"A lot of the world does not have gasoline engines," says Sweetman, who prefers his grandfather's scythe, with its elegant, bowed blade and long, crooked shaft. The patina on the hickory handle evolved over decades of use by men and boys whose sweat made it shine.
Sweetman's essential tools are a spade, a trowel, a pruner, lopper, and folding saw. He does not own a pair of Felko pruners, a must-have in many haute circles, and he has no interest in the vaunted King of Spades garden spade.
Wonderful though they may be, Sweetman says, "most gardening tools are either for cutting or digging, and how many of those do you really need?"
Rita Pettola needs four.
She grows tomatoes, peppers, and the occasional eggplant every summer in her rowhouse garden in Philadelphia's Mayfair section. For this she needs only a small trowel, a long-handled, lightweight "woman's shovel," a hand rake, and a leaf rake, also tailored to women.
At just a shade over 5-foot-1, Pettola says regular shovels and rakes are too big and heavy.
"I don't have a lot of tools, just good old simple ones," she says. "Just the basics."
"Cutting Edge Gardening," a lecture and workshop, will be offered from 10 a.m. to noon tomorrow at Jenkins Arboretum, 631 Berwyn Baptist Rd., Devon.
Tickets are $10 for members, $15 for nonmembers.
Harold Sweetman, arboretum director, will discuss how to care for commonly used garden tools such as hand pruners, loppers, shovels, hoes, and more. Participants are encouraged to bring one (and only one) dull tool to sharpen.
There will also be a display and discussion of Sweetman's collection of "unusual, useless, and downright hilarious" gardening tools. If you have one that fits this description, bring it along.
Registration is required by calling 610-647-8870, Ext. 4, or e-mailing janet@ jenkinsarboretum.org.
Read garden writer Virginia A. Smith's blog at www.philly.com/ philly/blogs/gardening
Contact garden writer Virginia A. Smith at 215-854-5720 or vsmith@phillynews.com.
