Tools that time forgot - and why we shouldn't
Walk into any garden centre and you'll be bamboozled by a wall of the latest new-release tools promising to revolutionise your gardening life. 'Forget about your old tools, they say, 'these ones are shiny, better, titanium-infused, space age marvels with ergonomic grips and all! And yet, a curious thing sometimes happens when you actually start digging in earnest: the spade bends, the handle creaks ominously, and you begin to wonder whether the pre-power tool gardeners, who m
The Merlin: A British Carving Axe with Talons
Some tools are helpful. Others are transformative. The Merlin carving axe by Thorn Wood Forge belongs emphatically to the latter, the sort of tool that makes you stand a little straighter and marvel at what your hands are doing. I’ve had the chance to test the Merlin properly: first alone in my workshop, and then in a teaching setting with students from St Cuthbert’s Society, Durham University, introducing them to carving axes and the making of spoon blanks. That combination,
The Gardener's Journal - February
February is a month that seems determined to misunderstand the assignment. The rest of the year has a rhythm; spring is hopeful, summer is exuberant, autumn gets all dramatic and moody, whilst winter is calm and slightly morose. Then comes February.
5 Heritage Crafts Every Gardener Should Try
There's something deeply satisfying about being a little old-fashioned. I don't mean wearing a tweed jacket in July or insisting everything was better in 'the good old days' (though let's face it, it just was), I mean the simple, timeless joy of making useful things with your own hands, straight from your garden.
