Stockists
Images of the tools on the website can be helpful, but however many images you see, they are no comparison to the experience of picking one up and feeling the weight and balance of the tool in your hand. We are grateful to our stockists who have made space for this to happen.
Burford Garden Company Shilton Road, Burford, Oxfordshire, tel 01993 823117.
Farrar and Tanner Unit 24, Lansdown Industrial Estate, Gloucester Road, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL51 8PL Tel +44 0344 5678 365
Florist from the Forest 1 Market House, Chagford , TQ13 8AB Tel 07496993499
Garden Museum 5 Lambeth Palace Road, London SE1 7LB Tel +44 (0)20 7401 8865
Horatio’s Garden www.horatiosgarden.org.uk/shop
Michael Fuller Gardens 5 Stonepark Drive, Forest Row, East Sussex, RH18 5DG Please contact Michael on 01342 824320 / 07952 751029 to arrange a visit
Organic Bulbs 61 High Street, Bruton, Somerset BA10 0AL Tel. 01373 888720
The Potting Shed Loxwood, West Sussex RH14 0SW Tel 01403 752080
The Real Flower Company Sustainable Flower Farmers and Florists Tel 01730 818300
time2garden, Crossway House, North Petherton, Somerset, TA6 6PB. Tel. 07966 589165.
Ulula Rush Farm, Worcestershire Tel 01386 791027 Email info@ulula.co.uk
Waltham Place Church Hill, White Waltham, Berkshire SL6 3JH Tel. 01628 825517
Not a stockist, but a supporter … someone who has used our tools for many years.
Ark Redwood is head gardener at Chalice Well Gardens, a haven of tranquility at the foot of Glastonbury Tor in Somerset. Here in his beautiful book, The Art of Mindful Gardening: Sowing the Seeds of Meditation, he tells the story of the first time he used one of our trowels.
“One day, at work, I had about a hundred marigolds to plant, and proceeded to do so using my usual steel trowel. The next morning, after a particularly wet night, I went to check on them, knowing full well that, along with the likes of lettuce and delphiniums, they were pretty much at the top of the menu for slugs. As expected, the slimy ones had had a nocturnal feast and managed to polish off all bar one or two. It just so happened that later that morning I took delivery of my shiny new copper trowel, looking more golden than bronze, and I promptly put it to the test by planting roughly the same amount of marigolds as I had the previous day, and in the same place. The next morning I returned to the scene of the crime, and to my amazement there was hardly any damage to the flowers, even though it had also been rainy the night before. Since that day I have hardly picked up an ordinary iron-based trowel, and have added several more copper tools to my arsenal.”
A champion of our tools
Charles Dowding runs very popular day courses on no-dig vegetable gardening, and has written several books drawing on his experiences.
Here is what he says about our tools on page 30 of his book, Charles Dowding’s Vegetable Course :
“My favourite tools are made of copper, or to be precise they are 95 per cent copper and 5 per cent tin … the metal is strong, not magnetic and does not rust. This is a keen advantage for trowels, hoes and spades where smooth, sharp blades make for effortless use, and there is no need for regular cleaning or oiling to protect the metal.
“Although the copper alloy is a little less hard than iron, and might suffer in soils with flint or large amounts of stone, the tools are designed to endure. I have found copper trowels last better than ones made of hard stainless steel, which often snap after a year or two, at a weak point near the handle.”
Events listing
See all of Waltham Place special interest days and events here.