Well tooled

This morning was perfect weather for gardening. The air was still - a blessing after a week of ferocious freezing mountain winds. With bright blue and a warm sun on my back it was an absolute joy.

I had a mimosa from yesterday's fair to plant, and I wanted to carry on weeding the raised beds ready for the spring sowings.

I put together my favourite toolkit. Into a two-wheeled barrow I put my lovely sharp border spade which does not baulk at our horrible stony 'soil'; the tiny spud hoe which I bought from the vintage tool stall at Chelsea Flower Show a few years ago; the long-handled short Sneeboer fork which Mum gave me for Christmas; the wonderful ultra-sharp hand-shears and two-handed shears which came from Niwaki for my last birthday. Along with those essentials I also took some Felco secateurs for the tough stuff; twine and penknives; pea and broad bean seeds; my Australian gardening gloves and the perfect Harris tweed gilet which was a bit too warm to wear once I was working.

And the ruler with holes? That's for ensuring seeds are sown an appropriate distance from each other.

I like to keep everything in a basket and this lovely old one was a present from my pal Erzsi. In my pocket I had my iPhone playing an audiobook via bluetooth earphones - another Christmas present. What's in your essential wheelbarrow?