Gardening Essentials

It’s every gardener’s favourite time of year – the clouds have parted, the sun is beaming and England (and indeed, every other part of the United Kingdom) is looking as green and pleasant as William Blake famously described. But we face a difficult task, those among us who like to spend our summers making our own little piece of the world look as pleasant as possible. Gardening is a difficult thing to get right – and a lot of time and hard work is required to get things looking as good as they could do.

Fortunately, the modern gardener has access to many tools, which make the job much easier. These range from sophisticated new entries to the tool shed, and less sophisticated (though no less effective) classics which have stood the test of time. Let’s take a look at some of items tools you’ll need to get the most from your garden.

1. Gloves

Of course, there are few items for a gardener more indispensable than a decent pair of gardening gloves. If you’re going to be spending all day on your knees, pulling up stubborn pieces of root, then you’ll need to ensure that your hands are protected. Gardening gloves provide a means of doing exactly that.

2. Herb Bucket

If you’re looking to take your cookery to the next level, so to speak, then you’ll need to use the best ingredients. This is an area where your garden can provide you with help – with just a few seeds, you can grow fresh herbs in your garden to inject that little bit of extra class into your dishes.

There are few better places to store your herbs than with a classic antique-style herb bucket. This will provide your herbs with a great, portable place to sit – this way you’ll be able to move your bucket to wherever in your garden there’s sunlight – and, when necessary, back into your kitchen!

3. Herb Marker

Once you have got your herbs growing, it’s relatively easy to tell them apart – once you’ve gotten a few weeks gardening experience under your belt, that is. But during those early stages, telling them apart can be almost impossible – that is, unless you’ve left yourself a reminder. Herb markers provide exactly such a reminder. Their construction isn’t anything spectacular – just a simple set of stakes with the names of the herbs written on them. Drive one into the appropriate section of ground and you’ll have a permanent reminder of the food that’s growing there.

4. Saws

If you’re going to be cutting back trees, bushes and shrubs, then you’ll need a means of doing so. After all, unless you possess astonishing strength, you’re not going to be able to snap those thick branches with your bare bands. This means that you’ll need at least one saw – and preferably more than one, as not all branches are created equal; sometimes you’ll need size, and sometimes you’ll need precision. Get an assortment, and control the plant life in your garden.

5. Pruning sheers

Of course, as well as sawing away at the plants in our gardens, we also occasionally need to prune them into shape – this will allow us to retain order. Of course, pruning cannot be done with a saw – unless you want to be sawing away for weeks on end. Consequently, you’ll need to secure yourself a set of pruning shears. Ideally, you’ll want to try your sheers out at a physical shop before you part with your hard-earned – since this is a tool you’re going to be spending a lot of time with.

6. Watering cans

If you’re going to have plants in your garden, then you’ll need to be sure that they get a consistent level of water if you’re to get the best from them. Without regular watering, plants will not survive – as every gardener worthy of the title surely knows. During the summer, when rain is (with any luck) less frequent than other times of the year, this need is all the more pressing.

And so we need a watering can. Watering cans come in a number of different shapes, sizes and quality levels. A good one will make watering a pleasure, and last for years; a poor one, conversely, will make it a stressful chore, and last for mere minutes. Consider how much time you’re going to be spending watering plants, and invest accordingly.

7. Misters

When it comes to looking after smaller, pot-based plants like the herbs and flowers you might have sitting on your kitchen window, you’ll want something a little less unwieldy than a watering can. This is where little hand-held misters come in – they dispense a small cloud of water vapour, which will pick up any ailing pot of basil.

8. Trowels and small forks

When you’re tending to your flowerbed, you’ll need a means of creating new holes to plant your seeds into. Simply hefting out clumps of earth with your hands is going to create a disordered mess, and consequently a disordered flowerbed. Avoid this by investing in a decent miniature trowel. This set includes a miniature garden fork, too, which will allow you to tend to your soil with precision.

9. Scissors

Among the most overlooked and underappreciated of all the items at a gardener’s disposal is a decent set of scissors. This is an item that comes in extremely handy in a variety of instances – whether it’s slicing open a pack of seeds or fine-trimming your border. Get a heavy duty pair that’ll last the distance, and you’ll never regret it.

10. Gardening bag

It’s naturally impossible to carry all of the tools you’ll need out into the garden without the aid of some sort of container. Gardening bags like this one will provide you with exactly such a thing – not only will it allow you to carry all of your small tools, but you’ll have a space for your seeds, too. It’s the perfect item to make your life in the garden just that little bit easier.