Really, as a gardener we’ll find you looking to purchase garden equipment or maybe marveling at your Alan Titchmarsh garden fork - but it’s worth pointing out, only over centuries have we hit these heights. Rakes and forks are surprisingly recent developments, but don’t forget, the practice of gardening is as old as man. This leisure occupation began within the storied cradle of civilization. In Egypt gardeners worked by a blend of practical reasons, pleasure, and spirituality. Generally surrounded by stone walls, green spaces were tended to produce flowers, fruit and nut bearing trees, vegetables, grapes, and perhaps pools of fish. Admittedly they consumed the bulk of the produce but some plants were grown to honor certain gods. And other roots, important to the temples, were grown elsewhere. Others, too, came to be famous for the production of primitive gardens. These include the Assyrians, the Persians, to say nothing of the Babylonians, and they often incorporated buildings of significant size into this landscaping. The Romans also went in for tranquil gardens, unlike the ancient Greeks. Only food flourished in their plantations.

While we grant you they had no access to garden forks or rakes, these cultures did use a variety of simple contrivances and utensils which were prototypical of the spades and hoes gardeners rely on today. Spades were initially hewn out of stone, but were made out of bronze, copper, and iron later on.

Progress was abruptly stopped during the Dark Ages. Gardening was no different, but by good fortune, the Church practiced what had been learned. Bit by bit we discovered again the pastime of designing flower gardens to enjoy. This habit continued throughout the sixteenth century, by which point gardens were becoming much more formalized and structured than hitherto. Many great specimens still stand - knot gardens and hedge mazes, created from elaborate patterns and textures. So if you happen to be investigating how to remediate some troublesome lawn rake deformity or perusing some well written lawn rake review, don’t forget that things changed again when visionaries like Lancelot “Capability” Brown, Humphry Repton, and William Kent picked up a spade and other garden contrivances to make real astonishing designs. Instead of abiding by gardening conventions which were developed over generations, Humphry Repton and others cleverly mixed tradition and invention by bringing together modern garden decorations along the lines of statues with a natural looking landscape. Certainly, the situation has expectably changed as time rolls on, but gardens are still popular for many of the same reasons. Regardless, they’re always some of the most beautiful settings in the world.