One of the essentials in the home landscape (which used to
be called the yard back when
we swept it clean with a brush broom) is the wheelbarrow (which
is now given the
euphemistic term, yard cart).

The first wheelbarrow I remember using was long-handled with
a flat bed and a piece of
wood at the front just to keep things from sliding off.

The wood was cypress and weathered gray. It had a metal
wheel with spokes and probably
would have made lots of noise for us children if we’d had
concrete to run it over.

It served us well for carrying gardening supplies. It hauled
fertilizers, tools, plants
and even us kids at times when it was empty and Daddy would
give us a lift.

A Fantastic
Machine

When I think back on those early gardening days, I remember
the hoes, because I became
so well-acquainted with them. And I remember the small wheel
plow, which I was too small
to reach. And I can recall the rakes and harvesting baskets.
But the wheelbarrow seemed a
fantastic machine.

Now that I’m older (though not necessarily grown-up) and
putting to practice the
gardening principles I learned from my father, I bought my wife
a wheelbarrow. Yes, guys,
there are women out there who want gardening tools and
truckloads of compost instead of
fancy things.

I bought her a large, plastic wheelbarrow. Now wait just a
minute — I’m not a big fan
of plastic, but this is not one of your flimsy ones. It was a
sturdy, heavy-duty, green
one with an inflatable tire that rolls quite well.

Bricks, Plants and
Children

The wheelbarrow she has and lets me use will hold quite a
lot of material. It has
doubled many times in moving timber, bricks, rocks and
especially those plants that are
never quite satisfied where they were planted (referred to as
wheeled plants). It also
makes a great place for potting plants, mixing soils and
screening compost.

The wheelbarrow has seen 17 seasons come and go and doesn’t
look nearly the worse for
wear as I, the gardener, do.

There have been replacements. It now has the third set of
handles. And the tire has
been fixed several times. But it hasn’t a bit of rust and no
dents, either.

It has ridden several children, too. Good tools become a
part of the family.