the soil many, many times and whilst I do look after my tools well they are the longest lasting trowel and weed fork I have ever owned.

Spear & Jackson’s history goes back to 1760 and they use all this experience to design and manufacture great gardening tools. Blades stay sharp for longer and tools are robust, yet easy to use and comfortable to hold. The Select range of hand tools that Quality Garden Tools are now stocking exemplify these standards with tough, easily cleaned and rust resistant mirror polished stainless steel heads and comfortable, contoured, ergonomic bi-material handles. The tools available in the select range include a weed fork, hand trowel, soil or compost scoop and a handy weeder for weeds with long tap roots.

Stainless steel tools are not now just for grown ups either, there is now a great set of children’s hand trowel and weed fork that is perfect for those who have keen gardening youngsters at home. The stainless steel heads are easy to clean and the hardwood handles are tough and hard wearing.

I am also very impressed with the larger cutting tools, particularly the ergonomic, geared loppers which reduce the workload and yet still give a very quick, clean cut. They feel solid and sturdy, but are still not that heavy because they utilise strong, lightweight aluminium in their handles. Similarly the ergonomic hedge shears have great build quality and will last well if looked after.

Hopefully the new Spear & Jackson garden tools will give Quality Garden Tools customers even more choice when it comes to choosing great tools for the garden.

You can see all the new Spear & Jackson tools by clicking here

Water Water Everywhere

Sat, 22 Aug 2009 09:32:00 +0000

We seem to be enjoying a rather dry spell at the moment – this is welcomed by sun worshippers, but is it any good for our gardens?

It is true that climate change is still much at the forefront of gardener’s minds and with the Gardener’s World programme encouraging us to plant gravel gardens each year, it is difficult to forget. However, if we are being affected by climate change at all it seems that we are more likely to ‘enjoy’ very changeable weather rather than sun-kissed Mediterranean Summers and mild Winters.

Over the years our Summer climate has been a mixture of hot sunshine mixed with showers and clouds, leading to unpredictable growing conditions for our plants. Trees particularly find it difficult to cope with long, dry spells an often exhibit premature leaf drop and patches of ‘die back’ in the top branches during very dry periods.

Many of us (like camels) have become very adept at recycling and collecting water during the ‘rainy season’ to use when the sun appears. My mother, after enjoying a relaxing bath is always keen to share the used water with her roses, delphiniums, geraniums, etc. I use my Haemmerlin wheelbarrow to collect water and then move it to inaccessible parts of the garden, using it to (slowly) fill watering cans.

Going on holiday is a particular problem for plant lovers; we are always worried that whoever we have asked to water the borders in our absence will not do a ‘proper’ job, leading to wilting blooms on our return. I am now using a Hozelock automatic water timer which allows me to set a time for watering each day and means I know that my plants will be getting some refreshment on hot days even if I’m not there. This is a very useful garden tool and fits onto my existing Hozelock system allowing water to pass only during preselected times.

Collecting rain water is the easiest way to conserve water over the Summer months and it is not too difficult (even now) to get enough rain over Spring to fill even the largest tank. Many gardeners write to me asking how to efficiently move this collected water around the garden (constantly filling watering cans is back breaking work). The easiest way to integrate this collected water into your established hose system is to buy a Kärcher garden irrigation pump, which will fit onto your standard hose and supply it with water from your water butt or tank. If you want to try something cheaper then you can purchase a small pump that attaches to your drill and will pump water when the drill is switched on.

Hopefully this advice will convince you that despite fluctuations in the British weather you can always find water, water everywhere (but I wouldn’t recommend a drop to drink!).

To find watering products visit: www.qualitygardentools.com/hoses-and-watering-systems/imgview

Glove, Glove Me Do

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 10:58:00 +0000

This Summer has seen an explosion in demand for one particular type of gardening accessories – gloves.

Quality Garden Tools have been supplying Briers gloves for almost exactly three years, but 2009 figures for the gloves show a marked increase in sales.

There are a number of reasons why gardeners use gardening gloves – not only for protection of the hands from thorns, allergies, and infections, but also to improve grip, protect nails and most important in this country, to keep hands warm! Many gardeners complain of problems with their hands cracking during prolonged spells of gardening and because soil contains so many bacteria, infection can then become a problem. Allergies to elements in soil (particularly fertilizers) seem to be becoming more common each year and for the sufferers a well fitting pair of waterproof gloves is essential to their enjoyment of gardening. When gardening at allotments, schools or public spaces gloves are essential (particularly for children) as ‘sharps’ are often concealed in the dirt and pushing your naked hand into a planting hole and encountering broken glass, a decomposing tin can or worse is not a pleasant experience.

My favourite Briers gloves include the following:

• Briers Junior Digger Glove – A great garden glove for children aged 5 to 9 years which is snug fitting with water proof fingers and palm.
• Briers Seedling Glove – A glove designed for touch and feel with non-slip rubber fingers and palm. Available in small, medium and large.
• Briers Lavender Washable Leather Gardener Glove – A leather glove that can be washed and tumble dried. Available in small and medium.
• Briers Professional Glove – A fantastic synthetic leather glove that is both tough and dextrous. Available in medium and large.
• Briers Royale Gauntlet Glove – This glove offers a combination of great protection and maximum comfort. Available in small, medium and large.

Many of the gloves I have recommended are designed for certain tasks within the garden. They will all be great for general gardening, but it may well be worth thinking about investing in more than one pair. I use a pair of gauntlets for maximum protection when I am clearing brambles or pruning roses or pyracanthas and a pair of professional gloves when I am planting or weeding. Many of us have a small spade for planting and a bigger one for digging, bypass secateurs for green wood and anvil secateurs for dry or dead wood, so why not use two pairs of gloves?

With a mesmerising range of gloves now available to British gardeners it is sometimes difficult to know what to choose when you decide your old gloves are worn out. First look at the quality of the glove – is it likely to fall apart the first time you use it? Then check the size – does it fit properly, will it rub and can you move your hand easily with it on? Lastly, look at the materials – is the fabric breathable, can you wash it or is it water proof? Answering these questions will help determine whether the gloves you are looking at will suit you.

Remember to clean your gloves after heavy use – if you love your gardening gloves they will love you back!

To see the Quality Garden Tools range of Briers Gloves visit: http://www.qualitygardentools.com/gardening-accessories/gardening-gloves/briers-gloves/viewcategory

Bring me my Spear!

Sun, 26 Jul 2009 23:13:00 +0000

It never fails to amaze me when a company or individual ‘invents’ a new garden tool or even just improves an old favourite, making life easier for all us overworked gardeners. After hundreds of years of mankind toiling in the fields as well as in the garden you might be forgiven for assuming that every kind of garden gadget that could be invented has been already.

I often get sent emails from crazy and not so crazy inventers from up and down the country asking me how they can launch their ‘wonderful’ gizmo onto an unsuspecting gardening public. However, every now and then something really interesting comes along.

Spear & Jackson’s Razorsharp secateurs with interchangeable blades are just such a product. Secateurs are one of the few garden tools that every gardener owns, but many of us don’t have just one pair. If you’re anything like me you will have a pair (or 3!) of normal bypass secateurs, a strong set of anvil secateurs, some snips, maybe even a set of pruning shears (like short scissors). The Spear & Jackson secateurs are supplied with a set of blades as standard for an rrp of £22.99 which is about ‘mid price’ for a pair of decent secateurs. However, the costs begin to tumble when you consider that the replacement blades are just £9.49 rrp each, meaning that for £41.97 you can have three great pairs of secateurs and that’s just £13.99 each!

To change the blades you just loosen the central nut with the allen key provided, remove one set of blades and replace with another – simple! The most important thing I have found is not to over tighten the central nut which means the blades start to stick, but after a couple of changes I got the hang of it and had no further problems.

Spear & Jackson have been around since 1760 so it is great to see they are still innovating 250 years later! Their name is synonymous with great quality garden tools and the Razorsharp interchangeable secateurs are sure to be a real hit with British gardeners.

At Quality Garden Tools we are always looking to improve our ranges and we are hoping that by the end of the Summer we will be able to offer Spear & Jackson garden tools to our customers.

All Show

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 21:56:00 +0000

As mentioned previously I am a great fan of the RHS show at Hampton Court. I love the relaxed atmosphere, the extra space and the effort of the organisers to innovate each year.

This year’s show took place in trying economic conditions and this was evident by the loss of The Daily Mail tent. The competition tried hard to take up the mantle, but The Daily Telegraph’s gardening theatre whilst highly informative and eminently manned by some of the best known names in horticulture was often poorly attended.

However, the economy aside I was impressed with the floral (see my last posting on this site) and rose marquees and there were still numerous exciting trade stands and nursery stands where keen gardeners could part with their hard earned cash. The weak point this year, in my opinion was the general standard of the show gardens. With some notable exceptions I thought the quality of design and planting was much weaker than last year and showed none of the inventive cost savings of this year’s Chelsea show.

Best in show went to the Winchester Growers ‘Growing Tastes Allotment Garden’ which was a beautifully planted vegetable garden – designed and planted with skill, but offering no more ideas than the average allotment. My favourite was the ‘Sandolin Nature to Nurture Garden’ by Philippa Pearson a thought provoking garden with an evident juxtaposition between the ‘natural’ wildflower meadow and the ‘nurtured’ ornamental beds planted in a wildflower meadow style. The ‘Quilted Velvet Garden’ by Tony Smith showcased 3 different plants: 30,000 miniature Oaks, 3 cedars and a row of heathers surrounding a sectioned tree trunk. This garden is a conceptual design to reflect how Quilted Velvet ‘protects and manages its forests responsibly’ (sorry if you are now feeling nauseous!). The Six Wives of Henry VIII gardens were a classic example of a good idea gone wrong. They had the look of ‘last minute’ about them and it would have been far better had the RHS commissioned one single garden to reflect all 6 wives and used an established designer and contractor.

My comments above should not detract from the huge effort that all garden designers and builders go to in constructing a show garden. The work involved is massive and almost every garden I saw at Hampton Court had something interesting in it even if the eventual finished effect was not the sum of the better parts.

If I had to offer the RHS any advice about future Hampton Court show gardens, it would be to look to the success of the Chelsea show and concentrate on a few very high quality gardens. These gardens should be innovative and exciting, packed with new ideas, but above all it should be about great plants. Extra interest is always provided by the little additions like the hanging basket competitions and the window boxes that make Hampton Court the show it is.

Remember, you can still visit the RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show this weekend and decide for yourself if it is ‘All Show’.

Tickets are available at: www.keithprowse.com/hosted/rhs/

Court in the Act

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:47:51 +0000

The RHS Hampton Court flower show always attracts two things; loads of enthusiastic gardeners and rain.

So it was with sunglasses, umbrella, flip-flops, wellies, sunscreen and Beecham’s powders that I ventured into our nation’s secondary most important flower show. Fortunately I was well prepared; visitors to the show enjoyed a heady mix of downpours and warm sunshine in equal measure. However, I can never work out why it always rains when I am outside looking at the show gardens and yet as soon as I enter the floral marquee the sun beats down with unrelenting ferocity!

The Hampton Court flower show has always been used to experiment with concepts that either do not fit ideologically or geographically with the Chelsea show. Over the last few years not only have we seen the new ‘conceptual’ gardens, but also an ever increasing emphasis on organic gardening, grow-your-own and climate change.

These are all interesting developments, but I do believe that many RHS members are there to see trees, shrubs and above all, flowers. Many of the show gardens now look more like ‘show allotments’ and whilst growing fruit and vegetables has always been an important aspect of gardening and something I love to do myself, I go to the shows to see new and innovative garden designs and plants.

The floral marquees, as normal are beautiful this year, although I did miss seeing Jekka McVicar the doyenne of herb gardening and gold medal winner par excellence. Jekka has a stall selling herbs just outside the marquee, which although not quite the same as her fantastic mixed herbs exhibit of 2008, puts many of the other exhibitors to shame. I was also impressed with Jacques Amand International’s (Silver-Gilt) mini forest of Eremurus (foxtail lily) that whilst not for everyone was very striking. The Big Plant Nursery (Silver-Gilt) had a great display of Ginkgo cultivars and other rare trees & shrubs, whilst Downderry Nursery’s (Gold) lavender exhibit was stunning. Bowden Hostas and Fernatix both won Gold medals for their wonderful exhibits showing that green is the ‘coolest’ colour of all.

It does bring a small smile to my face that this is the third year in a row that sustainability, global warning and drought have been an important theme for show organisers – only to be rewarded with driving rain. We all know that the environment is a serious issue for gardeners; it’s just more difficult to concentrate on reductions in the ozone layer when you are cold and wet!

So, if you are going to the flower show this week, don’t get ‘court’ out by the weather.

Website Addresses:
Jekka’s Herb Farm: www.jekkasherbfarm.com
Jacques Amand International: www.jacquesamand.com
Big Plant Nursery: www.bigplantnursery.co.uk
Downderry Nursery: www.downderry-nursery.co.uk
Bowden Hostas: www.bowdenhostas.com
Fernatix: www.fernatix.co.uk

Tall Tales

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 16:12:00 +0000

I sometimes regret only making it to 5' 11". It’s not that I am short, in fact I am two inches taller than the UK average, but in the world of horticulture 5' 11" is not tall enough to prune the average hedge!

So what is available in the way of long handled and extendable garden tools?

Many hand tools come with longer handles. One of the most popular ranges has been the Bulldog stainless steel hand trowel and fork. These tools come with 12" handles so are perfect for using whilst seated or just for extending your reach a little.

Spades and forks are also available with either longer standard handles or even long 48" straight handles. Similarly some Bulldog rakes are available with extra long handles.

However, the area where extra height is needed is pruning. Whether you are carefully shaping your favourite fruit tree, trimming a boundary hedge or removing a damaged branch extra reach will be a priority.

For lower branches Bahco make some great bypass loppers with telescopic handles and in the same range the Bahco telescopic hedge shears are great for taller hedges. When the really big jobs come along, you will need an extendable lopper or saw. For great value, you could do a lot worse than use the Wilkinson Sword telescopic tree pruner and saw which reaches 2.4m and is not too heavy. But if nothing other than the highest reach is needed you should purchase a Silky Hayauchi Pole Saw with a Silky Sintung Lopper reaching up to a giant 6.3m!

If your hedge extends a bit further than average then you will need a power pole hedge trimmer. The Black & Decker cordless pole hedge trimmer offers great value and is used by Christine Walkden in her own garden. If you require a bit more power then the Husqvarna 325HE4X 24.5cc petrol pole hedge trimmer is a fantastic machine that will last for many years, even when used in the toughest conditions. Garden power tools can reduce your workload considerably and the Black & Decker cordless pole pruner is an example of this. It reaches 2.5m and will quickly and easily trim away branches up to this height.

So in future, rather than swaying at the top of a high ladder or breaking your back with a short handled garden tool, why not invest in something with a little more reach? This is not a tall tale!

All the tools mentioned and many more can be found at: http://www.qualitygardentools.com

Twitter While You Work

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 22:52:00 +0000

You can now keep up to date with everything I'm up to by checking out The Fat Gardener twitter page.

For those of you who don't know what twitter is, the best way to describe it is as a free way of keeping in touch with what people are up to. Many high profile and famous people regularly 'twitter' including: Stephen Fry, Demi Moore, Britney Spears, Jonathon Ross even newly elected President Obama used twitter in his recent presidential campaign.

I have never been a 'twitterer' before and am a bit nervous about how this will work.

Hopefully some of you will follow The Fat Gardener's progress!

Follow my progress at: https://twitter.com/thefatgardener

Shell Out for this Flower

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 17:38:00 +0000

At the end of 2008 I decided that in 2009 I would grow some plants I have never grown before.

Unfortunately many of my experiments ended in disaster, Black Arum Lilies perished followed by a number of tender Hebes. Some Paeonias refused to flower whilst others produced flowers the size of melons. Irises, lovingly and carefully planted refused to show at all – composting themselves underground.

One plant however has restored my faith in my own gardening ability. Tigridia pavonia, commonly known as the Tiger Lily or Mexican Shell flower is described by the BBC Gardeners World website as ‘barely hardy’. This does not on the face of it bode well for growing in Britain! This Mexican beauty requires high levels of sunshine and should be planted in well-drained soil, kept moist. Its bulbs need lifting at the end of summer to ensure that they do not get cold – this plant does not make it easy!

However, any difficulties with looking after the plant are compensated by the wonderful flowers which are produced during the Summer (the photo with this Blog is from my own plant). Like all the best things in life they only come through hard work and last just one fleeting day each. The orchid-like flowers come in bright shades of red, orange, yellow, white and pink delivering a touch of the exotic to your garden.

I would encourage all gardeners to push the boundaries of their expertise; it’s a great way to learn about plants and about oneself.

Tigridia pavonia can be purchased from: www.unwins.co.uk/tigridia-pavonia-mixed-peacock-tiger-flower-pid1842.html

Green Power

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 20:00:12 +0000

Green gardening is now firmly established in the country’s psyche. The BBC use organic products in all their TV shows and chemical solutions are mentioned less and less or not at all. We are also constantly told to recycle, compost, ‘grow-our-own’ and use FSC timber products.

I am a real believer in all of the above, but how many of these measures really make an impact on our environment, let alone our pockets?

For many years I have bought and used both electric and petrol powered garden tools. Battery powered electric gardening tools allowed the user to enjoy the mobility of a petrol powered tool with the convenience of electricity. However, using batteries often meant lower levels of power and ever decreasing battery performance.

Bosch Garden Tools have long been at the forefront of electric garden tool design and manufacture, but it wasn’t until 2003 that things got really exciting. This was the year they launched the Ixo drill, the first power tool on the market with lithium-ion battery technology. It proved an instant success and since then over eight million units have been sold worldwide.

Lithium-ion technology is now reasonably widespread, so what makes it so special? The main features are:
• A very high weight to power ratio.
• Very slow loss of charge when not being used.
• No reduction of charge over time (memory effect).
Along with the features listed above, lithium-ion batteries have much lower emmissions than petrol driven machines. For example, Bosch sat that a lithium-ion Bosch cordless lawnmower will emit 60g of CO2 while mowing an area of 300m², but a petrol mower cutting the same area will produce 780g of CO2 – 1300% more!

I have used a number of the Bosch range and have been really impressed with the level of power as well as the reduced weight, manoeuvrability, convenience and general ease of use. I particularly enjoyed using the hedgecutters which delayed the point when I have to stop due to arm fatigue by a good 15 minutes!

Bosch now offers their lithium-ion technology in a number of tools including: lawnmowers, hedgecutters, Ciso cordless secateurs and the Isio shape & edge. Quality Garden Tools are very excited with this range and the news that Bosch will be releasing more tools with lithium-ion technology over the coming months will be a boost for environmentally aware customers.

While many of these machines may seem initially expensive, they pay for themselves very quickly – even the 36volt lithium-ion Rotak battery only costs £0.01 to recharge. This means that a Bosch lithium-ion garden tool will start to repay its cost the minute you start using it – here’s to green power!

All our Bosch lithium-ion products are at: http://www.qualitygardentools.com/power-tools/imgview

Can You Handle It?

Sun, 07 Jun 2009 22:07:42 +0000

Most of us have broken a spade or fork handle at one time or another; it is usually during normal use and is always inconvenient.

Over a year ago Quality Garden Tools started stocking a couple of replacement fork and spade handles, which instantly became very popular. This led to many other types of replacement garden tool handles being added to the range including: pick and mattock handles, axe handles, hatchet handles, scythe handles, sledge hammer handles and various T and YD shovel and spade or fork handles.

All replacement handles should be made of Hickory or Ash, which are hardwoods with a straight grain that offers both strength and flexibility. We are now seeing low cost hardwood alternatives in the UK market, but these can be dry and brittle. Fibreglass pick and sledge hammer handles have existed for a number of years and what they lose in price they make up for in reliability – they are seriously hard to break!

Unfortunately, even though green issues seem to be at the forefront of gardening news and recycling tools should be encouraged, Quality Garden Tools find it harder with each passing year to find suppliers of handles. It is now almost impossible to find specific handles for border spades and forks which are traditionally ⅛" narrower than the standard 1⅜", this means that you will have to remove more wood to make it fit your border spade or fork.

Each year our customers ask us about the sustainability of our handles. In the case of our Bulldog tools, all handles are currently made from Grade ‘A’ German Ash certificated by the PEFC from renewable plantations. Our replacement handles are made from Hickory and Ash grown in the USA and Germany in certified mixed renewable plantations. It is particularly important to buy timber from mixed plantations as the diversity of tree species not only strengthens the timber, but can also sustain a much broader ecosystem.

Putting new handles on garden tools is nothing new and many of us have an old spade or fork which we wouldn’t be without. However, over recent months Wyevale and the RHS have been collecting broken tools which, in conjunction with The Conservation Foundation are being renovated by HMP Wandsworth and then given to London schools. This means that repairing old tools is not only environmentally sustainable, but also is going towards teaching young children how to garden.

So before you throw away that old tool think about replacing the handle – it will be as good as new and you will be helping the environment. Can you handle that?

See the whole range of Quality Garden Tools replacement handles at: www.qualitygardentools.com/hand-tools/replacement-handles/viewcategory

Haemmerlin and Sickle

Thu, 04 Jun 2009 18:05:33 +0000

The hammer and sickle has come to symbolise the industrial and agricultural worker and was most famously used as the emblem of the USSR. Today, Quality Garden Tools still supply a symbol of industrial and agricultural hard work in the form of the Haemmerlin wheelbarrow.

Builders, gardeners, landscapers and agricultural workers have long relied on Haemmerlin’s single and twin wheeled barrows. They are the world’s biggest manufacturer of wheelbarrows and have been established for more than 140 years.

Most wheelbarrows that Haemmerlin produce come in a choice of an epoxy coated (green) or a galvanised (silver) tray to prevent weather damage, although the 5200G Pick Up with its plastic ‘no rivets’ tray is now our best selling barrow.

I often compare my Haemmerlin wheelbarrow to an old Land Rover that despite being battered and often repaired it keeps going! You can purchase many Haemmerlin spare parts including: handle grips, wheels, inner tubes, axles and tray fixings, which mean that your faithful wheelbarrow should last for years to come.

One question I am often asked is about the availability of a solid wheeled version of the wheelbarrows. I am happy to be able to point Quality Garden Tools customers in the direction of the Haemmerlin 1041P wheelbarrow which offers all the features of the standard garden models, but with a hard wearing solid wheel. This is particularly worth looking at if you carry very heavy objects in your barrow like grit, rocks, or garden statuary and have lumps and bumps in the garden which are likely to force the air out of a pneumatic tyre. Also if sharp grit or glass in your garden makes your current wheelbarrow prone to punctures, this is well worth looking at.

I once had the opportunity to try one of the huge Haemmerlin twin wheeled equestrian wheelbarrows at an estate in Surrey and was very impressed. The wheelbarrow’s tray was 230 litres (three times the size of a standard wheelbarrow) and although it was great for carrying large amounts of compost, it would be a little unwieldy in my smallish garden!

In recent years Haemmerlin have started to manufacture and assemble some of their wheelbarrows in the UK alongside the Chillington brand (which is also owned by Haemmerlin) from their base in Walsall. This has meant that Quality Garden Tools can offer a better service to their UK customers and delivery is now between 3 – 5 days with children’s Mini Star and Twiny wheelbarrows normally delivered in 48 hours.

My Haemmerlin wheelbarrow is one of my most used garden tools and although it is a bit bumped and battered I wouldn’t be without it.

I hope that in the future the Haemmerlin and sickle will come to be known as a symbol of the hard working British gardener!

See all our range of Haemmerlin wheelbarrows and spare parts at: www.qualitygardentools.com/hand-tools/haemmerlin-wheelbarrows/viewcategory

Garden Show Gear

Wed, 27 May 2009 23:14:00 +0000

The RHS Chelsea Flower Show never fails to inspire me when it comes to its garden and plant displays, but what about all the other ‘stuff’ that fills the site? There is almost no type of garden sundry that cannot be bought at Chelsea – from tractor mowers to hygrometers and from wellington boots to bird boxes. This year I spent a couple of hours walking down Eastern Avenue assessing the garden tools and accessories on display.

Bulldog Tools have now been showing at Chelsea for four years and their products look great in one of the few planted stands (many exhibitors stands resemble Moroccan souks) in the Eastern Avenue. The new Alan Titchmarsh Garden Tools range was shown off well and was proving successful with visitors.

Wilkinson Sword continues to innovate and redesign garden tools. They are in the process of changing their name to Fiskars, but this has not stopped them continue to produce good value well made tools. PowerGear is still the easiest way to chop, prune and trim and with the new PowerStep design Wilkinson Sword’s loppers are set to be even easier on the arms!

Spear & Jackson made a very welcome return to Chelsea this year after many years of absence. Their best products in my opinion are the revolutionary ‘E’ series digging tools and my favourite tool at the show, the Razorsharp secateurs with interchangeable blades. These secateurs can be bought with standard bypass blades, anvil blades and flower snip blades giving you three different secateurs for a great price.

As always Felco showed off their great range of secateurs, loppers and knives with great success. Tubtrug (who manufacture our super-strong Gorilla Tubs) used this year’s show to launch their fully recycled Tubtrug in a range of new muted colours. Bosch, as ever had a fantastic looking stand – almost as good as some of the show gardens and packed with their great tools. The new Bosch Ciso cordless secateurs were very popular with visitors and are sure to be a massive hit.

The show as always was filled to the (metaphorical) rafters with garden lovers of all shapes, sizes, nationalities and ages. While there was a healthy smattering of £100,000 greenhouses, £25,000 statues and £2,500 plant pots, there were also 99p gloves, £1 packets of seeds and a thermometer for £2.50! The variety at Chelsea has always contributed to it being one of the best garden shows in the world.

I hope that the RHS continue to see the Eastern Avenue as an important part of the Chelsea Flower Show.

Chelsea Charms

Mon, 25 May 2009 23:22:18 +0000

If the rest of the world is in financial meltdown, then the horticultural world hasn’t heard! This year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show may have had fewer £¼ million gardens, but was none the poorer for it.

This year’s ‘Best Show Garden’ winner was The Daily Telegraph garden designed by Ulf Nordfjell. With a dark framed timber and glass building and big, rough cut granite slabs, this garden is a modern Swedish interpretation of the traditional cottage garden. The garden is stocked with Irises, Violas, Salvias, Harebells (Campanula) and tall, white spikes of Eremurus. Trees include multi-stemmed Pinus, silver-grey Pyrus and the obligatory pleached hornbeams surround the garden and offer privacy. This is a strong, unique garden deserving of its gold medal. However, it reminds me a little of a Saab motor car; esoteric, edgy design, well built, with quirky features, but perhaps trying to be just a little too ‘cool’.

My favourite at the show was the gold medal winning über relaxed Champagne Laurent-Perrier garden by Chelsea newcomer Luciano Giubbilei. This man designs gardens that look serene, but actually need huge amounts of effort to achieve the tranquil style. The structure of the garden is provided by box headed hornbeams (again!) and tiered hedges of hornbeam, yew and box along with a decorated limestone wall and water features. Box surrounded beds are filled with and edged in Alliums, Aquilegias, Astrantias, Salvias, Peonies and no less than five types of Iris. The water falls gently from square gutters and disappears between gaps in the paving beneath giving the garden a calm, laid-back atmosphere.

Other gardens worthy of special mention were the Perfume garden by Laurie Chetwood and Patrick Collins who apart from collecting a wonderful group of scented plants included one of the best structures seen at Chelsea for years; part lava lamp, part stainless steel spaceship and part wind turbine. I also loved the stylish timber wave forms that undulate through F & C’s silver medal winning wetland garden designed by Thomas Hoblyn. The Children’s Society Garden designed by Mark Gregory must feature in this blog for his practical rotary dryer cunningly hidden in the wall of the garden room – a justifiable gold for sense of humour!

Finally, this year’s Chelsea Flower Show could not be written about without mention of the James May Paradise in Plasticine ‘garden’. I have no particular opinion on giving space to this kind of exhibit and indeed it received an RHS ‘Special Letter’ (whatever that is) and a fitting plasticine medal!

With all the economic tales of doom, gardening seems to continue to bring happiness and positivity into many lives – I don’t know this for sure, but all I saw at Chelsea were sunshine and smiles!

Meeting Ethel

Sat, 23 May 2009 22:52:00 +0000

I often write about how hard we try to find exciting new garden products for Quality Garden Tools, but this year at the Chelsea Flower Show I think we have found a whole range!

Ethel Gloves have designed and manufactured a great range of stylish ladies gloves. Their motto is ‘fashion, function and protection’ and from what I’ve seen so far they deliver this ‘in spades’!

Kimberley, the Ethel Gloves senior account specialist was visiting the Chelsea Flower Show for the first time from California and took time out to meet me at the famous Chelsea bandstand.

Although only just over a year old Ethel is fast establishing itself as one of the best glove brands in the US market. The gloves are incredibly comfortable with a two way stretch fabric back, super-soft synthetic leather palm with rubberised grip, extended cuffs and reinforced fingers. For the ultimate in ease of care all gloves are also machine washable.

Many brands of gloves already available in the UK offer some protection and comfort, but I don’t think that anything available at the moment offers Ethel’s keen sense of style. From patterns like houndstooth to fleur-de-lis in colours from the coolest lemon yellow to the brightest red; these gloves are not only up to the toughest gardening jobs, but also will make any lady wearing them look and feel fantastic.

Hopefully Quality Garden Tools will be able to negotiate supply of these lovely gloves for all our UK customers. I promise to let you know of any developments as soon as I hear them myself.

Kimberley returned to the USA with no doubts of my regard for her company’s great product – who knows, next year you might be able to see Ethel Gloves on display at Chelsea itself!

You can check out the great Ethel Gloves website at: http://www.ethelgloves.com

What a Snip!

Tue, 19 May 2009 23:37:29 +0000

I wrote some weeks ago about a few of my favourite garden tools and today I am following this by writing about the UK’s best selling garden tools – secateurs.

Secateurs now come with a variety of new and traditional features including: soft grips, bypass blades, ratchet actions, revolving handles, non-stick blades, geared cutting, anvil blades, etc. However, I think the two most important features other than quality are size and weight. It is amazing how often ladies write to me saying that their hands get very tired when pruning, only to find out they are using a very large pair of heavy secateurs – often not knowing that the same brand make a smaller size.

A very good example of this are the Felco No.8 Secateurs which are often bought by smaller ladies who are then disappointed with the hand and wrist pain they experience when pruning over long periods, when the smaller and lighter Felco No.6 secateurs are very similar and would be much better for smaller hands.

Many Quality Garden Tools customers use anvil bladed secateurs which traditionally were used on dead or dry wood, but although a number of years ago these were much stronger than bypass blades, this is no longer the case.

My favourites are Bahco’s P122 Hi-Tech professional secateurs which are very light, but with very strong blades that are favoured by orchard workers on the continent. They are available in two sizes and have replacement parts.

Felco are the UK’s most famous secateurs brand and with many television garden presenters using them they have developed a well earned reputation for quality. One of Felco’s major selling points is that not only can you obtain spare parts for your secateurs, but by calling Felco’s UK agents you can arrange for them to be refurbished.

Remember to keep your secateurs sharp and clean and they will repay you by giving clean disease-free cuts for years and years – what a snip!

To contact Burton McCall (Felco’s UK agents) for refurbishment call: 0116 234 4611

Amazing Acers

Sat, 16 May 2009 20:53:00 +0000

As we enter the second half of May we start to see the beautiful Summer foliage of Japanese Maples.

Everyone is aware of the wonderful firework display of oranges, reds & yellows that Acers produce in the Autumn, but the leaves are also startling in shape and colour early in the season.

There is an Acer for almost any garden. If, like me you enjoy the smaller Acer Palmatum species, these can remain no more than a couple of feet even after many years. However, if you wish to plant a large form there are plenty that exceed 6 metres (20 feet) in height.

When planting I tend to dig a hole only slightly larger than the pot the Acer is delivered in. The main garden tool I use for planting is the Bulldog Rabbiting spade which is small and rounded to give me a straight-sided roundish hole, perfect for the new tree. The hole need not be very deep as Acer’s have a lot of surface roots and no long tap root. I always add some compost to the bottom of the hole and water the new tree liberally. It is also worth noting that Acers look fantastic and also do very well in large pots if fed and watered regularly.

Once planted, Japanese Maples are very easy to look after. Pruning can be used to remove leading shoots and restrict height or to improve shape. Also annual mulching will help improve water retention and therefore healthy growth.

Over the last couple of years I have noticed an explosion in the numbers of aphids on the underside of my Acer leaves – certain varieties like Acer Palmatum ‘Butterfly’ seem to be particularly appealing to the little blighters! These aphids are very difficult to see and have not, in my experienced hurt any of the trees they congregate on, however if they spread to other plants they may become a nuisance and you may wish to spray them early in the season.

I have a number of favourites which I would not be without, but I particularly like Acer Palmatums: ‘Ukigumo’ (almost white variegation with touches of pink), ‘Garnet’ (has leaves that look like lace and are dark red in colour), ‘Viridis’ (many cultivars of this name which form a lovely cascading mound of bright green leaves) and the wonderful gold foliage of Acer shirasawanum ‘Aureum’ makes it a justifiably popular tree in many gardens.

So try an amazing Acer – they are great for Spring, not just for Autumn!

The Bulldog Rabbiting spade is at: www.qualitygardentools.com/hand-tools/cultivation-tools/other-cultivation-tools/id-BUL-5514T28N/view

The Fat Gardener & Daughter

Sun, 10 May 2009 22:05:18 +0000

This weekend my daughter planted her first garden. This was a big deal for two reasons; firstly because my daughter would be free to design her own ‘patch’ and secondly because I would have to relinquish some of my precious space!

I was keen to impress upon my daughter the importance of preparation – compulsory digging over of the patch was an unpopular, but necessary operation! Also she needed to research which plants would best suit the plot as it is sited in the dappled shade of an apple tree with protection of a hedge and walls on three sides – not easy.

My daughter was given a set of Bulldog’s children’s tools for Christmas last year and has been helping me tend the beds and borders ever since. She is never happier than when she is holding her trusty Bulldog spade! Over this time she has learned about how to plant and prune, water and feed – she is now ready to take responsibility for her own plants.

We found some great plants at the local nursery that provided the expected levels of colour whilst still being happy in semi-shade. Hardy Geraniums provide the ground cover with a standard Camellia and some Lilies giving the garden some height. To allow her some ‘changeability’ my daughter also chose some shade tolerant Impatiens and Fuchsias that could be replaced in future years.

I am now hoping that although she will have to work hard to maintain the garden’s beauty, it will be worth it and give her the same love of gardening that I have – who knows, The Fat Gardener & Daughter could become a regular article on this blog!

Bulldog children’s tools can be seen at: www.qualitygardentools.com/hand-tools/childrens-garden-tools/viewcategory

Thank You

Wed, 06 May 2009 22:10:00 +0000

A big thanks from Quality Garden Tools to all our customers who helped us enjoy our best month ever in April.

The whole team at Quality Garden Tools have been much over-worked (and under-paid!) over the last month, but have still managed to get out almost all the orders on time and correct.

The two bestselling products of the month were the Kärcher K365 Jubilee pressure washer (on value of sales) and the Briers Lined Hide Gloves (on quantity of sales).

So whilst we are not sending a bottle of champagne to Gordon Brown, it is apparent that gardeners are battling through the credit crunch and are still prepared to invest in good quality garden tools for their own patch of paradise.

See what all the fuss is about, and check out the Kärcher K365 Jubilee pressure washer at: www.qualitygardentools.com/power-tools/pressure-washers/karcher-pressure-washers/id-KARK365JUBLE/view and the Briers Lined Hide Gloves at: www.qualitygardentools.com/gardening-accessories/gardening-gloves/briers-gloves/id-B0021/view.

K�rcher�s Golden Jubilee

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 12:47:00 +0000

This Spring has seen the launch of a very special pressure washer.

Kärcher launched the K365 Jubilee Limited Edition pressure washer on the 4th April 2009 with a fanfare including primetime TV advertising.

The pressure washer not only offers Kärcher’s normal high levels of performance, but is also equipped with £100.00 worth of great added extras.

The machine houses an efficient 1700 watt induction motor that generates a maximum pressure of 120bar ensuring a water flow rate of 420 litres per hour.

The standard accessories for this pressure washer surpass anything previously offered by Kärcher and include:

• Low Pressure Trigger Gun.
• Dirtblaster Lance.
• Vario Lance.
• Wash Brush.
• Universal Detergent Pouch.
• T200 Patio Cleaner.
• Hose Set:
o Tap Adapter.
o Universal Hose Connector.
o Universal Hose Connector with Aquastop.
o Spray Nozzle.
o 15m Hose.
o Hose Hanger.

This specification makes the K365 an ideal buy for someone who is new to pressure washers and wants a kit that is complete requiring no extras.

With all this in their favour, I am sure Kärcher will have a really golden jubilee!

See the Kärcher K365 Jubilee pressure washer: www.qualitygardentools.com/power-tools/pressure-washers/karcher-pressure-washers/id-KARK365JUBLE/view

The Forlawn Hope!

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 12:31:00 +0000

Well, after the wonderful March sunshine we have been treated to a wet Easter bank holiday. Despite humanity’s love of hot, sunny days I am sure mild, wet conditions are much favoured by plants. My garden is exploding into life in all areas except one – the lawn.

My house is located in a wooded area and whilst I do not require bowling green fine lawns with equidistant stripes running up and down, it would be nice to have some grass – not just a soft carpet of moss!

This year has been particularly bad as I have treated the lawn with a lawn feed/moss killer which has meant that dark patches of dead moss now predominate. I am hoping however, that by regularly treating the lawn in future I will be able to bring the ratio of grass to moss back to where it should be.

The maintenance of a healthy lawn (if not a show lawn) can be time consuming, but the results of your labour will be a lawn that everyone (including you) can enjoy. Some of the procedures which can go towards creating a great lawn are listed below, if you can manage to do even some of them you will notice the change in a matter of a couple of weeks.

Remove any large weeds. Removing the larger weeds will immediately give your lawn (and your outlook) a lift. I have some wild violets growing in my lawn which I like and I know that many gardeners like daisies and even clover showing through. So use a daisy grubber to remove what you don’t like and leave what you do like.

Aerating the lawn will allow a compacted lawn to spread and encourage new healthy root growth. This can be done very simply with a spiking fork to create small holes in the lawn or an automatic machine that will cut furrows and allow fertilizer or sand to be added.

Dethatching your lawn will remove the thatch of dead grass that builds up under the top of the turf. This will improve the quality of the ‘carpet’ of your lawn promoting new, strong growth. Dethatching can be achieved with a spring tine rake, which effectively removes thatch and moss but is hard work. The other alternative is an electric rake which achieves the same overall effect, but without the effort.

Top dressing, reseeding, and treating your lawn will all help your lawn improve, however it is always hard to distribute the product evenly over your lawn. To broadcast the seed/product consistently, a spreader will be invaluable – especially if you have a large area to cover.

I will be writing about selecting a lawnmower at a later date, but there are some general rules that should be applied to mowing a lawn. I always recommend cutting the lawn a good inch higher than you want it – removing more than a third of the leaf blade can reduce the health and density of your lawn. Do not mow wet grass – this often ‘rips’ the leaf blade and can even pull it out of the ground as well as clogging up your lawnmower.

The use of edging shears will give your lawn a neat and tidy look and reduce the spread of grass onto paths and borders. You will also need some grass shears which will help to trim grass in hard-to-reach areas of the garden as well as around the bottom of ornamental trees (grass should be kept longer here so that it does not die out).

Lastly, investing in a lawn roller will remove bumps and air pockets from your newly restored lawn giving it the flat look of a bowling green or the centre court at Wimbledon!

So don’t let a great lawn become a forlorn hope!

Please send any suggestions or comments to The Fat Gardener at info@qualitygardentools.com

A Hostage to Fortune

Wed, 08 Apr 2009 21:48:00 +0000

One of my favourite sights during April is seeing the new Hosta shoots begin to poke their heads into the warm(ish) Springtime sunshine.

I have always loved Hostas. I love the big, green leaves that give wet, shady areas of the garden a cool, relaxed look. They are undemanding (once you have the slugs under control) and have a long season from early Spring to early Autumn.

When I say Hostas are undemanding, I should qualify this by pointing out the three main Hosta enemies. The first is the slug. Slugs can be managed in many different ways as has been published for years. Some methods are more effective than others - I’m afraid I use a non-organic chemical slug killer which I have found to be the most successful slug stopper. The second enemy is the rabbit which eats young shoots. I have seen complex systems with wire netting used, but I tend to favour a cloche for early protection (as soon as the leaves open the rabbits seem to lose interest). The last enemy is mainly a problem for potted Hostas. If smallish round holes appear in the leaves of your potted Hosta, it could be the dreaded Vine Weevil – this requires immediate attention as Vine Weevil may spread to your other pot plants.

If you avoid the above you will begin to love your Hostas as I do. There is a Hosta for every garden with varying sizes, colours and shapes available. I tend to mix and match/mismatch them and not much in the garden gives me as much pleasure as those mounds of glossy, ribbed leaves in a shady corner.

Hostas are also great for mixed planting schemes with Acers, Alliums, Foxgloves, Ferns, Irises and Silver Birch looking particularly effective planted alongside them. Yellow and variegated leaved varieties also add a splash of light foliage in a border and will last the whole season.

If all the details previously mentioned haven’t convinced you to try a Hosta in your garden, then maybe this will – free plants! Every other year you can split your plants with a pair of forks (available as always from Quality Garden Tools!) and you will have twice as many Hostas. It is almost impossible to damage the plant by doing this as the roots are so fibrous and is by far the easiest way to propagate a Hosta (seeds do not come true to variety).

Don’t be a Hosta-age to Fortune (sorry!) go and buy Hosta – you won’t regret it.

Hostas are available from: www.bowdenhostas.com

Living with Pressure

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 13:29:25 +0000

March has seen some wonderful early Spring weather for most (if not all) of us. This has meant that many ‘Seasonal Gardeners’ have stepped outside earlier than usual this year.

A while ago I wrote about how useful a pressure washer is to a gardener. Obviously many of you took notice of me because Quality Garden Tools have announced record Karcher pressure washer sales this month! Interestingly the Karcher 675 machine has raced to the top of the best sellers list as it is tailor-made with gardeners in mind.

The recession has brought bad news and diminishing confidence to us all, but I am pleased that many of you have decided that a great garden boosts a feeling of well-being in otherwise worrying times.

One way to instantly improve the look of your garden is to clean your patio or decking – you may be surprised by the colour of the stone or wood beneath! Most stubborn dirt can be removed with a dirtblaster lance and then thoroughly cleaned with a special Karcher patio cleaner. Your friends will be amazed at how quickly you managed to put down your sparkling new patio and you will be the only one to know the truth!

So in these difficult economic times why not just learn to live with pressure? Invest in a Karcher pressure washer.

Karcher pressure washers can be seen at: http://www.qualitygardentools.com/power-tools/pressure-washers/karcher-pressure-washers/viewcategory

Hoze me Down!

Sat, 21 Mar 2009 21:32:00 +0000

One of my major concerns when it comes to gardening is not unduly hurting the environment. I am not an organic gardener, but I do try as much as possible to reduce any negative environmental impact I may cause.

The process of making garden hose is not environmentally friendly, which is why Quality Garden Tools are always looking to source the ‘greenest’ hose possible.

For many years we have sold Rehau watering products, which are Cadmium, Barium and Lead free, but also have reinforced hose walls and an abrasion resistant skin to stop precious water leaking away through leakage. Rehau also have a range of hard wearing brass fittings which are very long lasting and fit with other hose systems.

A number of customers have asked us in the past if we would add Hozelock products to our range – this year Quality Garden Tools have obliged and customers can now buy products from the biggest name in hoses.

The reason for this is mainly environmental. Hozelock have removed Cadmium, Barium and Lead from their hoses. They have tried with some success to reduce packaging from their products and also harvest and reuse the water at their factory sites. They have also committed to a reduction of 30% for carbon emissions from their factories by 2011.

Hozelock’s range includes great sprinklers, spray guns, hoses, fittings, reels, storage, automatic watering and hand sprays all at a discount. The popular size for fitting is still ½" and therefore fits with almost every other brand of hose on the market, this means you can mix and match your favourite hose, spray gun and reel without losing any system performance.

My advice would always be to select a spray gun with variable spray patterns. This will allow you to undertake a number of different tasks in the garden and around the house. When watering plants always water at the base of the plant not at the top and use a soft spray so you don’t remove soil from around the roots or damage stems.

With all this warm weather we are having, I am off to hose myself down!

See all our watering products at: www.qualitygardentools.com/hoses-and-watering-systems/imgview

Sunshine (for a while)

Sun, 15 Mar 2009 16:41:00 +0000

A beautiful Sunday is always a great day for gardeners, but even better when it’s in March!

I have spent today tidying up my ‘patch’. The most pressing job was to remove a dead branch from a Sweet Chestnut (Castanea Sativa I think – but could be wrong!). I hate to remove limbs from big, healthy trees, but in this case the whole limb had died suddenly leaving me with little choice. When removing a dead branch, try to cut back into living, healthy wood which is much less likely to spread disease and much more likely to heal properly and send out new shoots. I always think that if you remove a lot of wood from one side of a tree, you should try and remove a similar amount from the opposite side. This is not just for aesthetic reasons, but also to ensure the tree does not become lopsided in weight which is a cause for trees falling during storms.

I removed the branch with my favourite Silky Hayauchi pole saw which makes short work of anything wooden and then used my Silky Zübat hand saw to chop the branch into more manageable pieces. As with all debris in my garden (please read previous blog entry ‘Mulch Ado about Nothing’) the smaller branches are shredded with my Bosch garden shredder and the resulting mulch put into the compost and spread on the woodland garden.

I have also planted up some basins with early flowering Tulips which I had been growing in pots and add a bit of Spring colour to the patio garden. Also the potted Alliums ‘Purple Sensation’ have been planted deep into the borders – when these flower I really feel Spring has ‘sprung’. After writing this I will start to plant out some of the Summer ‘stars’ like Lupins, Penstemons and Delphiniums in the sheltered borders which have been growing in pots under glass over Winter.

Let’s all enjoy the sunshine today and hope that it lasts a while longer.

The BBC weather forecast can be seen at: www.metoffice.gov.uk/

Tree-mendous Topiary Shears!

Fri, 13 Mar 2009 12:08:37 +0000

Topiary is gardening’s answer to sculpture – the training and pruning of trees and shrubs into works of art.

Topiary has been popular since Roman gardens and has enjoyed varying popularity down the centuries. It is a great way to give your garden some structure and interest all year round, but particularly during the quiet Winter months when not a lot is going on.

The most effective plants for topiary are box and yew although I have seen hornbeam, holly and even the dreaded leylandii used to great success.

Most gardeners use specialist topiary shears to keep their masterpieces in top shape, however if you have a lot of topiary or larger scale shapes you may use hedge shears or even power tools.

One of the best garden power tools on the market is the Bosch Isio cordless pruner which takes some of the hard work out of the job. You can see the Bosch Isio pruner at: www.qualitygardentools.com/power-tools/hedge-trimmers/electric-hedge-trimmers/cordless-hedge-trimmers/id-ISIOCSAE/view.

Topiary shears are based on the same design used by sheep shearers many years ago and the twin bladed tool still works by that same one handed action. As with all gardening tools, it is important to keep your shears sharp and a rub over with oil will keep them protected.

Quality Garden Tools have a number of these shears in stock and I would particularly recommend a pair with stainless steel blades. These may take longer to sharpen, but will last longer and the blades will stick less.

I hope that whichever shears you buy, you have a go at topiary – it really is tree-mendous fun!

See our topiary shears at: www.qualitygardentools.com/hand-tools/hedge-and-hand-shears/topiary-shears/viewcategory

Is it a Potato Fork or a Bait Digging Fork?

Mon, 02 Mar 2009 22:37:33 +0000

Two of the most common searches that come to www.qualitygardentools.com from the Google search engine are ‘Potato Fork’ and ‘Bait Digging Fork’.

This is particularly interesting as they are actually the same product!

Bulldog Tool’s 4 prong potato fork has flatter, wider, reinforced prongs without sharp ends. This ensures that potatoes are not ‘speared’ and large crops can be lifted without breaking the handle.

This tool has long been a friend of allotment growers and vegetable gardeners of all ages. However, there is also another group of fans of this fork – fishermen!

Fishermen use the fork for hand digging Lug and Rag Worms from the beach at low tide. The wide prongs reduce the ‘suction effect’ that occurs when using a spade, but still allow the worms to be collected.

I think it is great that not only is the fork a brilliant garden tool, but also a fantastic tool for fisherman. The Bulldog Potato Fork is also still solid forged at the Bulldog factory in Wigan, meaning that the tool you use to dig up your food or bait hasn’t travelled half way round the world to get here.

The best news is that whether you are having fish or chips for supper then this Bulldog fork is the tool for you!

The Bulldog Potato or Bait Digging for can be seen at: www.qualitygardentools.com/hand-tools/forks/id-BUL-5707043010/view

Cheap Garden Tools!

Wed, 25 Feb 2009 22:22:00 +0000

The current economic climate means that we have all become a little more thoughtful before spending money. Quality Garden Tools is no exception to the ‘belt tightening’ phenomenon and have accordingly enlarged our ‘Special Offers’ section.

Although every single product we sell is reduced below the manufacturer’s rrp, we are sometimes able to negotiate extra special deals and these tend to be included in the ‘Special Offers’ section. Also some manufacturers offer us special product ‘added value’ combinations.

Whilst many of the brands we deal with are not offering as many deals in these uncertain times as others, we have some brave suppliers trying to kick start the economy single handed! We have been offered great promotions by Bulldog Tools (coming soon), Hozelock, Felco, Wilkinson Sword, Briers Gloves and Bahco which are currently gracing the offers page.

One of the best offers is the Bahco lopper & secateurs twin pack which is at half price giving customer a great pruning kit for almost 50% off. Secateurs are always popular on the ‘Special Offers’ page as they are amongst the most useful garden tools that a gardener needs and many of us regularly drop them, lose them and leave them in our gardens.

So, if you are looking for great garden tools at really competitive prices then look no further than Quality Garden Tools ‘Special Offers’ page and get your garden tools – cheap!

Our special offers can be seen at: www.qualitygardentools.com/special-offers

A Few of my Favourite Things

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 16:23:00 +0000

I am often asked to recommend garden tools to Quality Garden Tools customers, blog readers, friends and relatives. They often ask ‘What do you use?’ or ‘What’s the best?’ So I have decided to use this blog to list a few favourites.

Over the coming months I may add some more specialised lists, but I think that the following are probably my ultimate garden tools ‘Top 5’.

1. Tina 605 Grafting and General Purpose Horticultural Knife. A great knife which I keep in my pocket all the time. The Tina knife is still made pretty much by hand with a walnut handle and hand forged blade. Great for loads of jobs in the garden. See this knife at: www.qualitygardentools.com/hand-tools/horticultural-knives/tina-horticultural-knives/id-TINA-L2774/view
2. Silky Zübat Pruning Saw. Watch your fingers if you have never used a Silky Saw before! This razor sharp Japanese saw works on the pull stroke and comes equipped with sheath. The hardened teeth and rubber handle make this both an effective and comfortable garden tool to use. The Silky Zübat can be seen at: www.qualitygardentools.com/hand-tools/saws/silky-saws/silky-fixed-blade-saws/id-SILKY-270/30/view
3. Felco Special Edition Model 8 Secateurs. Secateurs are the garden tools that no serious gardener can do without and these Felco Special Editions are the best of the best. Built to the famous high standards of all Felco secateurs they also come with anodised heads, brown leather handles and a leather pouch to keep them in. This is luxury gardening at its best! The secateurs are at: www.qualitygardentools.com/hand-tools/secateurs/felco-secateurs/id-FELCO8SE/view - Limited stocks only!
4. Bulldog 9149N Wizard Lawn Rake. This rake is loved by gardeners all over the world and is one of the most popular gardening tools that Quality Garden Tools sell. The rake is equipped with a 20" head loaded with rubber tines that can rake up leaves on most surfaces including lawns, paths, patios, driveways and decking. The best thing about the Bulldog Wizard rake is that it doesn’t damage the lawn. See it at: www.qualitygardentools.com/hand-tools/rakes/wizard-and-merlin-rakes/id-BUL-9149N/view
5. Bahco P51 Professional Hedge Shears. If like me you prefer to cut your hedges and topiary by hand, then you can’t do better than these professional quality shears. The blades are hollow ground, heavy duty steel aligned for accurate, clean cuts and the rubber buffers prevent jarring during use. These shears are the best we’ve seen. See them for yourselves at: www.qualitygardentools.com/hand-tools/hedge-and-hand-shears/hedge-shears/id-SANP51/view

All of the above are available at a discount to rrp on: www.qualitygardentools.com

Press Gang

Sat, 07 Feb 2009 17:00:00 +0000

While many of you were tucked up safely (and sensibly!) in bed on Thursday morning, I ventured out into cold, murky London. The reason for my brave trek into the nation’s capital was for ‘The Garden Press Event’, an exhibition strictly for garden writers and journalists.

I have been invited to this show by Bulldog Tools for the last 3 years and it is one of the best shows in the calendar. The companies showing include garden tool makers Bosch, Wilkinson Sword, Bahco, Bulldog Tools and Stihl alongside some of the best known manufacturers of fertilizers, seeds, hard landscaping materials and the top nurseries from around the country.

Many of the exhibitors use the show as a way of introducing new and innovative products to the press. Of particular interest to me were the new garden tools on show.

Bosch are a business at the forefront of electric power tool development and this year they were showing a variety of new garden tools including their fabulous new Ciso Cordless Secateurs. Bahco introduced me to their new range of lightweight garden tools including a very light pair of shears with extending handles.

Many top journalists and writers use the show as a way to keep up to date with new products and initiatives in the horticultural industry and this year I saw Toby Buckland (Gardener’s World presenter), Helen Yemm (Daily Telegraph/The English Garden), Pippa Greenwood (Gardener’s World), Peter Seabrook (The Sun) and many more.

I really enjoy the opportunity to visit these shows to make sure Quality Garden Tools continue to offer the very best in branded garden tools – whatever the weather!

Many of the products shown at ‘The Garden Press Event’ will be added to this site as and when they are available to order.

Hand in Glove

Tue, 03 Feb 2009 18:47:15 +0000

The very white (and cold) weather we have been ‘enjoying’ over the last couple of days has reminded me (painfully) of the need for good quality gardening gloves. There cannot be many more painful experiences than knocking frozen fingers against the ice cold steel of a hand trowel as it hits solid frozen earth!

Wearing gardening gloves is the perfect solution to this problem, but picking the right pair is now a bewildering task. When I first started gardening, choosing a pair of good gardening gloves was very easy. There were only about four different brands on the market and only a maximum of 2 or 3 styles. These days there are hundreds of different brands of gardening gloves and finding the right pair can be a real struggle.

Quality Garden Tools main brand of glove is Briers (we also stock Town & Country), supplied by Monro Brands, a manufacturer that have supplied the horticultural industry for more than 100 years.

Briers gloves are made to a high standard using the best quality natural and manmade materials. All leathers used in the range are very high quality and selected to stay softer for longer and all manmade fibres are designed to be tough and hard wearing.
Many of the gloves have adjustable features such as Velcro fastenings, stretch backs or elastic cuffs to ensure the maximum comfort of fit.

With the country gripped by Arctic weather conditions, a pair of warm lined garden gloves is essential. I can thoroughly recommend the Briers Royale fully lined glove for cold weather. Made of soft palomino leather and fully lined with a warm comfort lining, these gloves are perfect for Winter gardening. The Briers Royale range also includes a full length gauntlet (with long suede cuffs) and a very comfortable stretch back leather glove.

No matter what sex you are, how hot or cold the weather is or how big or small you are there are a pair of Briers gloves to suit you – we even have children’s gardening gloves (made the same way as the full size adult versions) for your little helpers!

Please remember that your hands are as important as any of your other garden tools!

See our range of Briers gloves at: www.qualitygardentools.com/gardening-accessories/gardening-gloves/briers-gloves/viewcategory

Kids & Cabbages

Sun, 01 Feb 2009 21:59:35 +0000

About 5 months ago, I explained on this Blog about how Quality Garden Tools has committed itself to ensuring that children learn to use proper gardening tools and receive all the help possible in learning about Horticulture.

It appears that we are not the only garden tool company with this philosophy. Bulldog Tools have announced that they will be supplying £15,000 of free garden tools to schools as part of the RHS Campaign for School Gardening. The RHS campaign now has more than 6,500 schools registered; meaning that over one million children have access to the very best gardening advice.

The RHS Campaign for School Gardening can be found at: www.rhs.org.uk/SCHOOLGARDENING/ and is a great resource for parents, teachers and students with loads of great ideas and advice on horticultural matters.

It is great that children will get not only great quality information, but great quality garden tools as well. We hope that instead of becoming cabbages in front of the TV in future, children will become more used to growing and eating cabbages!

Bulldog children’s tools can be seen at: www.qualitygardentools.com/hand-tools/childrens-garden-tools/childrens-tools/viewcategory

Power to the People

Mon, 26 Jan 2009 22:16:26 +0000

In August, I wrote on this Blog about Quality Garden Tools plans for adding new ranges of garden power tools to the website.

Over the subsequent months we have created a really comprehensive range of powered gardening tools from some of the best manufacturers not only in Britain, but from around the world.

Our power tool brands now include Agrifab, Atco, Echo, Eliet, Flymo, Gardena, Garden Groom, Hayter, Husqvarna, McCulloch, Mountfield, Qualcast, Suffolk Punch and Toro as well as all our old favourites like Black & Decker, Bosch, Einhell, Oleo-Mac and Ryobi.

At Quality Garden Tools we are committed to supplying our customers with the best garden tool for the job, so customers are welcome to ring the freephone number to make sure the tool they have chosen is right for their needs. Many gardeners have questions regarding specifications or even whether to buy petrol or electric machines.

I will be writing in the future about some of the tools that I have tried and tested, but what has already surprised me is that even a technophobe like me can make their gardening much, much easier.

Power to the people!

See all our Garden Power Tools at: www.qualitygardentools.com/power-tools/imgview

Essentiel Equipment

Wed, 21 Jan 2009 12:37:50 +0000

No, the spell check on my computer has not broken; ‘Essentiel’ is the name of Felco’s great new secateurs.

Many of you will know that Felco secateurs are amongst the most famous and best garden tools in the world. They are made to the very highest standards in Switzerland and unlike many of their competitors a comprehensive range of spare parts is available. If you would rather have someone else do the work, you can send your secateurs to the manufacturer’s agent to be refurbished.

The first thing a Felco lover will notice about these secateurs is the modern design. This new innovative design has allowed Felco to reduce the weight of these secateurs substantially, with the ‘Essentiel’ large weighing 50g (or 20%) less than the Felco model 2 Original. Fibreglass has been used to reinforce the strong composite material handles which are black with a red grip (unlike all standard Felco secateurs which universally have red handles). The inclined head has been developed to reduce wrist strain and make use more comfortable. Both the blade and anvil are manufactured from high quality hardened steel giving a precise and clean cut. As always, parts can be replaced as they wear out.

The ‘Essentiel’ comes in both a small and a large size to offer comfort to any size of gardener and with the weight reduction prolonged use becomes easier.

Felco have also given this product a price which makes it competitive in the mainstream of secateurs sales. At just £18.50 (current Quality Garden Tools price) per pair these secateurs have become available to many customers who have long admired Felco products, but have previously found them out of their price range.

With a great design, lighter weight, lower price and still made to Felco’s high standards in Switzerland, these secateurs really do become Essentiel equipment!

See the Essentiel Felco Secateurs at: www.qualitygardentools.com/hand-tools/secateurs/felco-secateurs/viewcategory

A Frosty Reception

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 17:05:35 +0000

The New Year has now arrived and we have been immediately seized in a frozen grip (similar to the one we had just before Christmas).

The Quality Garden Tools team are wrapped up well against the icy winds and whilst Silky Saws, loppers, Tina Knives and Felco Secateurs are selling well, not many Bulldog spades and forks are being sold. Could it be that the ground is now too frost hardened even for the hardy British gardener – don’t forget digging is a good way to keep warm!

On a more serious note, many of us believed all the garden writers who wrote in the Spring of 2008 warning us about the horticultural dangers of global warming. Many of us instantly filled our borders with Mediterranean and tropical plants, the only problem being that the wind is now blowing from Siberia rather than the Sahara. I have tried to protect my best specimens of plants like Dicksonia Antartica, Cordyline Australis and Agave Americana (This becomes hardier the bigger it grows) by wrapping them up against the cold with straw, fleece and garden twine.

The temperature in my garden has been as low as -5°C this week (not as low as some areas of Great Britain) and even my potted Olea Europea standards which have always survived Winter without any protection are showing signs of frost damage (despite a protective October pruning).

All this leaves us sturdy gardeners in a bit of a dilemma: the Summer was wet and the Winter so far has been very cold. How much fun can a Mediterranean plant be having? I know that 2008 was probably a better year in Southern Spain than in Southern England for this type of plant!

On the positive side, my garden looks great with the frost hanging on old seedheads, box topiary shapes, grasses and plant supports. A clear frosty morning can be very beautiful as the fragile morning light appears and the frost crystals shimmer. It is also very important to the successful germination of many seeds that they undergo a period of low temperature, not breaking out of their Winter dormancy until the rising temperatures of Spring.

Let’s all hope that this Winter’s frosty reception is not too hard on our plant stocks, remember Spring will be here sooner than we think.

Silky Skills

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 21:58:00 +0000

I have written previously in this blog that Silky Saws are some of the best garden tools that we stock. This, I assure you is not because Silky pay me vast amounts of commission (or any commission, for that matter!), but because I think every gardener should have one!

Silky have long been the favourite choice of saws for tree surgeons and arborists, but not until recently have these long admired blades been available to keen gardeners.

The saws have been manufactured in Japan by UM-KOGYO inc. since 1919. Their unique Silky design and technology have produced a fantastic range of the finest quality hand saws with great cutting ability. In the UK these saws are often known by the name Silky Fox Saws, but are in fact exactly the same.

There are a number of different Silky Saws in the range all designed to perform different cutting tasks, but some of my favourites are:

• The Zübat 330mm saw has a big, curved, fixed blade that is great for all types of branch pruning.
• The Super Accel 210mm saw is a really handy folding bladed saw that fits into the pocket and can be opened in two blade positions.
• The Hayauchi 3 extension pole saw can extend to 6.3m reaching really high branches and can also be fitted with the Sintung lopper for precise pruning.
• One of the most amazing Silky saws is the Ibuki. Nicknamed ‘the chainsaw’ by tree surgeons it has a big, beefy curved 390mm blade that cuts like a knife through butter.

Quality Garden Tools stock many more saws in the range, most of which will be really useful garden tools for keen and professional gardeners alike.

I regularly use my Silky saws and would not hesitate to recommend them, but please remember that they are extremely sharp and tend to cut through fingers in the same effortless way they cut through branches. To reduce this problem the fixed bladed saws all come with sheaths which fit easily onto your belt.

All our Silky Saws can be seen at: www.qualitygardentools.com/hand-tools/saws/silky-saws/viewcategory

A Very Merry Christmas!

Wed, 24 Dec 2008 21:15:00 +0000

The Fat Gardener and the team at www.qualitygardentools.com would like to wish all customers and website visitors a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

This year has seen an increase in the company’s ranges as well as website traffic so although the economic forecast is decidedly bleak, we are hoping gardeners will have a bumper twelve months (well we are all used to dealing with ‘bleak forecasts’!).

Next year I hope to continue to write about gardening tools, my own problems in the garden and maybe even some triumphs (if I have any!). I am particularly looking forward to writing about some of the new power tools that are now in stock – perfect for the petrol heads amongst you!

Once again I hope you have a great Christmas and a peaceful New Year.

Send comments or questions on the QGT Blog to: info@qualitygardentools.com

It's a Wonderful Knife

Sat, 13 Dec 2008 10:57:10 +0000

Everyone should carry a knife with them in the garden. I do not say this because I am worried about being attacked by Acers or mugged by Magnolias, but because of how useful a good knife can be.

Of all my gardening tools, the one I could not do without is my Tina knife. I use it for so many jobs including: pruning, taking cuttings, grafting, cutting open packaging, cutting string and cutting open plastic plant pots of root bound plants.

The Tina knife is a beautifully made garden tool with a Walnut handle and brass and steel fittings all shaped and manufactured by hand. The knives have been made in Reutlingen, Germany since 1887 and are still manufactured to the original high standards.

There are a number of different Tina knives in the range all designed to perform different horticultural and gardening tasks.

Some of my favourite knives are:
• The curved Tina 635/12.5 is a big, curved bladed knife, great for heavy pruning.
• The Tina 605 is a multi-purpose knife that is great for most jobs and is one of two knives we can offer in left handed as well as right handed.
• The Tina 650E/10.5 is a beautiful, traditional budding knife with a buffalo horn handle.
• The most popular grafting knife is the Tina 640/10 with Walnut handle and bark lifter on the back of the blade – available in right and left handed.
There are many more Tina knives available, so don’t accept imitations!

My knife has been worn to the shape of my hand over the 10 years I’ve owned it and even though I regularly sharpen it, the Tina knife still has a good blade.

It really is a wonderful knife!

All our Tina knives can be seen at: www.qualitygardentools.com/hand-tools/horticultural-knives/tina-horticultural-knives/viewcategory

The Best Just Got Better!

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 10:53:38 +0000

In August I wrote about some very special Felco Limited Edition Secateurs we were lucky enough to be able to offer Quality Garden Tools customers. Unfortunately, these secateurs did not last long and we sold out soon after the article appeared on the QGT Blog.

This quick sell-out was not a surprise, Felco secateurs have been manufactured to very high standards in Switzerland since Félix Flisch designed the first pair of forged aluminium pruning shears in 1945. Felco’s factory now employs over 150 people in Switzerland and exports to 100 countries around the world.

Due to the popularity of the initial products, Felco have launched an updated and improved version of these secateurs as a Felco ‘Special Edition’.

The two new Felco Special Edition secateurs are still based on the popular 6 and 8 models of the Classic range. Their parts are made from forged aluminium, but have been specially anodised giving them a golden colour that complements the steel blade of the cutting head. The elegant look is enhanced by the chocolate brown leather casing of the secateurs’ two handles and further complemented by a chocolate brown leather case and gold embossed black packaging to create a very stylish effect. Each pair come with a glossy guide booklet and guarantee.

These secateurs will make a great present for a Felco collector (yes, they do exist!) or a keen gardener. The Fat Gardener himself (me!) has bought a pair and they really are great. The gardening tools we sell at Quality Garden Tools are always functional, but these new secateurs are both functional and luxurious – a winning combination!

The Felco Special Edition secateurs retail at £149.99 per pair and are only available from Quality Garden Tools and one other retailer in the whole UK.

See our Special Edition Felco secateurs at: www.qualitygardentools.com/hand-tools/secateurs/felco-secateurs/viewcategory

The Power of the Press

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 19:04:00 +0000

Last Saturday the Gardening section of the Daily Telegraph featured an article entitled ‘50 must-haves for a perfect Winter garden’ written by Helen Yemm and Ursula Buchan.

The section featured some 20 gardening tools which were considered to be tools which gardeners could not do without. Five of the garden tools mentioned are available from Quality Garden Tools – we have hit the headlines!

The gardening tools on the ‘50 must-haves for a perfect Winter garden’ we sell on our website are listed below:

1. Bosch lithium battery cordless lawnmower ROTAK 37 Li (£269.99) – a favourite; lightweight and environmentally efficient, this lawnmower can be found at: www.qualitygardentools.com/power-tools/lawnmowers/electric-lawnmowers/cordless-electric-lawnmowers/id-ROTAK37LI/view
2. Bosch lithium battery cordless hedge trimmer AHS 52 Li (£89.99) – in our opinion the best cordless hedge trimmer on the market. The battery lasts longer and runs down more slowly, see it at: www.qualitygardentools.com/power-tools/hedge-trimmers/electric-hedge-trimmers/cordless-hedge-trimmers/id-AHS52LI/view
3. Bosch AXT 2200HP shredder (£248.50) – a really great ‘quiet’ shredder that has a fantastic build quality and will serve you for many years (this is the shredder I own), you can see it at: www.qualitygardentools.com/power-tools/shredders/electric-shredders/id-AXT2200HP/view
4. Bulldog 1073SR Switch & Reach spring wire shrub rake (£4.01) – a very useful small garden tool that can be used to ‘grub out’ under shrubs and other plants. This rake can be seen at: www.qualitygardentools.com/hand-tools/hand-tools/switch-and-reach-tools/id-BUL-1073SR/view
5. Wilkinson Sword 220656 telescopic tree pruner (£69.50) – a long reach lightweight pruner that extends up to 4 metres and is easy to use. It is shown at: www.qualitygardentools.com/hand-tools/extension-poles-and-pruners/id-W/S220656/view

These items are not necessarily the best tools that we sell, but are tools that Helen Yemm and Ursula Buchan particularly find useful. We love all of the tools they chose and we are excited that they are part of the Quality Garden Tools range.

Since this article appeared we have had countless enquiries and sales, showing not only the power of the press, but also the power of Helen and Ursula!

If you would like to see the original Daily Telegraph article it is at: www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/3391643/50-must-haves-for-a-perfect-winter-garden.html

I�ll Rake the High Road

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 22:10:09 +0000

It is the time of year again to get raking! Many of us have already started the tedious job of raking the fallen leaves from our trees, but with each passing Autumn it seems to become harder and harder.

I have many theories about why, after having collected all the fallen leaves from your Chestnut tree, your Maple tree decides that this is the perfect time to shed its own leaves! However, life can become a lot easier if you have the right rake for the job and even the help of a powered leafblower.

There are two main types of rake that are best suited for raking and collecting leaves. The first type is the lightweight plastic leaf rake which is both popular and cheap. This should not be confused with a spring tine rake which will annoyingly ‘spear’ most of the leaves! The second type is a rubber fingered rake like Bulldog’s famous Wizard rake which will ‘sweep’ up leaves, but not damage your lawn and can be used on paths, driveways and borders – a really great gardening tool.

If raking up leaves bores you rigid (you are not alone), then please consider the powered leafblower option. Leafblowers are available in many shapes and sizes with either electric motors or petrol engines. Many of the leafblowers, particularly the electric corded type also offer a vacuum option, to make life even easier. Many customers complain to us that their neighbours use a leafblower to blow leaves into their driveway or into their gardens. This is not the proper use for a leafblower, which when used properly should blow the leaves into a pile for collection.

Please also remember that leaf mould is one of the best composts available, and whilst it takes a while for leaves to break down – it is mulch worth waiting for! Vacuum leafblowers will often mulch leaves down to 10% of their volume accelerating the composting process.

I hope that this advice will mean your Autumn leaf debris will be a bit less back (b)raking than usual (sorry for the pun)!

Leaf & Wizard rakes can be found at: www.qualitygardentools.com/hand-tools/rakes/viewcategory and all our leafblowers are at: http://www.qualitygardentools.com/power-tools/leafblowers/viewcategory

Any K�rcher as Long as it�s Yellow!

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 14:16:00 +0000

At Quality Garden Tools we spend most of our professional lives trying to make gardening easier. Gardening tools are very often useful, but hardly ever fun – until now!

We have stocked the ubiquitous black and yellow Kärcher pressure washers since 2005 and over that period of time have introduced many of our customers to the brand.

The Kärcher range has long offered a machine for any cleaning job, but now offers a pressure washer particularly designed for use in the garden. The 675MB+ is a great new machine that offers lots of features particularly useful for your outdoor and garden cleaning needs. The machine features a powerful 2500watt motor that generates an eye-watering maximum pressure of 135bar at 530 litres per hour, strong enough to clean heavily soiled surfaces like patios and driveways.

Like most of our Kärcher pressure washers the 675MB+ comes with a large array of accessories including:
• 9m high pressure hose
• 10m retractable garden hose & reel
• Low-pressure trigger gun
• T 200 patio & decking cleaner
• Vario lance
• Dirtblaster lance
• Washing brush
• Integrated fine mesh water filter
• Auto start/stop facility

When I used this machine, I was particularly impressed with the drum style design which makes moving this pressure washer around the uneven surfaces of the garden much easier than conventional pressure washers which can be a bit top heavy. The fact that all the accessories fix onto the cart also makes life easier as everything you need is always within close reach. The Kärcher 675MB+ also made light work of cleaning my driveway, patio, paved paths and garden furniture – I was having so much fun I even gave the conservatory a quick clean!

This is a really, really useful machine for any gardener, not only is it tough and functional, but also uses much less water than a traditional garden hose kit. What’s more it’s available in any colour – as long as it’s yellow!

See the Kärcher 675MB+ pressure washer at: http://www.qualitygardentools.com/power-tools/pressure-washers/karcher-pressure-washers/id-KARK675MB/view

Catalogue Amongst the Pigeons

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 12:05:41 +0000

One of the most demanding (and important) jobs we do all year at Quality Garden Tools is to write the catalogue. We send out thousands of them to customers, so we try to do our best to make them interesting!

Over the course of a year, many garden tools are discontinued or updated by manufacturers and almost all the prices change at some point during the twelve months between catalogues. This means we have to constantly check and update our catalogue database throughout the year to make sure that the information it contains is as up-to-date as possible.

This year we have been working especially hard on the garden power tool section of the catalogue, making sure that the new ranges are shown at their best. The new ranges of Husqvarna, Echo, Hayter, Mountfield, Toro, Flymo, McCulloch and Eliet are all included and really have improved the balance of our garden tool ranges. It is often very difficult to give all the technical information needed on each power tool (we all know how large and difficult to understand instruction leaflets are!) in the catalogue, so we hope customers will use the website alongside their new catalogues.

The hand tools ranges will be very similar (no one is reinventing the spade!) to our previous catalogues, but will be peppered with new products to entice customers into parting with their hard-earned cash! These new products include a super-luxury pair of deluxe edition secateurs from Felco, the new range of Alan Titchmarsh Garden Tools, a larger range of Haemmerlin wheelbarrows, two new Tina horticultural knives, fantastic pruning shears from Felco (only available from us in the UK) and much more.

The design of the catalogue also creates a number of headaches – as we try to make the new catalogue look fresh and interesting, whilst still ensuring our customers recognise it as a Quality Garden Tools catalogue. This can prove the subject of many long and often tense discussions! One thing is certain though, we always make the catalogue with solid, good quality paper so that no matter whether you leave it lying on your desk, or in the rather less exulted surroundings of the potting shed bench it should last until the next one arrives. We hate the shiny, tissue paper catalogues that fall out of our newspapers every weekend and hope that the Quality Garden Tools catalogue stands out above them!

So when, on a cold November morning your new copy of the Quality Garden Tools catalogue drops onto your hall floor, take a moment before you discard it – please!

To ensure you receive a copy of our new catalogue, please send us your details at: www.qualitygardentools.com/contact

Tool Aid!

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 15:43:59 +0000

As a wet cold Autumn seems to have arrived in the UK (uninvited), I think that now is the time to think about preserving unused tools over the Winter period.

You will undoubtedly still need to do some pruning, raking and maybe the last couple of mows of the year, but a number of your tools may now sit in the shed for a few long, cold months.

Cleaning mud and grime off gardening tools and then giving them a wipe over with an oily rag (including wooden handles) will help reduce the chance of damp damaging the tools over Winter.

Now is also a good time to think about sharpening all your shears, secateurs, pruners, scissors and loppers. Sharp, clean blades not only make future cutting easier, but also help reduce the risk of diseases spreading between your plants. A good quality sharpening stone will be expensive, but makes the job much easier and should last many years with correct use. If you are unsure of how to use a sharpening stone then Multi-Sharp products offer easy-to-use solutions to sharpening most garden tools.

Power tools with petrol engines such as lawnmowers, chainsaws, hedge trimmers and brush cutters will benefit from having their fuel tanks fully emptied before being put away for Winter. Drain all the fuel into a spare can and then start the motor until it runs dry, but remember to use new petrol in the new year! All garden power tools will also benefit from being thoroughly cleaned as chemicals, sap and dirt will corrode the working parts.

Looking after your gardening tools will mean less breakages, a longer life and better performance for your tools in 2009.

Please remember when sharpening all your tools to wear gloves and eye protection, so I don’t have to advise on First Aid as well as tool aid!

Useful products for cleaning and sharpening tools can be found at: www.qualitygardentools.com/gardening-accessories/imgview

Christine's Corner

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 23:09:47 +0000

Quality Garden Tools was founded to bring branded gardening tools to keen and professional gardeners throughout the country. However, we also wanted to give interesting gardening hints and tips to all of our customers. With this in mind we looked for a ‘gardening guru’ who was as passionate about horticulture as we were about garden tools.

One early evening I found myself tuned into a BBC2 programme called ‘Christine’s Garden’ and was stunned by the presenter’s enthusiasm not only for her own garden, but for all things horticultural. I immediately thought that Christine Walkden would be the perfect writer for the www.qualitygardentools.com website and she was kind enough to accept our offer!

Christine is an absolute breath of fresh air in a gardening industry that can sometimes appear a bit snobbish and unapproachable. She is happy to talk to window box owners as well as advise on garden projects for large estates.

Christine has had a great background in the industry as well as an exciting television career. She started at the Lancashire College of Agriculture going on to work for The Royal Botanic Gardens at Wakehurst Place. Later she went back to college at Pershore and Writtle College before becoming a lecturer in Horticulture at Capel Manor. She has worked for both the Baby Bio company and Dobies, Carter, Cuthbert & Dom seedsmen. Her books include: ‘A year in Christine's garden - The secret diary of a garden lover’ and ‘The Houseplant Almanac’ and she has written and writes for a number of gardening magazines. Christine became more famous when the programme about her garden ‘Christine’s Garden’ was shown on BBC2, a second series was shown in the Spring of 2007 and she now presents for BBC1’s ‘The One Show’ and Channel 4’s ‘The Paul O’Grady Show’.

As well as being a star, Christine is a lovely person who is happy to give advice to all. We know how lucky we are to have her at Quality Garden Tools and look forward to seeing her inspire, educate and come to love gardening, as she undoubtedly does.

Check out Christine’s Corner helpful hints at: www.qualitygardentools.com/articles

Price Pruning

Sun, 07 Sep 2008 16:38:00 +0000

One of the founding principles of Quality Garden Tools was that we would always supply our products at below the manufacturers recommended retail price (rrp). This principle is still core to our success, we are not always the cheapest supplier in the country for everything we sell, but I hope that customers who buy from us know that they are getting a ‘good deal’.

Over the last 8 months we have seen our suppliers rapidly increase the prices we pay (in the case of one manufacturer 3 times!). This has meant that our margins have reduced to the point that on some products we make no money at all.

Most of our suppliers blame the increase in energy prices, a steep rise in the price of raw materials (including steel), currency changes and increased transport costs. We have spent our time trying to explain to them that many gardeners and landscapers have also been feeling the pinch and urging manufacturers to keep price rises to a minimum. I am sad to report that we have failed in this task and we now find almost every manufacturer presenting us (and all other garden and tool suppliers) with increases from 10% to 50%. What this means for Quality Garden Tools customers is a gradual price rise over the next month to reflect these changes.

Delivery costs have also risen to eye-watering levels. We are keeping our delivery charge at £3.95 for orders under £100 and free thereafter (£5.00 supplement for wheelbarrows). This is painful because our average delivery cost is now £8.00 per order!

We have always offered an ‘equal opportunity delivery’ policy, meaning a flat delivery cost across the whole of the UK. This is now presenting problems as due to the increase in fuel costs, some carriers are refusing to deliver to any area of the country which involves a water crossing. This is particularly hard on our customers in Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands, the Scottish Isles, etc.

Let’s all hope that these problems are temporary and we will soon have much better news, maybe even price pruning! Please also remember that every single product at Quality Garden Tools is still sold at below the rrp and that will continue for years to come.

If you wish to give us your views on the price increases please email The Fat Gardener at: info@qualitygardentools.com

Tools 4 Schools

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 15:57:47 +0000

Over the last couple of years the horticultural industry has spent a lot of money, time and effort marketing horticulture to schools and school children. Many of the benefits of learning about growing plants are easy to understand; healthy eating, working outside, food understanding & identification, botanical science and the responsibility of nurturing plants from sowing seed to harvest.

Quality Garden Tools are no exception in these endeavours and we spend a lot of our time talking to schools and charities that are committed to bringing horticulture to children around the country. As well as supplying children’s tools to over 40 schools we have also been involved with supplying the Diggin’ it! project (www.digginit.org.uk) and the Green Apprentices scheme (www.greenapprentices.org.uk) which both do great work in their local areas.

The most important thing about our children’s garden tools is that they are real tools. Many toy shops and garden centres sell toy garden tools which break and bend when used to do real chores around the garden. Our Bulldog Tools, Haemmerlin and Briers products are all small scale versions of the full sized tools and gloves, which mean that they are robust enough to do the job. Also, at Quality Garden Tools we believe it is important that children learn how to use tools in the correct way; not only to facilitate ease of use, but also to avoid injury.

Children get a great sense of achievement from growing, not only do the successful harvests teach them that hard work can literally bear fruit, but also failures teach young gardeners important lessons about plants that will stay with them all their lives.

In line with our policy to discount all the tools we sell, we decided to try to make garden tools as accessible as possible for hard-pushed schools and charities. Customers can currently buy a set of four Bulldog children’s tools (spade, fork, rake and hoe) for £46.00; a big discount on the rrp of £62.96, but most importantly this gets good quality tools in the hands of keen young gardeners.

One benefit of selling so many of these smaller scale tools is that we have had lots of extra sales from both shorter and wheelchair gardeners who have found these tools much lighter and easier to use than the full size versions. Let’s hope that while we are encouraging young gardeners to enjoy all the aspects of horticulture, they remember Quality Garden Tools when they are grown-ups!

See our range of children’s garden tools at: www.qualitygardentools.com/hand-tools/childrens-garden-tools/viewcategory

A Mow by Mow Account

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 17:32:00 +0000

Since we started Quality Garden Tools, we have always been seen to specialise in garden hand tools like spades, forks, rakes, hoes, secateurs, loppers and saws. We have now decided that we will start to increase our ranges of garden power tools.

Many of the power tools we currently stock are aimed mainly at domestic gardening. Brands like Bosch, Black & Decker and Flymo offer great value for the gardener, but sometimes are not robust enough for professionals using their tools all day, every day or for gardeners who have very large gardens. For these demanding landscapers and gardeners we have decided to add machines from Husqvarna, Hayter, Toro, Mountfield and Echo to name a few.

This new area of the business will provide new challenges for Quality Garden Tools; carriage charges increase for these heavy goods, investment in this kind of stock is very expensive and we do not offer service or maintenance for the machines we sell. However, many customers have local garden tool machinery workshops nearby and with all manufacturers offering countrywide warranty and service, customers can buy these tools cheaply from us and support their local workshop with service and warranty work.

Selecting manufacturers has been difficult for us; Husqvarna was an easy choice, as in our opinion they make the best garden tools in the world. The build quality is great and they offer machines for every size of garden (or park!). Toro are famously used at golf courses around the world and make lawns look fabulous. Hayter mowers have a great pedigree and are famous holders of royal warrants. All of these companies have a real commitment to making great power tools that will last for years and we will be adding them to our site over the next month.

In future months I will be writing about some of these tools in greater detail, but I hope that this gives you an insight into the important decisions we make on behalf of our customers – sorry for the mow by mow account!

See all our garden power tools at: www.qualitygardentools.com/power-tools/imgview

The Best of the Best

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 22:21:33 +0000

Ever since we first started Quality Garden Tools, there was one brand of garden tools that was always top of our shopping list – Felco secateurs.

Felco secateurs have been manufactured in Switzerland since Félix Flisch designed the first pair of forged aluminium pruning shears in 1945. The Felco factory, in the heart of the Swiss Jura now employs over 150 people and exports to 100 countries around the world.

The reason we thought it so important to include a brand like Felco is that not only do they make a really good product, but they also offer great customer services. Not many gardeners know that they can send their old Felco secateurs to the head office and for a one-off charge can have them refurbished and returned as good as new.

Recently, we managed to get an allocation of a couple of very special Felco models. These secateurs are made to the usual very high standards of Felco products and are based on the most popular sizes: the compact model 6 and the classic model 8. They have luxurious chocolate brown leather handles for comfort and come in a leather (No.8) or leather and hessian (No.6) soft folding case.

The run for each model was limited to just 1750 secateurs worldwide and each pair comes with a certificate of authenticity. These secateurs are certainly not cheap, but at £75.00 (No.6) and £85.00 (No.8) they make great gifts for gardeners and in the opinion of Quality Garden Tools are definitely the best of the best.

See these Felco secateurs at: www.qualitygardentools.com/hand-tools/secateurs/felco-secateurs/viewcategory

La Vie en Rose

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:04:00 +0000

After 10 derrière-numbing hours in a car designed more for carrying drug dealers around inner city council estates and less for driving on French motorways, we arrived at our destination - Château Tillac in the pretty Gers region of south west France.

Sited in a cleft between gentle sunflower covered hills it is a mirage of white stone in a rolling ocean of bright yellow. The château itself dates from the 11th century and over the last 8 years has been restored beautifully by the current owners who live here most of the year.

In the central courtyard there is a path flanked by ancient olive trees and a fig tree fruits over a retaining wall. In the middle of the flag stoned courtyard floor are geometric beds filled with lavenders, verbena, Perovskia Blue Spire and floating pink and white Guara (to name but a few). On the opposite side the area is lawned, but surrounded by borders filled with tall Cannas in jewel-like colours and even the pomegranates fruit (for those of us who may never have seen a pomegranate plant; they are bush-like in rather a scruffy form producing large amounts of fire engine red blooms, resulting in round fruit with waxy skin).

Although our hostess is a keen gardener most of the gardens are kept under control by a single part-time gardener (who I am told mows furiously!) and some hedge cutting help from the local farm workers. This means that although the gardens retain their shape and design, there is a wonderful romantic feel to them as plants spill over each other and the edge of the borders.

Those of you who read the QGT Blog for its hardcore garden tool content; you will be pleased to hear that I have surveyed the shed (actually it is more like a barn!) and not found the tools wanting. Most of the garden tools have long 4' or 5' handles (even the spades and forks) which allow the user to rest his chin for a well earned rest during the heat of the day. Power tool brands are now universal and the Château use a wide variety of Husqvarna, Stihl and Ryobi products.

Well it seems the perfect time for me to say au revoir, sit out under the shade of the Fig tree and enjoy some lunch.

Rain, Rain Go Away

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 21:13:30 +0000

For those of us who have to spend at least a portion of each week working, the recent wet weather comes as a big disappointment. Many of us rely on balmy summer evenings not only to enjoy our gardens, but also to undertake some light evening deadheading, pruning weeding and tidying.

I realise that had the weather been constantly sunny over the last few weeks I would be complaining about the pressures brought on by drought. This being fully accepted on my part, I do wonder if we couldn’t have little of both; with healthy gardens and warm scent-filled evenings. Perhaps if I have a word with The Met Office this could be arranged!

Running Quality Garden Tools also has weather-based troubles at this time of year. Customers do not enjoy digging, weeding or chopping if the temperature is in the 90s, nor do they do much garden work if there is a downpour. We sometimes sit and wait for the telephone to ring with the July hailstones drumming on the office windows.

This is also the second year in a row that the RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show has been disrupted by rain, ruining some exhibitor’s very careful plans. This is always a great show, but it does get a bit disheartening seeing the boatmen of the Thai market paddling against rain driven horizontal by the wind!

Mostly though, I feel sorry for the plants. Whilst the ferns and Hostas look as if they are in horticultural heaven, seeing my lavenders sitting in puddles (despite much grit added to the soil for drainage) is soul destroying. Most of my roses have had flowers ruined by the rain and the Cosmos I put into pots have had their petals destroyed by wind. The wind has also split the trunk of an old apple tree (which I have had to remove) and knocked about the Delphiniums and Lupins (which I have left with extra support).

So Met Office, if you’re listening please give us nice sunny days and evenings with little or no breeze and gentle rain between the hours of one o’clock and four in the morning!

Bulldog Goes Green

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 16:33:56 +0000

It is almost impossible to watch any gardening television programme these days without hearing the words ‘environment’, ‘organic’ and ‘green’ often in the same sentence. My children often make me feel like a chemical weapons dealer every time I sprinkle a couple of slug pellets around a treasured Hosta or even think about spraying a much-loved rose.

As a child I remember watching Gardener’s World with the late Percy Thrower who seemed to spray everything with chemicals – flowers, shrubs, roses, lawns all received toxic attention. Those bugs that were not killed by the downpour of chemical weaponry were no doubt exterminated by the profuse smoke produced by Percy’s ever-present pipe!

Percy Thrower was not a bad man, he was a great gardener, but our gardening culture has moved on. Geoff Hamilton introduced organic principles to his gardening and this trend continued with Alan Titchmarsh. Monty Don has been the greenest Gardener’s World presenter to date and with a new presenter to be announced we can only assume the trend will continue. Perhaps the new presenter will be Bill Oddie and Berryfields will be left to grow wild with Bill hiding in the long borders waiting for a robin or a hedgehog to appear!

Many garden tools manufacturers send us catalogues with copious amounts of information on how ‘green’ they are. Quality Garden Tools encourages all its suppliers to embrace green principles in order to protect our wider environment and it is true that almost all the companies we deal with have ‘cleaned up their acts’ over the last few years.

Bulldog Tools are a particular case in point. Over the last few years they have tried to find a renewable source of timber for their tool handles, but from suppliers who can also offer the very highest quality of Ash and Hickory. This quest led them in 2006 to become certified by the PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes) a scheme which builds upon inter-governmental promotion of sustainable forest management. These schemes include a series of mechanisms supported by 149 governments in the world covering 85% of the world's forest area, meaning that the timber used in the Bulldog handles comes from independently audited, sustainable forests making these products an environmentally positive choice.

Bulldog also manufacture in Wigan, England which means that their garden tools travel just a fraction of the 5,000 miles that Chinese tools travel to stock garden centres and diy stores. As the price of fuel continues to increase it cannot make sense to transport tools for thousands of miles across oceans to reach our shores. The Wigan factory is also undergoing environmental changes as they try to reduce noise pollution, use the heat from the forges to warm offices and warehousing and improve insulation around the 4 acre site.

Bulldog Tools can be found throughout the www.qualitygardentools.com website.

Can you take the Pressure?

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 23:23:00 +0000

As summer starts to warm up we all try and spend more time outside enjoying our gardens in the all-to-temporary sunshine. So when you invite the neighbours over to enjoy your prize winning dahlias don’t allow dirty furniture or a scruffy patio to let the side down!

When Quality Garden Tools first started selling Kärcher we were in the middle of an almost nationwide hosepipe ban – not an easy sell. So we set about trying to work out the difference in the water usage between a standard hosepipe spray kit and a Kärcher pressure washer. The results are that Kärcher pressure washers use only 40% of the water that a hose pipe does, but the real benefit is that the pressure means that cleaning time is reduced dramatically. Kärcher pressure washers can now also draw water from static water supplies, like water butts and ponds – a suction hose and filter kit is required with the filter used to remove any particles in the water.

Environmentally the pressure washers are an improvement on the standard hose, but what can they do? Quality Garden Tools have tested a number of the Kärcher pressure washers on some ‘tough tasks’ around the garden and found them particularly good for cleaning paths, driveways, patios and brickwork. The patio & decking cleaner is a very useful accessory, but only works effectively on flat surfaces, for much rivened stone slabs the jet blaster lance can be used to good effect. The large glass panes in conservatories, glasshouses and orangeries can be cleaned well by reducing the pressure and using a soft brush although it is difficult to not leave ‘droplet’ marks without using a chamois. Garden furniture can be cleaned quite well with the jet blaster lance, but although effective, it is time consuming and I am not sure of the long term effects on wooden items. I am also told the pressure washers are good for cleaning cars, but we have a very nice Polish man who cleans our cars and I would not want to recommend anything that would reduce his business!

Although patio stones can look great with their lichens and mosses intact, it is well worth investing in a Kärcher pressure washer to make sure that your garden is spotless for evenings drinking Pimms with the neighbours!

Our Kärcher pressure washers are at: www.qualitygardentools.com/power-tools/pressure-washers/karcher-pressure-washers/viewcategory

Poles Apart

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 12:47:00 +0000

About four years ago I was forced to call in a tree surgeon because a noble Beech tree in my front garden not only had branches over-hanging a public road, but was also dying. Being particularly fond of this Beech I decided to have not just the dangerous branches removed but also the corresponding branches on the garden side to ensure the weight displacement of the tree remained consistent, in an effort to save the tree for a few more years. A price was agreed (a few hundred pounds) with the tree surgeon, but when he arrived he simply sent his assistant up the tree to rope the branches securely and then pulled out a long pole saw from his van and 25 minutes later six large branches were safely sitting on my front lawn! This taught me a very important lesson – using the right tool sometimes makes a seemingly impossible task very simple.

Exactly one week later I bought myself the exact same Silky pole saw that the tree surgeon had used so effectively and since then whenever I have had a diseased branch or a tree that needs its crown thinning, I use this great tool. The Silky Hayauchi saw I own reaches from 2.3 metres up to an impressive 4.9 metres, however it is possible to buy Silky saws that reach an unbelievable 6.3 metres when extended. Although I imagine that it must be difficult to control a saw at 6.3 metres, it must be great to be able to fell a high branch and be on your way home whilst most tree surgeons are still trying to get their chainsaws started!

The Silky range of pole saws all utilise the razor-sharp blades for which Silky saws have become famous and depending on which model you choose they also include sickles for underscoring bark or removing vines. The poles are made aluminium alloy which whilst being very light is also very strong. Poles have shaped profiles to keep them rigid during sawing and good quality grips to ensure comfort during use.

I still use a tree surgeon for any serious tree work I need doing in the garden, but for the odd branch that needs removing, I just remember how easy it is when you have the right tools for the job!

The Silky pole saw range can be found at: www.qualitygardentools.com/hand-tools/saws/silky-saws/silky-extending-pole-saws/viewcategory

The Start of a Beautiful Friendship

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 14:27:00 +0000

Alan Titchmarsh and Bulldog Tools have announced that they have designed a new range of garden tools together. The new Alan Titchmarsh Garden Tools range will be manufactured by Bulldog to their usual high standards and include digging and cultivating tools as well as a range of cutting tools.

Alan says: ‘Bulldog has an enviable reputation synonymous with high quality skills and craftsmanship as the top priority. My new range holds true to this testament, due to the high specification of steel used in the forging process and durable ash wood shafts creating a robust and reliable tool.’

The tools are arranged in three distinct categories to suit all gardeners. The first is the traditional British made solid forged range made to Bulldog’s exacting standards. The second category is a range of modern Stainless Steel tools designed not only to look good, but also reduce soil adhesion during use. The third is a range of cutting tools to suit any pruning job a gardener may have.

The range is undoubtedly of good quality and is designed to introduce new customers to quality British made hand tools. Alan Titchmarsh is extremely well liked and respected both as a journalist, writer and broadcaster and with Bulldog’s position as manufacturers of the best garden tools in the UK success should be assured.

We at Quality Garden Tools have not yet had a chance to try any of the new tools, but on first inspection they look very smart indeed. The range has already had positive comments from The Daily Telegraph in their Chelsea Flower Show 2008 special supplement and I am sure that many others will soon add their own words of praise. With all this in mind I am sure that this will be the start of a really beautiful friendship!

See the full range of Alan Titchmarsh Garden Tools at: www.alantitchmarshgardentools.com

Colour Blind?

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 22:32:00 +0000

After years of purchasing plants from nurseries and garden centres around the UK I am moved to ask the question ‘Are all nurserymen colour blind?’

To many of you this may seem like an odd question and to some of you just the ranting of a paranoid conspiracy theorist! However, over the years I must have bought dozens of plants that are wrongly labelled and when they burst into flower give me a surprise. My favourite example is the pink Hagley Hybrid Clematis that turned out to be a pale blue double flowered Clematis (as yet unidentified) or there is the James Galway Rose that turned out to be a Geoff Hamilton (there must be a joke in there somewhere!).

Many nurseries and garden centres offer money-back guarantees, but will only pay up or produce a replacement plant if you dig up and produce the plant that has been wrongly labelled. This goes against almost everything I want to do as a gardener and I am simply not prepared to dig up perfectly healthy plants just to prove to the garden centre that they were wrong. Surely we live in an age where plant nurseries can produce ‘true’ plant stocks when they seem to bring new creations to market with increasing regularity.

My local nursery blames customers who they say take labels out of one pot and then push them back into another – although this may occasionally happen I cannot see it leading to the amount of problems I hear about from friends and colleagues. I now find myself waiting and buying plants when in flower, this is not ideal and I have often noticed that plants planted when in flower take longer to put on root growth and therefore take longer to become established.

Many other businesses could not afford to let such poor quality control blight their companies. It would be very strange if Quality Garden Tools supplied a four pronged fork that when delivered was found to have only two prongs! Or maybe a rake with a 48" handle which when it arrived at its destination was only 24" long! So, even if you don’t want to dig up your wrongly labelled plants, please make sure you complain to whoever sold them to you.

Hubble, Bubble, Toil & Tubble

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 22:50:32 +0000

Whilst most of us do not spend much time mixing magic potions in our gardens, even the most old-fashioned gardener can find a use for the Gorilla Tub!

When we first saw the Tubtrug range a couple of years ago, the whole Quality Garden Tools team instantly agreed it was a product for us. However, we were not satisfied with the standard Tubtrug (good as it is) and after much discussion decided to supply the Gorilla Tub to our customers. The Gorilla Tub is made by the Tubtrug Company and has all the same properties as the standard range, but is a very strong version aimed at the construction industry. The Gorilla Tub is quite simply the roughest, toughest tub we could find.

The Gorilla Tub has super-strong handles, is highly flexible, is both UV and frost proof (so won’t degrade in sunlight or frost) and comes in five different sizes – suitable for any gardener. They can be used in so many ways (there are almost too many to count), but here are a few: bucket, pourer, scooper, store for tools and other gardening paraphernalia, for watering plants, spray mixer, pan for sweeping into, weed carrier, basket for cut flowers, manure/compost collector or carrier, compost mixer, stone/gravel carrier, recycling tub and for carrying rubble.

The tubs are supplied in a ‘Brilliant Yellow’ that will bring cheer to even the darkest English Summer and no matter what potions you need to mix in your garden this year the Gorilla Tub will be the perfect cauldron!

See the Gorilla Tub range at: www.qualitygardentools.com/gardening-accessories/garden-tubs/viewcategory

The British Bulldog

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 23:06:04 +0000

British manufacturing has taken a hammering over the last 50 years. It is therefore ironic that one of the industries that has taken the biggest ‘hammering’ is the tool industry!

Most British-made hand tools were traditionally made in Sheffield, the ‘home’ of the UK steel industry. Sadly over time many of the forges and the factories producing hand and edged tools have closed down. When I started Quality Garden Tools, I was shocked by the lack of British-made garden tools available. Many old names with years of great pedigree no longer manufacture in the UK; the names still exist, but the products are imported from China or India – Quel Dommage!

One exception to this is Bulldog Tools. They have been using a very similar process to make their solid forged hand tools since 1780. Solid forging tools from one piece of steel makes them a lot stronger than welding or fabricating as no weak spots are left in the construction. The tools are also tempered with a special process called austempering which means that whilst the products are very strong, they retain their flexibility. The shafts are manufactured from high quality ash handles selected for the straightness of grain and obtained from renewable resources. Bulldog Tools’ fifty employees now manufacture 2000 tools every day – in Britain!

If this sounds like a commercial success story then Bulldog are not resting on their laurels. At the Chelsea Flower Show this year they launched the Alan Titchmarsh Garden Tool range – endorsed by the great man himself! There have also been new tool designs such as the tree planting spear, the nurseryman’s spade and the shrubbery spade and fork. The Bulldog Tools stainless steel ‘Pedigree’ range was launched just last year, surely a sign that a British manufacturer can succeed in the new century.

Our favourite from the Bulldog Tools range has to be the Wizard rubber lawn rake. The soft rubber fingers are particularly good for sweeping uneven surfaces and do not damage surfaces including lawns. They are particularly suited to paths, patios, driveways, decking and for those with perfect lawns or gravel drives then the Wizard rake is the only tool that will rake up leaves on these difficult surfaces.

The Bulldog Wizard lawn rake can be found at: www.qualitygardentools.com/hand-tools/rakes/wizard-and-merlin-rakes/id-BUL-9149N/view

Time for a Hoedown

Sat, 07 Jun 2008 16:34:00 +0000

They stalk the earth ruining gardens, infesting cracks in walls and patios, spreading their seeds and multiplying quicker than we can destroy them. No, this is not a warning regarding a Martian invasion or a newly germinated superbug, but the humble garden weed!

Hoes are one of the weapons we have in our armoury to fight this hardy and recurring foe. They are not designed to entirely remove the whole plant, rather to remove the foliage before seedheads can form and mature. When you also consider that they can be used for breaking up topsoil, make seed drills and backfill, they have to be one of the most useful garden tools available.

Over time the shape of the hoe has changed and evolved to more efficiently perform the different tasks they are used for. Long gone are the times when the hoe was the sole preserve of the allotment gardener; making seed drills and removing weeds between vegetables. The Dutch hoe and Swoe are now very popular amongst gardeners who often find that regular hoe use is much easier (and quicker) than getting down on the knees and removing all a weed’s roots with a hand fork.

Hoeing, is not however just for those of us short of weeding time. A Warren hoe is a perfect hoe for those of us who plant a large amount of annuals by seed directly sowing into the border. The sharp point of the hoe makes a perfect seed drill, whilst turning the hoe on its side gives an edge with which to backfill. The Clarice Flower hoe is also much in demand as a great miniature hoe that works on a push/pull action and is small enough to remove weeds from between individual stems. For those gardeners who prefer to use a ‘chopping’ motion when hoeing, then a Scotch or a Draw hoe is the perfect choice. These are also great hoes for building up mulch or compost around the base of ornamental shrubs and roses.

So whether you grow vegetables, have flower borders, (or a bit of both) then one or two good hoes should never be far away!

Our hoes can be found at: www.qualitygardentools.com/hand-tools/hoes/viewcategory

Chelsea Flower Show vs Chelsea FC

Thu, 22 May 2008 22:42:00 +0000

If you heard corks popping in Chelsea this week it was probably not because of the football! Tom Stuart-Smith may have opened a few bottles of fizz (his garden is bank rolled by Laurent Perrier) and with good reason, he now has more gold medals than Sir Steve Redgrave. While many Chelsea fans were heading for Moscow, I was striding along the Chelsea Embankment intent on seeing the best in international horticulture.

Tom’s show winning design features absolutely no colour (apart from green) instead using different textures, shapes and tones of green to create a very peaceful almost dreamy environment. There are also overflowing zinc troughs reflecting the sky and the planting in the darkest black water, this adds to the feeling of serene calm. My favourite element of the garden is the grove of 30-year-old hornbeams pruned so that the foliage forms ‘clouds’ on the branches.

There were other good designs; Arabella Lennox-Boyd’s garden showed her trademark style of seemingly disorganised romantic planting exercised with incredible control and precision – her pool of water was one of the biggest I have seen at Chelsea and the garden as a whole showed oriental influence almost everywhere. The Cancer Research garden designed by Andy Sturgeon is another example of what a good designer Andy is. He shows a new side to his planting style with a garden that is influenced more by a primeval swamp than an English country garden. Rippling pools are surrounded by tree ferns, irises and grasses with a cutting edge modern circle design on the rear wall. Clare Agnew was unlucky to get a Silver Gilt medal with some great structured and some less formal planting. Cleve West’s Bupa garden also deserved its gold with some beautiful borders and my favourite sculpture at the show, a huge spherical ball of textured concrete.

However there were also misses; the Dairmuid Gavin garden, as usual was embroiled in controversy. To my mind it was a garden of two halves – The back of the garden is a wonderfully mysterious forest of lollipop laurels inter-planted with daisies, ferns and box balls with paths running through to hidden seating areas. The front half however is typical of many of Dairmund’s designs, but now we have seen this planting style with the novelty outsize daisies it seems to have become boring quickly.
The less said about the wooden box in the middle of the garden (described as a café) the better. I am a Dairmuid Gavin fan, I know he can do better and hope he will challenge us anew next year. The worst garden at the show was undoubtedly Paul Cooper’s Simply Italian – homage to Builders Merchants everywhere! The limestone stretched as far as the eye could see with fountains ensuring the said limestone became as slippery as an ice rink. The final insult was planting lime hating rhododendrons in – yes; you guessed it, limestone planters!

Check out the Chelsea Flower Show for yourself at: www.rhs.org.uk/chelsea/2008/

How Does This Grab You?

Mon, 19 May 2008 22:11:36 +0000

Every week the Quality Garden Tools office receives one or two unsolicited e-mails from inventors and manufacturers of garden tools. These e-mails come from all around the world (although the bias is definitely towards China) and we trash most of them without a second thought.

However, about six months ago I received a curious message from a man who claimed that his 70 year old father had invented a ‘miracle’ tool that every gardener should own. I assumed that this individual must be a devoted (but clearly mad) son hoping to curry favour with his eccentric father!

For a number of weeks I ignored the persistent stream of e-mails which continued to reassure me that this newly invented tool was everything that Quality Garden Tools needed! The e-mail that got me interested arrived just before Christmas with the words ‘…has been designed and manufactured in the UK’ immediately catching my attention.

After contacting the sender, I found that the product was called Grab-O-Saurus, but it was definitely not a dinosaur! The Grab-O-Saurus was invented by 70 (something) engineer Graham Renny who had watched his wife struggling to pick up leaves, grass cuttings and compost in the garden. He decided to try to make her life easier and set about designing the two identically sized ‘paddle’ grabs, one with a toothed end, and handle lengths designed so that the pressure exerted by the person using a Grab-O-Saurus is increased three fold at the ‘grabbing’ end.

It is a great tool for picking up garden waste without bending – I own one myself and the Grab-O-Saurus really is very strong. It is manufactured in easy-clean polypropylene, which is robust and lightweight. The teeth are reinforced and it is recyclable - an issue which becomes more important as each year passes. Picking up leaves and grass clippings has never been this easy!

The Grab-O-Saurus can be found at: www.qualitygardentools.com/hand-tools/grabosaurus-*new*/id-GRAB1/view

If I had a Haemmerlin

Thu, 15 May 2008 22:11:00 +0000

Haemmerlin wheelbarrows are one of the best brands we offer at Quality Garden Tools. They are big, tough and handle the worst conditions your garden can throw at them.

When we first started our company we did not supply wheelbarrows of any kind, but it soon became apparent that the wheelbarrow was a perfect candidate for mail order supply; it is a really bulky item that suits being delivered in a van, rather than balancing on your roof rack!

We chose Haemmerlin wheelbarrows because they have a great history of quality products. Georges Haemmerlin made his first wheelbarrow in 1895 and they have not looked back since – the factory now occupies 45,000 sq. metres. The wheelbarrows are primarily still made on their original principles, a thick metal tray and strong tubular steel frame with a single or twin wheel. However, we can now offer customers strong polypro trays as well as steel, pneumatic wheels as well as solid ones and tipping bars to help support the tray with heavy loads.

Haemmerlin wheelbarrows have never been cheap, their forte is not fast delivery or presentation, but their wheelbarrows are second to none in terms of quality and are very tough, in no small part due to their galvanised or epoxy coated frames and trays.

The Quality Garden Tools team are constantly working with Haemmerlin to improve their customer services and the speed at which they deliver (which can be longer than our other items). We now offer a comprehensive range of spare parts and despite the ridiculously high costs of delivery of wheelbarrows we still only charge a £5.00 supplement to our customers.

I bought a 5200G Haemmerlin Pick Up about three months ago and it is easily the best wheelbarrow I have ever owned. There are no fixings in the tray, it has a tipping bar, comfortable handles and the tray is designed to carry garden tools without them falling off. A great wheelbarrow that will last for years!

The Haemmerlin 5200G Pick Up Wheelbarrow can be found at: www.qualitygardentools.com/hand-tools/haemmerlin-wheelbarrows/wheelbarrows/id-HAE-5200G/view

Size Does Matter

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 17:01:00 +0000

When it comes to gardening I am not an expert. I can dig, plant and even weed, but I have a major gardening weakness – size.

Strolling around my local garden centre I often stumble across great looking plants that suit my garden in terms of soil ph, colour, texture, but my 20/20 vision fails me when it comes to the plant dimensions! Someone once told me ‘looking is not the same as seeing’ and this is certainly the case when I study plant labels. I have had to transplant so many plants in my garden that I have been sought by friends, family and even neighbours to advise on the re-siting of one or other overgrown shrub!

My advice with transplanting mature plants would be to try and do it in late March or early April when the soil is warming but still wet. I was once forced to replant a Bay Standard (Laurus Nobilis) in early February in the snow and although the noble tree survived, I nearly did not.

When lifting the rootball give a wide margin around the trunk and always use a fork, never a spade. Using a spade tends to cut all the thin, hair-like roots which are so important to any plant getting food and water. Snapping the thick wooded roots is surprisingly less important, they are mainly used to anchor the plant (something that can be effectively achieved by properly firming in or the use of a stout stake).

Always carry your shrub or tree on your fork or if too big in a barrow with as much soil as possible – again to protect those all important fibrous roots. Select a strong solid forged fork like the Bulldog ‘Premier’ digging fork which will not bend, twist or buckle under the weight of the soil.

Having dug the hole where the plant is to be re-sited approximately 100% wider than the rootball, but at the same height; add in some plant food or compost. Place the plant very carefully into the hole and back fill ensuring that the soil height around the trunk of the plant remains the same as before lifting. Then water the plant in well – some plants (particularly roses) will also appreciate a top feed, but this is not essential.

I would ask you not to expect too much from your newly transplanted shrub – when you move to a new house it takes time for you to settle into a new environment, it’s the same for your relocated plants! Finally, as with prescriptions from the chemist always read the label – if the label says that your new Viburnum will grow to 3m by 2m then don’t put it in a window box!

The Bulldog 'Premier' digging fork can be found at: www.qualitygardentools.com/hand-tools/forks/id-BUL-5704042820/view

Four Seasons in One Day

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 12:54:14 +0000

Working in the garden at this time of year is a full time job – I am often told off by other members of the Quality Garden Tools team for disappearing during the day to do one of many ‘little jobs’ that are needed in April. This busy time in my own garden coincides with the busy period in everyone else’s so Quality Garden Tools is especially hectic and I have to rely on weekend gardening more than ever.

I had planned to mulch and compost some hedge cuttings yesterday (6th April), but woke to find 3 inches of snow covering the garden! I waited patiently for things to change and by lunchtime they had – sadly only to driving rain and wind. After a fortifying Sunday lunch and some time reading the weekend papers I found that by 3pm all the snow had melted and the sun was out (and warm). With another busy week ahead I decided to be brave and managed to shred and compost most of the hedge cuttings after all.

It was only to be expected that we would have a frost last night, but as I speak the sun is out again! Anyone able to predict the weather at the moment would have had no problem finding the winner in The Grand National – enjoy your winnings!

A Cut above the Rest

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 13:40:00 +0000

No matter how many sheds I see (people always seem very keen to show me their garden tools!) one tool always seems to be in attendance. The ubiquitous bright orange bowsaw seems to be a staple in every garden shed up and down the country. This saw is the classic Bahco (formerly called Sandvik) bowsaw which benefits from being strong and lightweight with replaceable blades and is available in a number of different sizes.

However, we now have a new pretender to the old workhorse’s throne – Silky Saws.
For many years Silky Saws have been prized by tree surgeons even above their Husqvarna chainsaws! The saws cut on the pull stroke which makes cuts faster and more efficient with a greater discharge of the chips. When you cut on the pull stroke you use much less energy and get a lot more control over the saw blade. The blades themselves are made from SK-4 high carbon steel, especially high frequency heat treated to harden and then hard chrome plated to give a wipe clean surface. All Silky Saws have razor sharp teeth hardened for long life allowing for quick clean cuts designed to reduce the risk of infection.

The Silky range have a number of different designs from a 130mm bladed Pocketboy folding saw through to the Hayauchi pole saw which reaches an amazing 6.3metres!
Although I cannot see a time when the Bahco orange bowsaw disappears completely, I feel I have seen the future and it is called Silky.

Our range of fantastic Silky saws can be found at: www.qualitygardentools.com/hand-tools/saws/silky-saws/viewcategory

Mulch Ado about Nothing

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 19:25:00 +0000

At middle class dinner parties up and down the country you are almost as likely to hear the words ‘do you compost?’ as ‘my house has doubled in value over the last 10 years’ or ‘only very bright children like little Tarquin have ADHD’ over Nigella’s crudités.

This is because gardening newspapers, magazines and television shows constantly tell us we must compost. They are, of course, right – nothing is better than making your own ‘brown gold’ and spreading it over your flower beds and borders to help them grow.

Composting is not new, my grandfather composted before the current Gardeners World presenters were born; he like many others had learned not to waste anything during the 1930s and 40s. He piled his garden waste high, occasionally turning with a fork which would release steam from the hot core alternately heating and cooling the mix until all that was left was a beautiful fine compost, bursting with goodness.

Over the years I have tried to emulate my grandfather, but have always been bothered by the amount of woody waste I was burning. No matter how small I chop it, branches take years to break down, ruining the texture of my compost. However, a year ago we became a supplier of Bosch garden products, including their AXT2200HP Quiet Shredder; a machine that has become my new ‘branch mulching buddy’. It shreds anything from 38mm down and mulches branches so that I can add to my compost or leaf mould bin with no adverse affects – no problem!

The Bosch AXT2200HP Quiet Shredder can be found at: www.qualitygardentools.com/power-tools/shredders/id-AXT2200HP/view

Green and Pleasant Land

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 22:24:46 +0000

Many of the trials and tribulations I have experienced running Quality Garden Tools have been mirrored by disasters and triumphs in my own garden.

The garden measures about half an acre in one long, slightly sloping strip. The soil is acid and not overly sandy, but has lots and lots of stones in it. We bought the house about 5 years ago with no garden to speak of just grass and a few good trees. Since moving in I have cut in new borders and planted dozens of trees and shrubs in an attempt to give the garden some structure.

The planting style of the new borders varies between traditional herbaceous borders and some shady forest planting. This allows me to invest in a wide variety of different plants and shrubs with borders ranging from deep shade to full sun. I constantly make mistakes, with some plants described as shade lovers giving up the ghost in my dry, deep shade and others thriving in dappled shade that are advertised as lovers of full sun!

I will discuss my favourite plants in the future, but take this opportunity to sing the praises of the Hosta. I have planted many different hostas around the garden with varieties suited to full sun, semi-shade and shade. Their foliage is a joy and is great for under-planting anything from ferns to foxgloves. Their flower spikes come suddenly and offer a wonderful contrast to the flat leaves.

As Quality Garden Tools has grown, so my garden has grown – both are unruly and sometimes difficult to manage, but give me huge amounts of pleasure.

A Rake's Progress

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 17:38:00 +0000

Of all the products we sell at Quality Garden Tools, the rake is the one we get most orders for and enquiries about. I think that this is probably because the rake is used for so many different tasks and is used everywhere from the largest estates to the smallest garden.

Rakes fall into three main categories:

Garden rakes with short stiff tines mainly designed for tilling the soil, breaking up lumps of earth and sifting out stones.
Spring tine rakes with longer, slightly flexible wire tines. Although often confused with a leaf rake, this rake should be used for scarifying lawns by removing moss and thatch from the lawn.
Leaf rakes are often similar in design to the spring tine rakes, but with thicker, flat tines (often plastic) to ensure leaves are not ‘skewered’. These rakes also tend to be lighter than other rakes to aid repetitive use.

As I often explain to callers there is no one rake that will perform all tasks to a satisfactory level. The spring tine rakes are often used as an ‘all round’ rake, but the tines tend to bend out of shape if used on bare soil and spear too many leaves if used as a leaf rake.

There are two very interesting variants on the three main categories of rake. The first is the rubber tined rakes of which by far the best are the Bulldog Wizard and Merlin. The Bulldog rakes both have short, flexible rubber tines allowing the user to sweep up leaves on driveways, patios, lawns, decking or borders without damaging the surface beneath the leaves in any way. The Bulldog Wizard has a 20" head and the Merlin a 10" head which is particularly good for getting between shrubs and plants in borders. The second variants are once again Bulldog products and are found in their Switch & Reach range. The 3 miniature versions of the bigger rakes are perfect for work in borders, rockeries and other confined spaces and were recently recommended by Helen Yemm in her ‘Thorny Problems’ column in The Daily Telegraph.

Our rakes can be found at: www.qualitygardentools.com/hand-tools/rakes/viewcategory

A New Beginning...

Sat, 08 Mar 2008 13:22:00 +0000

During 2005, I became increasingly frustrated with the quality of tools in my local garden centres. Many of these centres had opted for Chinese made tools that although cheaper and more profitable for the garden centre left a lot to be desired in terms of quality. This set of circumstances led me to the decision that I could try to do better - and Quality Garden Tools was born. The next stage was to research which tools were best for keen gardeners like me. I visited Kew , Wisley and had lots of chats with professional gardeners to find out which brands they relied on. The more gardeners I met, the more I heard the same names mentioned: Bulldog, Felco, Silky, Tina, Bahco (formerly Sandvik) and power tool brands like Hayter, Husqvarna and Echo to name but a few. Slowly but surely I was able to develop relationships with many different suppliers and increase the range available on both the website and in our catalogue. The business continues to grow and we now supply many of the professionals we originally turned to for advice!

We still try to offer the very best quality available if possible, but stock other ranges which offer good value for those with tighter budgets. We also know where all our tools are made and try to support manufacturers who reduce or minimize the amount of energy used in the manufacturing process. As the Quality Garden Tools journey continues we are always trying to improve our service and the range and quality of the products we stock.

Introduction

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 12:03:00 +0000

To anyone reading this please excuse my nervousness – this is my first ever attempt at ‘blog’ writing (if that is the correct phrase). Writing a blog is just one of many suggestions given to me by the Quality Garden Tools ‘tech team’ in order to make our website more interesting. If you are already falling asleep just reading this introduction, then I apologise, we have obviously failed miserably! Over the coming weeks I hope to write about the daily highs and lows we encounter whilst running Quality Garden Tools as well as the many trials and tribulations (mostly trials) I personally find in trying to tame my own garden.