RHS LAUNCHES NEW RANGE OF GARDEN TOOLS

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) in the UK has announced the launch of new designs for the popular RHS Gifts for Gardeners range from Burgon & Ball, the UK’s longest-established manufacturer of garden tools.

The RHS-endorsed collection brings together top-selling lines from previous RHS Gifts for Gardeners design collections, including a flower and fruit snip, a pruner with holster, a trowel and fork set, a seed packet storage tin, twine in a tin, gardening gloves, an indoor watering can, and a super-comfortable Kneelo kneeler. All these well-loved gifts are presented in a brand new design collection called British Meadow.

The products will be available from RHS shops, all good garden centres and www.burgonandball.com in late November, in time for Christmas.

All the new RHS-endorsed products were introduced in September at the Glee Gathering, a virtual version of Glee, the UK’s biggest and most valuable garden and outdoor living trade show, where they received an enthusiastic response.

The new British Meadow design has been created by Burgon & Ball incorporating illustrations dating back to 1815, specially selected from the RHS Lindley Collections, the world’s finest collection of botanical art. The design showcases delicate meadow flowers and butterflies, tapping into the trend for more informal gardens where nature can find a home, and the rekindling of our love for native British wildflowers and wildlife. A classic navy blue background lets the jewel colours of the blooms and butterflies shine out, bringing this lovely design to life.

The British Meadow design collection also introduces a new gifting option, with gift-boxed gardening snips to update and refresh the range. The gorgeous packaging employs inventive solutions to dramatically reduce the use of plastic, reflecting the emphasis on environmental responsibility that drives much of the work of Burgon & Ball and the RHS and that is, of course, a strong concern of the target market.

The flower and fruit snip and the pruner with holster are both presented in innovative gift boxes less than 3cm in height, ideal for sending by post and offering an attractive gift option for today’s lifestyles. Engineered cardboard keeps the tools firmly in place inside their sturdy, beautifully printed card box. Blue soft-grip handles match the design.

The tools that make up the trowel and fork set have painted blue handles bearing the RHS logo; the trowel carries an engraved quote from the legendary horticulturist, garden designer, craftswoman, photographer, writer and artist Gertrude Jekyll.

With smooth moulded curves, the seed packet storage tin is divided into three useful compartments, including a lengthways one to accommodate the very largest seed packets.

The trowel and fork set carries a lifetime guarantee, and the two cutting tools each have a ten-year guarantee.

Founded in Sheffield in 1730, Burgon & Ball is the UK’s oldest manufacturer of garden tools and accessories, with hundreds of years of expertise in steel manufacturing and an enviable reputation for quality and innovation.

Cathy Snow, Licensing Manager, RHS, says: “Our partnership with Burgon & Ball and its RHS Gifts for Gardeners range has been a long and valuable one, combining the highest-quality tools with exciting and attractive design ideas. The British Meadow collection is no exception – it’s a marvellous evocation of native British wildflowers and wildlife.”

Rainer Schubert, Managing Director, Burgon & Ball, adds: “We are always looking to bring exciting new ideas to the RHS Gifts for Gardeners range while adhering to the very highest standards of manufacture. The creative and almost entirely plastic-free packaging, the new gifting option and, above all, RHS endorsement and artwork from the RHS Lindley Collections have combined to make British Meadow what we feel will be one of our most successful collections.”