10 essential pieces for the English garden

From weather protection to harvest-time help

Whether you’re maintaining a traditional English country garden, growing your own local produce or trying to keep your plants happy in the face of the notoriously unpredictable British climate, here are some of our favourite tools. 

1. Plant support

Prevent tall plants being buffeted by the British winds with one of these elegant, Victorian-style wire plant supports.

Barrington obelisk plant support, gardentrading.co.uk

2. Wire trugs

These pretty wire trugs with wooden handles are the perfect accessory for the kitchen gardener. Use them for harvesting, storing or even displaying your fruit and vegetable harvest.

Wire trugs, gardentrading.co.uk

3. Wooden dibber

The perfect gift for an English country gardener, this beautifully crafted wooden dibber is marked with depth callibrations for planting seedlings and bulbs.

Wooden dibber, gardentrading.co.uk

4. Rose pruners

Roses are the cornerstone of the traditional English country-cottage garden. Keep yours in shape with Felco Cut and Hold Secateurs, specially designed to hold onto stems once cut – making them the perfect pruning shears for roses.

Felco secateurs, crocus.co.uk 

5. Corkscrew weeder

Dandelions and docks – the curse of the English lawn-keeper – can be dealt with swiftly thanks to the ingenious De Wit corkscrew weeder, previously voted ‘Best Buy’ by BBC Gardeners’ World magazine.

De Wit corkscrew weeder, crocus.co.uk

6. Rhubarb forcer

A classic fruit and veg patch favourite (not least in Yorkshire’s famed ‘rhubarb triangle’), rhubarb can be coaxed into harvest early with a ‘rhubarb forcer’. This terracotta version is as attractive as it is practical.

Rhubarb forcer, crocus.co.uk

7. Glass cloche

Help your plants to weather the storms our country is prone to with the help of glass cloches. This beautiful trio is a faithful reproduction of the original Victorian cloches.

Glass cloche (set of 3), garden-products.co.uk

8. Thermometer

Keep an eye on the ever-fluctuating temperatures in your garden with this attractive floral print thermometer from the National Trust’s cottage garden range.

Thermometer, nationaltust.org.uk 

9. Wellies

The rainy climate is what enables the British gardener to grow such a diverse range of plants. But it can also make for muddy conditions underfoot. Keep yourself protected with a good quality pair of wellies.

Wellies, hunterboots.com

10. Rake

The English garden comes into its own during the ‘season of mists and mellow fruitfulness’ when the trees turn vibrant hues of red and gold. You’ll need a decent rake to gather up those leaves when they drop from the branches and cover your beds and lawn.

Spear & Jackson rake, homebase.co.uk

Check out our beginner's tips for gardening novices here