Garden Tools 2014

2014 Season

Dear Customer,

We know that every gardener has a favorite tool. It could be a spade you’ve used for decades, or that odd-shaped hoe you bought at a tag sale that just does a better job than anything else you’ve tried. It may not even be a gardening tool; it could be something you’ve repurposed to use in the garden and now could not do without. Gardeners can be a crafty lot and are quick to adapt objects to solve the problem at hand.

Many of you take the time to send us the details of the solutions you’ve found or a description of your unsolved problems – both get wide circulation here. It should be no surprise that many of the items we source, design or manufacture have come to us this way.

What is really surprising, though, is the number of those items that have absolutely nothing to do with gardening – everything from shoe stretchers to pastry tools. We think it’s because we’re good listeners, and that you know your concerns will be heard.

My personal favorite was a request from a lady of somewhat advanced years who had stopped gardening and moved into an apartment. She explained that she had difficulty getting her groceries home in the winter using one of the lightweight wire folding carts commonly available. It turned out that her problem wasn’t really with the groceries; it was the case of 24 bottled beer she picked up after purchasing the groceries that was difficult to handle. She was delighted with the Ultimate Carryall (XD525 on page 65) that we designed for her, and which we have continued to offer for about eight years now.

If you have something you think we should carry or a problem that you think we can help solve, please let us know. We may or may not succeed, but we promise to listen and take your requests seriously.

Cheers,

Robin C. Lee

President