Gardeners’ World presenter Monty Don has revealed that his lifelong dedication to gardening has taken a toll on his health, particularly affecting his knees. However, there is one product that could help – and it’s less than £10.
Monty wrote in his column for BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine: “For the last 10 years or more, my knees have been giving me the gyp and, it turns out, slowly deteriorating. This is not so unusual or unexpected.”
He added: “I have spent 70 years kneeling on them, asking them to stagger about under unreasonably heavy loads or, until 10 years ago, pounding around tarmacked roads. They have had a long, hard time of it.”
The presenter continued by describing how the condition had affected his work on Gardeners’ World, stating: “You will have rarely seen me do much serious digging, and never kneeling, over the past few series – by the end of a day’s filming, I could barely hobble to the end of the garden.”
Over at the retailer Charlies, there are many handy gardening products available, including one that could help gardeners with their knees. The Smart Garden Ultra Gardening Kneeler is currently available on the site for £9.99, reduced from £14.99.
With its ‘cheerful’ cherry design on a green background, this kneeler is both practical and stylish, and it has been designed to protect knees and keep gardeners comfortable during planting, pruning and weeding tasks. It features a shock-absorbing foam core with a soft memory foam outer layer for extra cushioning, and the surface is covered in wipe-clean neoprene, making it easy to maintain and resistant to soil and moisture.
With a large kneeling area and a built-in carry handle, it is easy to move around and provides stable support, the site says. Other gardening products from Charlies include these useful Smart Garden Dura Grip General Worker Gardening Gloves in the colour grey, which are available for £1.99, down from £3.99. They currently come in the sizes medium and large.
These ‘dependable gardening gloves’ are said to be great for digging, planting, clearing, and tool handling. The site says they have been designed for comfort, control, and palm protection, with a tough 100% latex-coated palm for ‘grip and durability’.
They also have a flexible stretch fit and snug elasticated cuff to keep the gloves secure and easy to move in, meaning they are ‘ideal for regular garden use’, the site says. For those who need to collect or remove any garden waste, Charlies has the Eco Bag Heavy Duty Garden Sacks, 100 Litres in a 10 Pack for £1.49.
Made of recycled plastic, the site says the liners are ‘perfect for all your gardening rubbish’. Each liner can hold up to 100 litres and has a bag thickness of 30 microns, making them super strong.
Gardeners could always grab this Smart Garden Garden TidyBag, too, which is available for £9.99, down from £14.99. This is a practical, portable garden bag, designed to ‘make tidying up quicker and easier’, the site says.
It is made from durable Oxford nylon cloth with a padded EVA base, making it suitable for regular use around the home or garden, and it is lightweight. The central storage compartment is roomy enough for gloves, secateurs, string and more, while the multiple side pockets keep hand tools and other gadgets within easy reach.
Last but not least, Charlies has the Wilkinson Sword 1111219W Adjustable Lawn Rake for £9.99, down from £12.99. This is described as being ‘ideal for making light work of fallen leaves and garden debris’ and is made of aluminium. It has a fully adjustable pole, as well as a fully adjustable head, making it a ‘must-have in any sized or shaped garden’.
If these products from Charlies aren’t what shoppers are looking for, however, there are other products out there. Over at Amazon, the Lakeland Active 1 Pair Parton Gardening Work Gloves are available for £7.99. These come in various sizes and are made from naturally antibacterial and hypoallergenic bamboo fibres, with a durable latex waterproof coating on the palm and fingers. The site says they are suitable for digging, weeding, planting, light pruning, sowing, raking and more.
Or there is this Strata Padded Garden Kneeler, Seat and Tool Storage from Argos, available for £14. This kneeler doubles as a seat and storage solution and it has a ‘durable plastic build’. It is also lightweight and easy to move around, the site says.
While there are currently no reviews for the Smart Garden Ultra Gardening Kneeler from Charlies, shoppers have left reviews for some of the other products. Speaking about the Smart Garden Dura Grip General Worker Gardening Gloves, someone wrote: “Great gardening gloves with excellent service.”
Someone else said: “Nice and comfortable and fairly hard-wearing for a low-priced product. I use them for gardening.”
Others left feedback for Charlies and its other products via Trustpilot, where it has an overall 4.8 out of five-star rating from more than 55,000 reviews. One said: “The lid to our water butt arrived damaged – once I had sent photos to show the damage Charlies’ customer service were quick to respond and send a replacement lid.”
Generally, most were happy with their products from Charlies, however. A third said about the Wilkinson Sword Rake: “Delivered on time, not yet used. Good price for this item.”
Comments are closed.