History of gardening tools

When we look at the history of gardening tools, it is obviously directly related to the history of the gardens themselves. While the cultivation of plants, fruits and vegetables is as old as humanity itself, ornamental gardens were first seen in Egyptian tomb paintings from 1500 BC.

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon are hailed as one of the seven wonders of the world. There is evidence of gardens in Athens in 350 BC. Later gardens also appeared in Rome and then in Spain around the fourth century. Separate garden traditions have also evolved in China and Japan.

Of course, as these gardens grew, there must have been some garden tools or implements that were used to maintain the gardens.

When looking into the history of gardening tools, it is probably helpful to look at the most common tools.

These include:

Watering Cans and Cans: Watering cans and cans have been used since time immemorial. However, watering cans with multiple holes in the delivery shoot are believed to have been invented in the Middle Ages to mimic rain falling on plants.

Cutting and pruning tools (shears): Scissors date back to the 50th century BC. Shears have been an important tool for the formal garden, for cutting bushes into geometric shapes, since Roman times.

Trowels, forks and rakes: Trowels and rakes were used in the 18th century, mainly to clean garden leaves and rakes.

Garden knives: Knives have been around for a long time. Garden knives have come in different shapes and sizes over the centuries.

Hand or wheeled wheelbarrows: Wheelbarrows were one of the oldest transport devices invented by man. There are generally two types of wheelbarrows; either a hand wheelbarrow (carried at both ends) or a wheelbarrow (carried at one end of the other wheel).

Lawn mowers: Lawn mowers are a relatively recent invention. They were invented by Edward Budding in 1830. Since mowing the grass required many men, Budding worked on the problem from an engineering perspective. He took the concept of trapping grass between two blades, just like a scissor, and improved it to create a lawn mower.

There you have it: a brief history of gardening tools.