The changing face of the gardener’s toolshed

One of the pleasures of the garden is that it changes – every single day. Walk there daily, and you hardly notice as one plant quietly ends its moment in the sun, while another comes into vigorous life.

Visiting a garden less often, you notice those changes. Back in June at Harlow Carr, we walked among banks and beds crowded like this…..

A month later, they were gone. Instead, we meandered among beds thronged with these……

But I escaped the sights of the garden for a few moments in the Victorian potting shed. Looks at how these tools have changed over the years! Once sparkling and sturdy, now they’re dulled by rust and years of use. And yet ….. if I set out to buy a set of garden tools today, I’d be choosing ones that look very much like these. You can’t beat a functional design that’s stood the test of time. My plant labels might not look half so elegant though, nor my pots so characterful.

 

My contribution to today’s Ragtag Challenge: change.

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Author: margaret21

I'm retired and live in North Yorkshire, where I walk , write, volunteer and travel as often as I can.

23 thoughts on “The changing face of the gardener’s toolshed”

  6. Lovely photos but I find the rusty old tools rather sad. After years of use they deserve to be cleaned and oiled even if they’ve been retired from active service!

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  7. We were just talking about our gardens and how some flowers are fading just as other come on strong. It’s lovely to watch. The potting shed is full of character–just nice, simple, functional character!

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  10. In my opinion the transient nature of a garden is its charm and why I don’t like “easy care” gardens, they tend to be less work but much less interest. We hosted a fund raising event in our garden yesterday, supposedly. We raised the funds but inside as after 2 weeks of backbreaking work for Jeremy it poured down. It looks lovely today!

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    1. Nooooo. But at least you (well, Jeremy?) did the work and can now benefit yourselves. I agree, long established gardens that slowly evolve from year to year really are special

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