Bbc Gardening at Gardening tips

Welcome to Gardening tips

Article

Like any job you tackle, it's always easier if you have the right tools. Before heading out to your rose garden, make sure you arm yourself with these basic rose gardening tools.

Gloves

"You can complain because a rose has thorns, or you can rejoice because thorns have a rose." - Tom Wilson.

The rose garden is no place for thin, wimpy gloves. Unless you enjoy feeling the thorns pierce your skin, opt for leather work gloves with those big, fold-down cuffs.

Pruners

A good pruner is one tool that you will use almost daily. There are two types of pruners on the market. One is called an "anvil" pruner, and the other is called a "bypass" pruner. An anvil pruner has blades that meet on top of each other. Bypass pruners have blades that pass each other like scissors. Always use bypass pruners so you don't crush your canes and stems.

Loppers

When your rose garden starts to mature there will come a time when loppers will be indispensable for cutting back old, thick canes that are too much for pruning shears. If you are just starting your rose garden, save your money, since you won't need this for a few years.

Kneeling Pads

Some people prefer the big 8"x15" water-resistant pads with handles, while others prefer strap-on knee pads. The kneepads are more convenient because they move when you move, but the one-size-fits-all knee cups may not work for you. In that case, the pad with handles should suit you fine.

Short Digging Fork

This tool is indispensable for turning and loosening soil in small patches. Choose a good quality model with steel tines and a sturdy handle.

Watering Wand

Great for watering potted roses and for giving your other roses a good root soaking. Choose a model with a quick shutoff valve on the wand itself, and a quick release fitting for the end that attaches to the hose. Spend the money to get a wand with brass fittings instead of plastic. It will last years longer.

Long-Handled Shovel

Choose a lightweight model with a strong handle. Shovels with fiberglass throats are good choices. Spend a few extra dollars and get one with a padded handle, and it will save you lots of blisters as the years go by.

Wheelbarrow

Avoid the temptation to buy the cute garden "carts." You are going to need a real wheelbarrow. As your gardening addiction--I mean hobby--takes off there will be no end to the things you will be hauling in and out of your garden. Some of those things will be very heavy and you'll be glad that you have a real wheelbarrow to help you.

Garden Rake

This is the rake with the sharp steel teeth that you use for leveling and smoothing beds. Choose one with a sturdy handle and steel tines.

Leaf Rake

You'll use this tool often for cleaning up clippings, leaves and other garden debris. You may want to buy both a regular size rake, and one of the smaller "child size" rakes for pulling debris from tight quarters.

You shouldn't have any trouble locating these basic rose gardening tools. Your local garden supply store will likely stock them, or if you don't mind purchasing gently-used items, check out yard sales for your gardening supplies.

Enjoy yourself!

About the Author

Ron King is a full-time researcher, writer, and web developer. Visit Grow-Roses-Now to learn more about this popular gardening activity.

Copyright 2005 Ron King. This article may be reprinted if the resource box is left intact.

Bbc Gardening Best products

Bbc Gardening News

bbc gardening

Jul 4th, 2008 | LONDON -- Sir Charles Wheeler, who reported from Washington, Berlin and other capitals during a long and distinguished broadcasting career, died Friday. He was 85. Wheeler died at his London home of lung cancer, the British ...

Veteran BBC correspondent Wheeler dies at 85 - Salon

All the other stations are a waste of taxpayers' money because the shows they produce are "indistinguishable" from what commercial stations such as Channel 4 and ITV already provide, says the co-author of Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister, the ...

The BBC should scrap everything apart from BBC1 and Radio 4 - Daily Telegraph

Sir Antony Jay, co-writer of TV comedy Yes, Minister, has called for the BBC to be radically slimmed down. He said it was time for the corporation's digital channels "to make their excuses and leave". The annual licence fee, currently £3.2 billion ...

BBC digital channels 'should leave' - MSN UK News

Former Republican Sen. Jesse Helms dies at 86 Reaction to the death of Jesse Helms Comic book artist Michael Turner dies at 37 Veteran BBC correspondent Wheeler dies at 85 Larry Harmon, longtime Bozo the Clown, dead at 83 Ellen Dickson, described as ...

Prof. Dickson specialized in health care, loved gardening - Minneapolis Star Tribune

Jul 4th, 2008 | LIVERMORE, Calif. -- A flight instructor and student have been killed in a helicopter crash near a Northern California freeway that knocked power lines into traffic lanes and started a grass fire. Federal Aviation Administration ...

Instructor, student die in Calif. helicopter crash - Salon

Blur bassist Alex James has swapped a life of carousing in bars for composting in Oxfordshire. But a recent trip to Burkina Faso taught him some important lessons about working the soil that are as relevant to gardeners in Britain as farmers in ...

Drop by drop, of wisdom - BBC UK News

Ben Whishaw sits hunched into himself, occasionally an angular arm darting out from his tightly-knit, closed body. In Brideshead Revisited, Charles Ryder's first description of Sebastian Flyte - "his beauty, which was arresting" - could just as well ...

Interview with Ben Whishaw about Criminal Justice on BBC1 - Guardian Unlimited

AUTHOR, historian and broadcaster, Michael, 59, is married to Rebecca and lives with their two teenage daughters Jyoti, 18, and Mina, 15, in north London... Our 15-year-old is just discovering all the music I loved when I was young. She’s really ...

MY FAVOURITE THINGS: MICHAEL WOOD - Daily Express

The ground-breaking television series, Portrait Of A Marriage has just been released on DVD in four 55-minute instalments. Queer representation in the media has changed dramatically since the series was first broadcast in 1991, but this remains an ...

No - it is no longer political so why bother? - RainbowNetwork.com

"I am sure that (expelling Zimbabwe) will be in the minds of many of the delegates. I think there is every chance that it could happen, but it would be a very difficult decision." - David Morgan, June 26 "The full membership of Zimbabwe is currently ...

Gardening tips

Bbc Gardening Section