Vintage Gardening

Recently I visited the Northwest Flower and Garden Show in Seattle and was blown away by all the vendors with new and old garden equipment.

So many vendors, that I spent two days wandering the aisles trying to take it all in. My favorite part though was the “vintage gardening” section.

And if you are confused between the designation “vintage” and “antique” like I was, because I just think of these items as being “old”, then wonder no longer. Vintage defines items as at least 50 years old but no older than 100. Antique is older than 100 years old.

 I had no idea that gardening items were a hot ticket when they became over 50 years old. I think I have lots of these relics sitting on my shelves at home and I still use them!

Flower “frogs” are made of lead, pottery, glass, or bronze and sit at the bottom of a bowl or a vase to hold even the trickiest flower arrangements firmly in place. These can often be found at yard sales, garage sales, or flea markets for a song. But they are gaining popularity as a “collectable”.

Also old items can be repurposed into “vintage” gardening stuff. Such as the sink above made into a potting bench or old items made into a new bird house.

I found this fascinating web site of old and antique gardening tools that is a reference for looking up old tools at http://www.oldgardentools.co.uk. If you want to see some really old gardening tools or clothing, check this web site out.