Home Gardener's Garden Design & Planning (UK Only). A. & G. Bridgewater

       Twist bit (for drilling holes in wood and metal)

       Flat bit (for drilling holes in wood – not for metal)

      Gardening

      Apart from items like a spade, a fork and a pair of gloves, you may also need a mower and a small number of dedicated tools like those shown below.

       Garden shears

       Straight-bladed saw

       Long-handle secateurs

       Hand fork

       Trowel

       Secateurs

       Hoe

       Safety

      Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions. Always protect your eyes, ears and hands when using power tools. Wear a dust mask when using cement powder. Wet cement is corrosive. Always keep children out of harm’s way.

      MORE TOOLS

      Often the best way of getting tools is to buy them when the need arises. For example, you have a spade and fork, but you soon find that you need a shorter, lighter spade, or a fork with a more comfortable handle, so you get another one. If you are less keen on the construction aspects, larger and/or more specific tools like a compaction plate (power tamper) or cement mixer are best borrowed or hired (rented). You could also borrow a few tools, and then buy your own when you know what it is about the borrowed tools that you like.

      MATERIALS

      Brick and stone

      Brick and stone can be purchased direct from the producer, from builder’s merchants and from architectural salvage companies.

       Concrete paving block

       Selection of bricks

       Flat stone

       Rock

       Building stone

       Walling blocks

       Cobblestones

       Artificial stone paver

       Imitation setts

       Decorative gravel

       Border tile

       Edging and corner post

       Buying earth and turf

      Earth is best purchased by the cubic metre or yard in a giant bag or by the truckload. The more you get, the cheaper it will be. Be careful that you do not buy in poorer-quality stuff than you already have.

      Turf is sold in rolled-up strips about 30 cm (1 ft) wide and 60–90 cm (2–3 ft) long. The cheapest way is to buy it direct from the grower. They are usually quite happy for you to pick up a small number of strips.

      Concrete and mortar

      While there are as many ‘best’ recipes as there are builders, the following work well. The numbers signify the ratio of ingredients (by volume) to each other, measured in the same manner (such as by the shovelful).

       Concrete

      3 aggregate + 2 sand + 1 cement

       Mortar

      3 sand + 1 cement

      Wood

      Wood in all its forms can be obtained variously from timber (lumber) yards, builder’s merchants, garden centres and specialist suppliers.

       Useful wood sections

       Trellis

       Bark chippings

       Log roll