Burgon & Ball GTB/SPSRHS RHS Stainless Perennial Spade

Product Information

Look for a spade with steel blades. Stainless steel and boron steel are strong, long-lasting, and rust-resistant. Carbon steel blades are super-durable and a little lighter weight but can be susceptible to moisture and rusting if not maintained properly. I use my spade exclusively for digging holes and rooting out weeds,” says Hughes. “I always choose spades with a round point blade because I find a round blade sinks into the ground much easier than a flat-tipped blade.” This well-balanced hybrid garden spade sports convenient no-slip grip sections on the reinforced fiberglass shaft. Air-cut holes lighten the ergonomic handle, which has two separate no-slip grip areas to accommodate different working techniques and minimize strain on hands and wrists. The large handle, however, may not be comfortable for smaller hands even when wearing garden gloves, and with various joints and grip sections this spade may be challenging to clean.

Spade shafts can be made from a variety of materials like wood, plastic, fiberglass and metal. Wood is a popular option because it is sturdy and absorbs vibrations. However, it can sometimes splinter. Plastic and fiberglass are both lightweight, but they may snap under a lot of weight. Metal is a strong option, but it absorbs heat and can be uncomfortable to use.

This spade features a high-carbon, heat-treated steel blade that tapers to a pointed, beveled cutting edge to slice through dirt and roots with ease. For extra secure footing and comfort during prolonged use, you can attach the included rubber foot pad to the extra-wide turned step on either side of the blade. Proudly owned and cherished by garden lovers, appreciated by those who seek quality and craftsmanship, revered by the most discerning gardeners all over the world, it’s little wonder then that Sneeboer have become synonymous with the best quality tools for gardeners. Riveted securely in place, the strap strengthens stress points on the shaft to extend the life of the spade, but the rivets can catch on hands or garden gloves. The steel strap may also make this spade too heavy for some users, however, so keep that in mind. Sneeboer tools are of the highest quality garden tools which have been made by skilled master craftsmen for over a hundred years. My favourite garden in fiction or film is The Draughtsman’s Contract because I love both the film and the fact that the garden played such a central role in it. We went to see it in 1984, and when we came out I said to Sarah, “God, I would love to work on a film like that.”

It may be hard to clean between the various joints and grips, and the handle grip may be too large for smaller hands. I’m hopeful that the filming for a new series on European gardens which was shelved by the pandemic will still happen. I’ve got a couple of books being published this autumn – one about the wildlife in my garden and at the farm, the other about American gardens – and another one next year, as well as a memoir to write. I’m signed up to do two more years of Gardeners’ World after this one, plus I’ve got projects on the farm. So there’s a lot to do. The most underrated plants or flowers are the primrose, cow parsley and the hawthorn. The common hawthorn is beautiful in flower, in leaf and in berry. These are all native, very modest plants that I absolutely could not live without. It’s all about emotional engagement: you can’t have a garden without a gardener, and gardens are human beings, therefore you can’t have a garden without humanity. You can have a very dull garden full of extraordinary plants and you can have a wonderful garden full of very ordinary plants – it’s about people and their relationships with them. That’s where gardens become interesting. With proper maintenance, the best garden spades can last a lifetime, so a quality tool such as the Leonard Full-Strap Diamond-Point Spade may be well worth the investment.This mid-handled perennial spade is simply perfect for the task of splitting perennial plants. The pointed tip slices easily through roots to divide into new plants, with minimal disturbance to the rest of the roots and plant. It’s also really handy for digging while kneeling, offering great grip and enhanced digging power if you like to get up close to your plants. And it’s perfect to use with raised beds, extending your reach to avoid working at an awkward height. E. P. Barrus Ltd is a family company co-owned with MTD Products, one of the largest producers of outdoor powered equipment in the world who are committed to producing high quality lawn and garden machinery including the popular brands of Lawnflite, WOLF-Garten and Cub Cadet; distributed in the UK by Barrus. This weighty spade may be a little heavy for some users and rivets on the steel strap can catch on hands or garden gloves.

With proper maintenance and use, a garden spade can last a lifetime, especially ones constructed from solid, reliable materials. “Never put a spade away dirty,” Hughes says. “Use a wire brush—a grill brush is great—to remove any loose soil from the blade before storing the spade. Store your spade and all garden tools in a clean, dry place.” E. P. Barrus has a trade mark licence agreement with Wilkinson Sword Ltd (a wholly owned subsidiary of Energizer Holdings Inc) to sell and market the Wilkinson Sword range of garden tools in the UK and Eire. Burgon and Balls stainless steel perennial spade is endorsed by the Royal Horticultural Society, perhaps the highest accolade in the gardening world. Like all Burgon and Balls RHS-endorsed stainless steel tools, this perennial spade is covered by their lifetime guarantee. When shopping for the best garden spade for your collection, the blade and shaft material are important considerations. Unlike a shovel designed with a deeper, rounded blade for scooping and moving material, digging spades have a flat blade designed for working in soil. Digging spades sometimes have a rounded or pointed edge for working tough soil types such as clay and typically have a shorter shaft than a shovel.As passionate gardeners ourselves here at Creeper & Knotweed we are more than especially delighted to bring you the most comprehensive range of these fabulous Sneeboer tools, featuring FSC certified Ash and/or Cherry wood handles. Choose from our large range of Sneeboer hand tools, dig into our range of Sneeboer Spades & Forks and savour our Sneeboer hoes, cultivators, edgers and bulb planters… We are especially pleased to be an official UK dealer for Sneeboer, one of the few remaining quality craftsman made tool makers that have been applying their trade for over 100 years. Most spades have a traditional D-grip or T-grip handle to help hold and manage the spade. Both styles perform well, so the choice is mainly personal preference. If the handle is fiberglass, metal, or plastic, look for cushioned, rubberized coatings that offer a no-slip grip for optimal control and reduced impact on the hand and wrist. A footplate or step is an appealing feature at the top of the blade. Here users can step with their foot to use body weight to push the blade down into the ground. “Spades with a foot pad on the top of the blade make it easier to dig in hard, compacted soil,” Hughes says. The best books I’ve read in the past year include Wild Flowers by Sarah Raven. I have about 20 books about wildflowers, but I’m not a botanist and most of them are either intimidating or incomprehensible. Sarah’s book is fabulous. I’m writing my own book about wildflowers at the moment so I re-read it. Then there’s Four Fields by Tim Dee, where he takes four fields in different countries and writes beautifully about them. The other is The Peregrine by JA Baker, a masterpiece of natural history writing. I would recommend that to anybody who loves the English language, let alone birds of prey.