British Garden Shed is about gardens, gardening and ecology, a strange mix maybe, but above all it's about working in harmony with nature. We provide news on latest developments in gardening machinery and tools, environmentally sound products for gardeners, plus lots of useful ecology reports and links. Oh, and there's quite a bit about garden sheds. We like gardensheds.
Happy Gardening!
Garden Safety Tips
Every year, over 125,000 children are seriously injured in the garden - or so says the organisation Child Alert in their article called Garden Safety which provides a bullet pointed list of general gardening safety tips. That figure seems a little high to us, but of course here at BGS we wish to promote safe use of garden machinery so we do encourage readers to check out the advice given.
The First British Garden Centre?
A garden centre based in Dorset is seeking to be recognised as the oldest in Britain and has backed up its claim up with historical records from its founder. Started in 1955, Stewarts Garden Centre was originally a nursery, but transformed itself after a trip to Canada and the USA by its founder Edward Stewart. His son, Martin, explains:
"The business was on its knees and he had to find a solution... we were really struggling so my father flew himself to America and onto Toronto. He wrote to his three sisters, and he said he'd seen the future, and explained why nursery men don't make good salesman and vice versa. We've still got the letter and now it's at the Dorset History Centre.
UK Gardeners Spend £20,000 on Gardens
The Green-fingered part of the UK spend almost £20,000 on their gardens during their lifetime, with more than £5,000 of that figure spent on tools and garden items - or so says this press release) advertising Post Office Home Insurance - which covers equipment left in the open up to £1,000, and items stored in a shed or garage up to £2,000. Certainly, thievery of gardening equipment continues apace across the country as this news article from the Bridlington Free Press shows.
On a more positive note, here's an article in the TES on School gardens which also has some great links at the end for those interested in knowing more about this and also growing your own food.
Retail Fail
International Shed of the Year
Today marks the start of International Shed of the Year week. Final results will be announced on Wednesday 8th July. Click here for a look at the finalists).
UPDATE: 8th July - The winner was the Kite Cabin by Steven Harwood, which incorporates a compost toilet room, bunk beds and a woodburner. Nice!
Shed Rage
Retired major John Dewdney-Herbert, 70, built a 10 feet wooden shed in his garden and set off a local dispute that made the national newspapers. See the Telegraph for more details (and pic of offending shed)
Swedish Hardware retail Chain Expands Into UK
Clas Ohlson, a hardware chain with over 100 branches in Scandinavia, is scheduled to begin trading at its second UK store (in the Arndale, Manchester), in the spring. This is part of a plan to open up to six more stores around the country during 2009. The chain was started as a mail order company by Clas Ohlson in 1918. It posted revenues of £400m in the last financial year.
The main gardening equipment brands it carries in its stores are: Fiskars (rakes), Hozelock (irrigation equipment), Nyby (watering cans), Ryobi and Black and Decker (power trimmers and shears). It also sells a range of badged garden tools under its own brands Cocraft and Cotech.