Plant shopping

One of the many things I love about my job is that I get to buy an awful lot more plants than would be the case were I buying solely for my own garden. I may not benefit from seeing these plants growing to maturity in the beds and borders at home – at least, that’s not the idea – but it does nevertheless give me the opportunity to indulge in regular bouts of horticultural retail therapy. Tax deductable, to boot. This isn’t the first time I’ve shared with you the contents of my shopping basket through the blog, and it’s reasonable to assume it won’t be the last. Plant porn might be entirely innocent, but it surely seems addictive.

To Hassocks this afternoon, keen to see how Ed and Josie are getting on at Garden Sage now the larger plants are in place (you can read about this new nursery in West Sussex here). I’d been impressed with the display on my first visit, but it’s amazing what a difference the addition of the upper story of mature trees and shrubs makes within the polytunnels! There’s been a fair amount of rejigging, Josie told me, as several of the larger specimens have already been sold and delivered to customers – not bad going for a business in its first month.

But I was here for something considerably more modest. With an eye to the coming season, one of my clients had made mention of lupins – something which simultaneously gladdened my heart and caused a feeling of slight despair – the former as I love both the exuberant flower spikes and the tiers of whorled foliage (particularly when accessorised by a drop of dew at the centre of the palmate leaf), and the latter because the garden in question is the very front line of a battle fought with ravening rabbits, excavating badgers and voracious slugs. Still, if we play it safe in such locations we’d have to put up with a garden of euonymus, choysia and the smellier of the hardy geraniums which even the rabbits won’t touch, and one of the reasons I was brought in was to move away from that. Lupins it is then, even if we have to cage them for the first few weeks, and scatter non-metaldehide slug pellets about (coffee grounds have been suggested as an alternative, which is an excellent idea, although I don’t drink enough of the stuff, and have yet to find a friendly cafe that will donate their leftovers. Watch this space, though.).

I bagged a  selection consisting of the white 'Noble Maiden', which I’ve grown before, the pink and white 'The Chatelaine', and blue and white 'The Governor' (surely the London cabbie’s favourite plant). They’re all part of the 'Band of Nobles' series of Lupinus x russelli, bred by lupin supremo George Russell in the middle of the last century and possessing the RHS Award of Garden Merit. Nurse them through the early vulnerable stages by keeping the beasties at bay, and you’ll be rewarded with an impressive presence in the border, reaching 90 to 120 cm in height.

Lupins in the 'Band of Nobles' series

The lupins were the reason for my shopping trip. But, of course, I was waylaid but something else, and couldn't avoid taking home with me these beautiful hellebores. Helleborus x sternii - creamy green flowers with a grape red blush to the back of the petals, quite breathtaking in groups, though to be honest these three will probably be split up and integrated into mixed hellebore plantings in different sites, even though it's tempting to keep them for myself! 

Helleborus x sternii

And finally, as I was about to leave, Ed thrust this spectacular trillium at me as a ‘thank you’ for helping unload the big Italian plant order a few weeks back. Fair payment indeed. This is Trilium kurabayashi 'Ruby Realm' – a very Ed plant, hailing as it does from Oregon, where Mr Nugent spent part of his horticultural apprenticeship. My biggest concern is keeping the plant slug and snail free while it gains the necessary strength to see of the hungry blighters. I’d best get on to the local coffee houses.

Trillium kurabayashi

Top ten gardening tools for the new gardener

I’ve often been asked what should be in a newbie gardener’s toolkit. The first time the question was posed I was slightly taken aback – surely this is obvious? But it’s all too easy to take knowledge acquired over many years for granted, and to underestimate how bewildering the vasty array of gizmos and doodahs available online and in garden centres can be to the first time garden owner or allotment holder. Here’s my list of the top ten gardening tools that no gardener should be without, with explanations of what each tool does, and suggestions as to where you might acquire them.

This post contains affiliate links, meaning any product bought through a link on this page earns me money which will be spent on cake and gin.

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The early stages of any new hobby often concerned with the acquisition of various accoutrements. You wouldn’t begin golfing without getting hold of a bag of whacking sticks and, similarly, the novice skier must first invest in a Michelin Man costume and those long things you wear on your feet. Often, the interest doesn’t get much further than this early phase of equipment gathering; I have a set of draining rods gathering dust in a corner of a shed somewhere, but, other than a half-hearted session every other year when the toilet flush is a bit sluggish, I’ve never really got into it as a pastime. 

That said, I have built up a large collection of gardening tools over the years, and my sheds are bursting with many useful pieces of equipment, as well as several that are more ornamental than functional. But the following tools, in approximate order of priority, are the absolute essentials, which are loaded into my barrow at the beginning of every day.

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A note about the suggested tools on the affiliate links. These are the tools I use on a daily basis – nothing particularly fancy, but not the budget end of the market either as, being a jobbing gardener, I need my kit to be fairly resilient. For more occasional use at a lower price point, you might like to have a look at Sara Venn’s blog post on the recently released range of gardening tools from Poundland.

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1) secateurs, for lighter pruning and cutting small stems up to 15mm thick. Sometimes called “hand pruners”, this is a two-handled sprung tool that you operate with your stronger hand, essential for harvesting flowers and vegetables, deadheading, and pruning everything from roses to fruit trees. I prefer the bypass type, which has a pair of blades that cut with a scissor action, rather than the anvil type – a single blade and an anvil (think kitchen knife and chopping board) –which I find have a tendency to mash the stems.

Many people will be familiar with the red plastic-coated handles of the leading, Swiss made Felco brand, although the Japanese Okatsune pruners (available from niwaki.com) are gaining popularity in the UK for their simplicity and the excellent quality of their steel blades. Neither make is particularly cheap – you’re looking at forty quid and up. There are however many copies, particularly of the traditional bypass type, which are perfectly serviceable and a fraction of the price. I’m a sucker for ‘heritage’ marketing, so this pair with rosewood handles from Draper appeals.

2) hand fork, for weeding. There was a discussion a while back on social media over who favoured and hand fork over a trowel as their go-to everyday tool. As I’m rarely without either hand fork or secateurs in my hand, I was surprised to see so many votes for the trowel. At the time I surmised that those who preferred the fork, like me, were working heavier soils than the group who habitually reached for the trowel.

There’s nothing quite so handy as a hand fork for speedy removal of small to medium sized weeds without churning the surrounding area up, and the individual tines are perfect for winkling in among the roots of, for example wood avens or creeping buttercup, before levering the offending plant out. With the passage of time, I’ve simply returned to my original conclusion that members of the trowel brigade are simply bonkers, unless digging small planting holes occupies the vast majority of their time in the garden. Or they’re unusually adept at, say, knitting with a pair of spoons.

3) small border fork, for weeding/ turning and tickling the soil. This is a long handled fork you use in a standing position, like a spade, about two-thirds the size of a regular garden fork. I used to use the larger, heavier version on a daily basis until a session of prolonged and energetic forking gave me tennis elbow, costing me several visits to the osteopath and weeks of discomfort. This compact size is also perfect for getting in among the plants in a tightly packed herbaceous border.

My second best border fork, presently in a state of semi-retirement. Does a splendid job, in spite of the bent tines.

A fork made from drop-forged steel is heavier and thicker, but less likely to bend. Stainless steel tends to be lighter, and better for use in damp heavy soils, but bends easily. I use stainless, and accept bent tines and a fairly regular replacement cycle as an occupational hazard. 

4) rake. There are several kinds of rake for slightly different uses. I find a large plastic leaf rake invaluable as it helps me to tidy the area where I’ve been working quickly, as well as being invaluable in autumn and winter when the trees are dropping their leaves (remember, evergreens drop leaves all year round!).

I spend a lot of time with this tool, and experience has taught me I need one as big and as light as I can find. I use the Fiskars Large Light Lawn Rake, which fits the bill perfectly.

5) folding pruning saw, for cutting thicker stems than the loppers when pruning large shrubs or trees.

Most pruning saws have their teeth arranged so that they only cut on the pull stroke. Mine cuts on both push and pull strokes, is small and exceedingly sharp, and replacement blades are easy to come by. And a manly grey/black version of it is used by Ray Mears as a survival/woodcraft tool, so there’s a recommendation for you.

6) loppers, for cutting stems thicker than the secateurs can manage.

A pair with telescopic arms and a ratchet head is very useful, to increase your reach and reduce the force you need when cutting through thick branches to about 45-50mm in diameter.

7) spade, for large planting holes and for serious digging, for example stubborn, tap-rooted weeds like hogweed, or for moving established shrubs with a large rootball. There are many permutations of spade, encompassing everything from the material used for the blade to the shape of the handle.

I used to abuse spades horribly, snapping countless handles by using them to lever out large shrubs – you should never use a spade to lever out a stubborn shrub or tree. That’s what mattocks, with their thick, strong pick-axe handles, were invented for. Or Land Rovers – having spent days excavating around a very stubborn japanese spindle, I did once resort to using the Defender to finally persuade the roots from the ground. When I used to occupy myself over winter single- and double-digging new borders, I swore by my treaded digging spade from Bulldog Tools, whose all-metal construction resisted my abuse for several years, until one day it too succumbed and creased where the blade met the shaft. Now, I use a light, traditional looking spade with a stainless steel blade and ash handle. And I treat it kindly.

8) hoe, for quickly putting an end to emerging weed seedlings.

As soon as the soil is dry enough in spring, you can run the blade of a dutch hoe just below the surface, severing the weeds from their roots, and leaving them to shrivel on the surface of the soil, into which they’ll rot down. Persistant weeds will need repeated hoeing, but it’s surprising just how large an area can be covered in a few minutes. Used regularly, this can transform a weedy plot with very little effort. The relatively small size of the head makes this tool ideal for weeding between rows on the allotment, although care needs to be taken if you’re not to slice through your precious vegetables as well as the weeds.

9) plastic tubtrugs. I carry my hand tools in a small tubtrug, and use the medium size for for dumping weeds into, or for transporting divided plants to their new locations, or gathering up windfall apples in autumn. Absolutely invaluable wherever I am in the garden.

10) hand trowel, for smaller planting holes.

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It’s been quite a challenge keeping the list down to just ten tools. I’ve not, for example, included the wheelbarrow I mentioned. Mine is made with a plastic/ABS tray, the metals ones being too heavy and not usually big enough. I’d also recommend a barrow with a pneumatic tyre, which cushions the load and relieves some of the vibration transferred through to your arms, back and shoulders when pushing a heavily laden barrow about.

The list is also appropriate to the kind of gardening I do on a daily basis. If you’re gardening primarily on an allotment or the veg patch at home, you’d probably want to swap out the loppers at no. 6  for a traditional garden rake that will help you get a nice, level and crumbly surface to your soil (called a tilth by those in the know) into which you can sow your seeds.

This is my essential kit, but of course for every job in the garden there are supplementary tools to make the job easier. For vegetable beds I’ve already mentioned the soil rake, but I’d find it worthwhile to keep a smaller onion hoe, and an azada spade or a mattock. For hedges I’d be lost without at least a pair of hand shears, if not a petrol hedge trimmer. While I might get away with adding just a patio knife and a long handled wire brush for paths, who could maintain a lawn without at least a mower, a strimmer, a pair of edging shears, a half-moon iron and a spring-tined rake? And for every kind of garden, a leaf blower for the finishing touches, and a set of old boards from which you can work in wetter weather without damaging the soil.

If you’re new to gardening, I hope you find this list useful. And if you’re an old hand, let me know if your list of top ten gardening tools differs from mine.

The Garden Sage

Last weekend, Ed and Josie Nugent turned a long-held dream into reality with the launch of Garden Sage Nurseries, a new nursery in Hassocks, East Sussex. I may have missed the grand opening, but I was keen to visit, and they soon had me lending a hand.

A new horticultural venture is a cause for celebration in itself, but doubly so when you happen to know that the venture in question has been rattling around inside your friend’s head for some time. Ed had mentioned Garden Sage to me in passing several years ago, initially as an idea for a service offering gardening advice and assistance that would be flexible enough to allow Josie to work it around caring for their young family, with Ed helping out whenever his duties as plant manager for a local garden centre would allow. That the concept has touched down as a fully fledged nursery in its own right comes as no surprise when you consider the couple’s combined 42 plus years of experience, Ed’s spent latterly in horticultural retail, and Josie's as a landscape gardener in London, and then senior gardener at the National Trust’s Scotney Castle in Kent.

Ed unloading a delivery of trees and shrubs

I arrived just in time to witness the unloading of a huge lorry full of mature trees and shrubs. Not your run of the mill stuff either, beautiful Malus 'Evereste', huge pleached hornbeams, and shapely standard wisterias, to name but three. Ed’s honed his eye for fabulous topiary and expertly-trained trees over the years as he’s visited many a European grower, so it should be no surprise to see such wonders arriving here, though it might seem wondrous to some to encounter specimens of this quality on a commercial unit off the A293. Just one more reason to visit.

Josie and Ed will deliver these monster plants to your address, but there’s plenty of smaller fare should you want to drive away with something for your garden. As the temperature steadily rises over the coming weeks, the scent of sarcococcas will be replaced by the fragrance wafting from the benches of Mediterranean subshrubs, the lavenders, rosemarys, but if you’re after something a little different, you could snag yourself some Antipodean charm with Grevillea victoriae, a tough, low maintenance relative of the proteas, with silver-grey leaves, and clusters of red flowers in summer. “It’s a great one for catching out my students on plant IDs” says Ed. “The leaves look a bit like brachyglottis/senecio, but then you get these crazy red flowers.”

Silver grey leaves of Grevillea victoriae

Benches of lavenders and Mediterranean subshrubs

Back outside, where the shrubs share a space with the larger trees and trained fruit, I spied another ideal plant for bringing some colour to the back garden. Very probably we’re all a bit tired of that landscaper’s favourite, Photinia x fraseri 'Red Robin', but it's smaller cousin, 'Little Red Robin', is relatively unused and, to my mind at least, presents a far more charming prospect.

Photinia x fraseri 'Little Red Robin' with it’s red flushed new growth

Growing to no more than 3 feet in height, it exhibits the same flame red colouring on the new leaves as its larger relation, but the foliage as well as the plant, is much more compact and delicate. It will tolerate hard clipping, ideal for a hedge, or even topiary. I’m desperate to see it planted somewhere with Nandina 'Flirt', so desperate that I’ll probably have to do it myself, just as soon as I can find an appropriate location for a black, dark green and red colour scheme.

Ed explains to me how he and Josie are aiming to create a nursery with a difference. “So often, when you succeed in tracking down something a little out of the ordinary, you come home with a couple of sticks in a 9cm pot, but you often need a fair bit of skill and know-how to nurture a plant at that stage through to maturity. We want to present customers with interesting plants that they may not have come across, but in more usable sizes, to give what they buy the best chance of survival.” Presumably, then, this means there are plans to do a lot of growing on. “Absolutely. I’m in the process of assembling a rather posh Cambridge glasshouse for that purpose, and we have the option to expand into the tunnels behind the current nursery plot. Eventually at least fifty percent of the stock will be grown on site.”

Perhaps unsurprisingly given Ed’s background, there’s a real understanding of the retail experience here, no more so in evidence than in cafe space, where you can find the most excellent coffee. Here customers will be able to take a break, mull over their prospective plant purchases and discuss their gardening requirements with Josie or Ed in a comfortable setting. “We also wanted to provide a space in which landscapers and designers would feel happy to bring their clients, where they could discuss their plans with the plants in front of them, and where we’d be on hand should they want to talk through alternative solutions, or the finer points of sourcing something particularly special.”

It’s early days yet, but you can feel the excitement in the air at The Garden Sage. I drove out of the car park feeling energised with a huge smile on my face – which may have been attributable to the triple espresso I’d had from the coffee maker. But I think it’s more likely a result of seeing a gardening dream become a reality, and the prospect of everything to come.
 

A cheery sign greeting the first customers

Who can resist a monkey puzzle?

Having bought from Ed many times over the years, I can testify that his stock is always in tip top condition

Josie, doing all the heavy work

Garden Sage
Allwoods
London Road
Hassocks, BN6 9NA

Opening hours
Mon - Sat: 8:00am - 5:00pm
Sun: 11:00am - 5:00pm

gardensage.co.uk