sensible advice from Anna Pavord

Anna P's article in The Independent this Saturday was just what we all want to say, and hear. No to complicated garden tools and devices, no to unnecessary watering devices, no to anything but a few practical long lasting tools, a dose of plant knowledge and a lot of common sense. Hear Hear. Can you imagine Valerie Finnis or Vita or Gertrude brandishing plastic or trying to change the so called interchangeable tool head on a hoe for a fork for a tiller for a rake....... Actually perhaps I can imagine Vita brandishing plastic, I think she would probably be rather good at throwing unnecessary kit around.

Gardening kit here consists of an ancient rotovator, then forks, spades, rakes, trowels and hand forks, hoes but they don't get used much as our soil and planting patterns aren't very hoe friendly, plus mowers and strimmer, scythe, hedge cutters and a chain saw. And a hose or two and watering cans. I hardly water here because it's not practical and things have to survive. Annual babies do get a bit of water at the start, or if I notice that they are about to croak, perennials get nothing extra, shrubs get one good watering at the start. It's not the way everyone would want to do it, but it's just how it is. I did worry for a few weeks when it was incredibly dry, and I think that it does mean that flowers don't last as long standing in the field as they might, but time will tell whether I'm barking up the wrong tree or surviving.