MY LIFE WITH PLANTS: I Can Dig A Rainbow
- May 1
- 5 min read
Words and pictures by Jim Bishop, for Let's Talk Plants! May 2026.
With the lack of rain for the last month or so, there have been almost no rainbows, so I had to create my own.
I finally found a purpose for all the broken and worn-out shovels I’ve accumulated over the years. They were all leaning against a retaining wall in my garden, which I affectionately called the Shovel Graveyard. However, it was located on a seldom-used path, so few people noticed or saw it.
History of the Shovel
Before we delve into how I used these shovels, let’s take a step back in time. Well, actually, let’s go back a lot, like 10,000 BC or more. As human groups transitioned from hunter-gatherers to farming, they began using sticks, bones, and antlers to cultivate the land. I still use sticks as part of my planting routine to compact soil around newly planted plants.
But as civilization progressed into the bronze, iron, and steel ages, shovel design technology advanced significantly. I’m guessing that the shovels I used throughout my life weren’t much different from those used by my grandparents or their grandparents, going back to the middle ages. The only notable difference I can recall in my lifetime is that the handles on many shovels today are often made of fiberglass or resin, rather than wood. Despite these improvements, I’ve managed to find ways to break even the sturdiest and most expensive shovels.
Today, I prefer using a shovel with a narrow blade, about 6 inches wide, angled to the handle, and with a fiberglass handle. I like the tip of the blade to form a “V” shape. My preference for this type of blade is primarily based on the type of soil on our property. While much of our never-graded property has decent clay soil near the surface, as you dig deeper, you encounter spherical rocks. Initially, these rocks are smaller than a ping pong ball, but as you continue digging, they can grow larger, sometimes reaching the size of a large pumpkin. Additionally, they are held together tighter, making it increasingly difficult to dig. The V-shaped blade is particularly effective in maneuvering between rocks and prying them out of the ground. Over the past 10 years, I’ve worked with three helpers in the garden, and I can confidently say that digging a hole on our property is a skill that requires practice. Brute force is rarely effective and often results in a shovel being added the Shovel Graveyard. Two helpers initially wanted to use a pickaxe, but I showed them my worn-out pickaxe, but they tried anyways and quickly tired and give up. Ultimately, slow and steady progress, coupled with understanding the strategy of rock removal, proves to be the most successful approach.
Below is my former favorite shovel, a Home Depot product. A few years ago, they switched from wooden to fiberglass handles. Unfortunately, there are four broken or worn-out versions of this shovel in the rainbow. Two of them have broken welds at the bend in the shovel. I’ve learned that you need to step straight down on the blade to prevent breaking the weld. Too much weight at an angle can crack it. Two more have broken handles. I bought a wood replacement handle years ago, but I’ve never been successful in removing the rivet that holds the handle to the blade.
Occasionally, I also use rounded, wider blades, straight blades, and scoop-shaped blades for different purposes.
Shovels as artwork?
I had occasionally noticed shovels used as garden art, but the first time I paid significant attention was at the Auckland Botanic Garden in 2013, where a display of garden art featuring shovels was on display. Whenever I'd see the broken shovels, I'd be reminded they might be useful for garden art. From Auckland, here are a couple of examples:
The Shovel Rainbow Idea is Born
Last spring (2025) we added a Cor-Ten moongate with new paths and steps leading up the hillside. (You can read the whole story here.). As I hoped it, became a focal backdrop for the lowest and my favorite garden lifting your gaze up the hillside to view the garden.
Just to the west of the moongate lies another set of stairs that runs through the mostly California native plant area of the garden. It was here that I thought some sort of artwork might have a similar effect, better defining this area of the garden. Initially, I considered simply sticking the shovels in the ground upside down, but most of them had broken handles. I’ve become proficient in using black PVC drainpipes for various garden projects, such as hiding irrigation heads and creating stands for bromeliads. I’ve also experimented with smaller garden art using found and discarded items and PVC. So, I thought maybe using PVC would work. Since it needed some color, the rainbow idea came to mind.
Making the PVC Stands
I decided to test a few examples of PVC before purchasing all the necessary materials, including PVC and spray paint. I had different diameters of PVC and chose the one that would be most suitable for my project. While at Home Depot, I also tested it with a shovel to ensure it would work. I bought Behr spray paint cans of red and orange, which are Home Depot’s exclusive brand. However, I was disappointed to find that the paint had poor coverage, adhesion, and ran excessively. Initially, I considered using rebar driven into the ground and then sliding the PVC over it, but this approach wouldn’t provide a tight fit. Through trial and error, I discovered that driving a smaller diameter piece of PVC directly into the ground and then sliding the painted PVC over it worked effectively. This method ensures that the PVC won’t rust, rot, or decompose, which is a significant advantage. To create a more formal look of the project, I decided to add a black PVC collar at the top.
After this, it was all about executing the installation. I bought more PVC and reliable, familiar Rustoleum spray paint in the remaining colors of the rainbow: yellow, green, blue, violet, and indigo.
Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet, the full visible light spectrum
My helper, who was primarily responsible for digging and driving the PVC pipes into the ground, somehow made a mistake and ended up with an eight-stand instead of the intended seven. I couldn’t help but joke that he had slept through kindergarten when he learned about the seven colors of the rainbow. However, I decided to make use of the eight-stand and used plain black PVC pipes to secure the broken handle of a spade inside.
I still had one more broken shovel head and put it at the top of the rainbow ready for use somewhere else someday.
The final issue was which direction to aim the shovel heads. We tried different rotations and looked at them from different place in the garden and finally decide the angle below looked best. And if we change our mind, it is easy to rotate them.
