The English Garden – September 2019

SEPTEMBER 2019 THE ENGLISH GARDEN 83

I

n bearinga shaggy,anarchiclook,hedges

andschoolboysarenotdissimilaratthis

timeofyear.Sixweeks’growthcoulddo

witha trimanda rendezvouzwitha pair

ofshearsisn’tanunreasonableproposition.

Inthegarden,a goodpairofshearsis invaluable.

Theirlongbladesprovidea broadsurfaceareawith

whichtocutslender-stemmedgrowth,makingthem

idealforhedges,certainclimbingroses,lavender,

honeysuckleandjasmine– whereverthereis quite

a lotofgrowthtoremove.

Keepinmindthatloppers,whichhavemuch

stouterbladesandlongerhandles,arebetterused

onthickerwoodierstems,andreserveshearsfor

stemsuptoa quarterofaninchacross.If it is a

largesurfaceareaforcuttingyouseekfroma pair

ofshears,Darlac’stri-bladedesigncouldbejustthe

thing.Thedesignmaylookfearsome,butitsnovel

thirdbladeis intendedtoincreasesurfaceareaand,

consequently,improvecuttingspeed.Telescopic

handlesextendreach,too.

Othershearsfeaturebladeswithwavyedges,

aswellasa wideraperture,makingthemsuitable

forthickerstems.Thesewill,however,require

professionalsharpening.Fiskars,WilkinsonSword,

andSpearandJacksonsupply.

Whenit comestocuttingbacklivegrowth,a

bypassmechanismis best.Bladesslidepasteach

otherastheyclose,deliveringa smooth,cleancut

thatminimisesopportunityforinfection.The

alternativemechanism,ananvil,althoughpowerful,

resultsinmoredamagetosurroundingmaterialand

is bestreservedforcuttingdeadwood.

WORDS

VIVIENNE

HAMBLY

IMAGES

GAP/MAAYKE

DE

RIDDER

• DESIGN

BY JAMES TOWILLIS

SHARPTACTICS

Someshearsare

self-sharpeningbut

ifyourshaveblunted

afterasummerofuse,

givethemsomeTLC.

Cleanthemwell,then

sharpenwithaflatfile

heldparalleltothe

angleofthecutting

edge.Protectthem

withoilorWD40.

Somebypassshears,includingmodelsfrom

FiskarsandBulldog,featurea gearmechanism

thatoersadditionalcuttingstrength.Thisextra

abilitymeanstheseshearsareoftenmuchlighter

thanregularshearsandsoreducestrainonhands,

wristsandarms– idealforarthriticjointsorwhere

repeatedcuttingis calledfor.

Thereis,however,muchtobesaidforkeeping

thingssimplewithaneyeonlongevity.Niwaki’s

GardenShearsfeaturenothingmorethanwhite

oakhandlesandsimpleblades,butbecausetheyare

madefromSKsteel,theyareassharpascanbe.■

ESSENTIAL TOOLS

Neat & Tidy

Whether you’re trimming perennials

or tackling branches and thicker

stems, there are shears for the job

Kit to try: Shears for snipping,trimming, choppingandtidying

BulldogPedigreeGeared

HedgeShears,£25.60.

bulldoghandtools.co.uk

DarlacTriBladeShear

TelescopicHandles,£27.99.

crocus.co.uk

Garden Shears,£79.

niwaki.co.uk

Kent&StoweGeneral

PurposeShears,£16.99.

squiresgardencentres.co.uk

Fiskars Single Step

Hedge Shear, £21.15.

x.co.uk