Burgon & Ball GTB/SPSRHS RHS Stainless Perennial Spade

Product Information

We are especially pleased to be an official UK dealer for Sneeboer, one of the few remaining quality craftsman made tool makers that have been applying their trade for over 100 years. E. P. Barrus Ltd is a family company co-owned with MTD Products, one of the largest producers of outdoor powered equipment in the world who are committed to producing high quality lawn and garden machinery including the popular brands of Lawnflite, WOLF-Garten and Cub Cadet; distributed in the UK by Barrus.

Rigorously tested, our spades and forks outperform British Standard load tests by more than 50%. This is the weight a tool can hold without permanent deformation: our digging spade can take a load of over 100kg. I have twice as many wellies and gardening boots as I do other shoes. Between October and April it’s always wellies, and then boots when it’s dry. About 15 years ago, Sarah gave me a pair of handmade gardening boots made by a John Lobb bootmaker, which I love.

The best books I’ve read in the past year include Wild Flowers by Sarah Raven. I have about 20 books about wildflowers, but I’m not a botanist and most of them are either intimidating or incomprehensible. Sarah’s book is fabulous. I’m writing my own book about wildflowers at the moment so I re-read it. Then there’s Four Fields by Tim Dee, where he takes four fields in different countries and writes beautifully about them. The other is The Peregrine by JA Baker, a masterpiece of natural history writing. I would recommend that to anybody who loves the English language, let alone birds of prey.

This weighty spade may be a little heavy for some users and rivets on the steel strap can catch on hands or garden gloves. A footplate or step is an appealing feature at the top of the blade. Here users can step with their foot to use body weight to push the blade down into the ground. “Spades with a foot pad on the top of the blade make it easier to dig in hard, compacted soil,” Hughes says. Spade shafts can be made from a variety of materials like wood, plastic, fiberglass and metal. Wood is a popular option because it is sturdy and absorbs vibrations. However, it can sometimes splinter. Plastic and fiberglass are both lightweight, but they may snap under a lot of weight. Metal is a strong option, but it absorbs heat and can be uncomfortable to use.

Customer Reviews

Burgon and Balls stainless steel perennial spade is endorsed by the Royal Horticultural Society, perhaps the highest accolade in the gardening world. Like all Burgon and Balls RHS-endorsed stainless steel tools, this perennial spade is covered by their lifetime guarantee. This timeless spade is strong and durable and appeals to users who prefer a traditional look and feel, though at 37.8 inches long, it may not be comfortable for taller users. This mid-handled perennial spade is simply perfect for the task of splitting perennial plants. The pointed tip slices easily through roots to divide into new plants, with minimal disturbance to the rest of the roots and plant. It’s also really handy for digging while kneeling, offering great grip and enhanced digging power if you like to get up close to your plants. And it’s perfect to use with raised beds, extending your reach to avoid working at an awkward height.

Most spades have a traditional D-grip or T-grip handle to help hold and manage the spade. Both styles perform well, so the choice is mainly personal preference. If the handle is fiberglass, metal, or plastic, look for cushioned, rubberized coatings that offer a no-slip grip for optimal control and reduced impact on the hand and wrist. If you have a green thumb, one of the most useful tools you will need in your shed is a garden spade. Spades are useful for digging because they have a wide, flat blade. This makes it easy to move and turn soil. While digging spades are the most common kind of garden spade, there are also other types of spades available. Riveted securely in place, the strap strengthens stress points on the shaft to extend the life of the spade, but the rivets can catch on hands or garden gloves. The steel strap may also make this spade too heavy for some users, however, so keep that in mind. Its long, pointed shape and curved tip allow this tool to dig deeper than most, but the shape does limit the blade’s surface area for moving soil. Sharp serrated edges on both sides of the blade give this spade great sawing capabilities, though the atypical, pointed blade limits scooping potential. Overall, it’s designed to cut, dig, and pull roots out all at once so gardening tasks are completed faster. Unlike a shovel designed with a deeper, rounded blade for scooping and moving material, digging spades have a flat blade designed for working in soil. Digging spades sometimes have a rounded or pointed edge for working tough soil types such as clay and typically have a shorter shaft than a shovel.When shopping for the best garden spade for your collection, the blade and shaft material are important considerations.