A LEGACY of tools and equipment left by Victorian gardeners will be on display for the next three weeks in the Discovery Centre, Bishop Auckland

Visitors will soon spot the difference between a dibber and a trenching fork in the display by the Vintage Horticultural and Garden Machinery Club, which opened yesterday.

The club's collection of 19th and 20th Century tools would not be out of place in any 21st Century greenhouse.

There is a model of a Victorian walled garden and a short video made by the group.

Covering the whole country, the club was formed in 1993 to preserve, restore and promote the use of old garden machinery and equipment.

It features on BBC Gardeners' World and the National Amateur Gardening Show, as well as at village fetes, garden shows and steam and vintage events.

Members have rescued old machinery and have their own network for finding rare parts.

Contact president Dave Smith at 2 Park Way, Newark, Nottinghamshire, NG24 4QY, or call (01636) 676519, for information.

The exhibition is part of a Durham County Council Community Heritage Group, which is supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

It is open on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 11am to 4pm until May 22.

Published: 01/05/2004