I love early garden tools do you?

[sheddie]

This is a pic of a couple of old tools I keep in my lounge amongst my other things.I used to have lots of antiques from the garden and have a wonderful book called this.X:)

[sunflower]

My hubby is a lover of any old tools including garden tools. Over the years he has collected for me ancient watering cans of difference sizes. Yesterday, I was looking at them and thinking of painting them in barge colours with flowers and barge patterns. I did this several years back to a couple of watering cans and old buckets. They turned out really nice.....so much so were stolen from the front garden!! The ones I have now though would stay in the back garden.

[franbee]

There's something about old tools, garden or otherwise. OH has lots of woodworking tools that he has acquired here and there, and always looks in junk shops for more.

[Redstart]

When we bought this house there were some ancient garden and farm tools in the barn - we've kept them all!

We've also kept a lot of the old domestic items as well - the old washing trough is now acting as our "water butt" and collects rainwater from our enormous roof; the long wooden rubbing board is propped up on plant pots at the business end and has plants on it in summer. At the higher sitting end there is a little wooden soap holder - both that and the trough were used in the days before detergents and washing machines.

We also have old anvils from goodness knows where - they make good door stops, as do old pot hot water bottles.

Old tools and items of use, rather than decorations, are so interesting!

[Healing Hands]

Yes, I too love the early tools, I suppose it is the history behind them that fasinate me, who worked with etc.

[Crocus]

Love the pic Sheds! It actually reminds me of my dad's garden tools - he passed on some of it to Mr C, exactly the same as in your picture! He still has it, in the garage.

[lily]

Yes, I especially love the smooth handles. Nice to speculate on the person(s) who used to use them. There were some on sale at the autumn Malvern show, I'm planning to go to the spring one, so may be tempted. Maybe its the same timeless feeling you get from black + white photos?

[jazzactivist]

Hi Sheddie, those tools look lovely. I really like old gardening tools too, and recently bought some that were for sale at the roadside outside someone's house and the man had painstakingly renovated them as a hobby. I am now the proud owner of a wooden rake, an old locomotive shovel and an iron peat cutter. Like most people here, I love imagining them being used.

[Oola]

They're just a better quality aren't they? I remember my Pappa used to keep his tools immaculately. Wipe them down after each use, not leave them outside, occasionally oil them down. We still use his tools even today, it's like a nice tangible link to him as he used to spend almost every day in the garden.

I have a 20+ year old fork that Mum used to use, it's still in great shape. Conversely, I bought what I thought was a good half-moon cutter from Wilkinson for £6.99, and low an behold about 3 months after I got it, the half moon snapped off. Waste of money. I always like looking at old tools at car boot fairs and the like.