[Growster...]

Last year, Mrs Growster bought me (on my advice/request/begging), a hedger, strimmer, chainsaw and brush-cutter, for my seventieth birthday and I was well pleased of course!

But...

Somehow, it is just too powerful for your slightly ageing Growster; his limbs just don't do heavy stuff these days, and by Jiminy, after a couple of hours on the hedge, and only half-finished, I had to admit defeat! The chainsaw hurt too, as did the brush-cutter...

Sitting down with a tincture with Mrs Growster a couple of weeks ago, I had to tell her that it wasn't going to work...

"Sell it", she said immediately with her normal gorgeous, understanding face, and a sensible ripost, that was indeed! It had to go, and the kit was less than a year old too!

Bless Ebay! It went on at a low rate, but that started to get better, and we eventually sent it off to a charming couple, who are much younger and able to make it work for them. We nearly recouped the original costs too, but that's not the point really. We had nearly a whole season of use, the hedge is done for a while, they're happy, we can buy a new hat for Mrs Growster, and all is good with the world!

But/and...

A few months ago, a retiring allotmenteer chum asked me if I was interested in a petrol strimmer he'd bought some years ago. Now, I know the man well, he's probably the best gardener I've ever met, and when he uses something, he knows his stuff! £30.00 changed hands, and this little Tanaka just whizzes away, and I can handle it all day, and it is an immaculate small, lightweight machine; as all his garden tools were - he gave me most of them when he stopped.

Sometimes, life just gives you a hand-out when you least expect it, doesn't it!

[Goosegirl]

It sure does! I was musing over what to plant in the space between a Rosa rubrifolia and a Robinia when yet another birthday present arrived! A lovely white hydrangea which will be just the ticket!

[Growster...]

Lovely mix, Goosey!

Those roses are known as 'Roger's Roses' here, as surprisingly, they were given to us by a friend named Roger!

Nice surprise for you!

[Goosegirl]

… and nice for you to get something that you can easily use because you'll get the job done just as quick without struggling with unwieldy equipment and why should you. I've got the new Drisson cordless vac and would never ever go back to a plug-in one because of the weight involved when trying to hoover. Cordless tools, self-watering systems, slow-cookers, microwaves, and anything that takes the strain out of daily life is fine with me.

[John]

Just before we moved here I bought a powerful shredder / chipper with an 8 hp engine. Only to discover it was too much for me. It nearly killed me to move it to where it was needed and starting it required a stronger man than me.  Happily I too got my money back on the ebay and bought a much smaller electric shredder that does the job and is easy to carry about.

[Growster...]

Most of this is 'the mind making appointments the body can't keep', the challenge is still appropriate.

Who wouldn't be daunted by a rubbish-strewn weed-infested patch of ground, but it still attracts good gardeners who can see beyond all that.

There's been a chap of over ninety visiting here up to last year. His son is an expert and knows his stuff, and  we're pretty good chums to boot. His dad could dig for six hours at a stretch, just ticking over and doing the work slowly, and we all marvelled at his ability to work within his strength. He only used a spade, a rotovator was too much for him, and not surprisingly, as it's a very big machine, and both of us couldn't hold it back on one occasion!

It's when we try and reach for even larger tools and accessories that the trouble starts, the thought of a combine harvester on a half-plot springs to mind..;0)

[John]

Most of this is 'the mind making appointments the body can't keep', the challenge is still appropriate.

Who wouldn't be daunted by a rubbish-strewn weed-infested patch of ground, but it still attracts good gardeners who can see beyond all that....

That's so true - I do wish we'd moved here when I had the energy to do what I would like to do.

[Goosegirl]

John, re- shredders. A number of years ago my OH persuaded me to buy a big petrol-driven one with a main chute at one end and a scooper jobbie on the other end to replace the cheapie we got which couldn't cope with anything bigger than a matchstick. BIG MISTAKE! Apart from the fact it took about a third of the space in my shed, trying to get it out was another matter. Cue a wooden ramp to get it over the shed step. OH took over, gave it a big heave, and was promptly propelled backwards into the raspberry plot. I told him I am not Wonder Woman and also the stuff we put in the scooper refused to go into the shredder. Sold it back to the seller at a loss but he did admit the scooper part wasn't that functional. We then got a really good electrical one which is what I wanted in the first place. Oh hum!

[Growster...]

We bought a Black and Decker shredder years ago - probably around 1995, and while it has always struggled with big hard branches, the small stuff still whizzes through.

In fact it's going to get an airing this weekend, as there's a lot of ivy to chuck out, and the council bins are hopeless!

Takes ages to assemble each time, but well worth the effort, and the noise of course (an amiable Growster cursing a bramble)!