Typewriter garden is a hit for Philadelphia business owner

source - BillyPenn.com / W. P. M. Typewriter Shop

Typewriter garden is a hit for Philadelphia business owner

The current covid crisis has forced business to adapt in ways I'm sure they could never have imagined, with many novel solutions being employed to ensure their survival and the safety of their customers.  Typewriter sales and repair shops are a rara avis in this world at the best of times and - unless you're a typospherean - perhaps not the type of emporia one might first think of as being affected by the pandemic.  But affected they certainly are, which is why this brilliant idea from a Philadelphia typewriter repairer is a stroke of genius and has rightly been embraced by interested parties both local and national.

The word "whimsical" might have been made for the concept of a typewriter garden and a delightful set-up it is too; yet the more one thinks of it, the more logical an idea it seems.  If one has the space and facilities to display a number of typewriters outside in socially-distanced surroundings, as Ms. Rogow has the good fortune to have, then it makes all kinds of sense.  Clearly the people of Mt. Airy - as well as many from further afield - agree and I am immensely pleased to see the W. P. M. Typewriter Shop enjoying such great success off the back of it.  Ms. Rogow's customer service and eminently sensible ideas on setting up the garden, the important part typewriters have to play in the creative processes and the detrimental effect of "smart" devices has no doubt gone a long way to making this marvellous brainchild of hers fly as well. 

source - BillyPenn.com / W. P. M. Typewriter Shop

I applaud Ms. Rogow's initiative and wish her continued success with her typewriter garden.  It's such a pity that it's 3,500 miles away otherwise I'd be over there like a shot.  It strikes me though that this should be inspiration to typosphereans everywhere.  Why not a socially-distanced, outdoor type-in?  Now that I think of it, type-ins in general seem to have died a death lately, even before Covid-19 came along.  Yet many of us have parks on our doorstep and the passion for typewriters certainly hasn't gone away from what I've seen (and indeed Ms. Rogow's experience is proof alone of this), so where are all the al fresco type-ins?  There's certainly a lot to type about and in these difficult times there has been much talk of going back to simpler living so the opportunity to immerse oneself in the joys of typewriting and disconnect from the world in a safe environment should surely be grasped with both hands.  Even if you haven't got a park nearby but are lucky enough to have your own outdoor space, why not grab your portable, go outside and take advantage of the summer weather (just imagine if covid had struck in the depths of winter!) to tap out a few thoughts in your own typewriter garden.

Classic car unearthed in Yorkshireman's back garden

Classic car unearthed in Yorkshireman's back garden

Those who are fortunate enough to have their own gardens have rightly been taking advantage of this to get outside - especially in the lovely Spring weather we're experiencing this Easter - and do a bit of horticultural pottering, but I bet this chap in West Yorkshire wasn't expecting to discover a car when he went to dig his garden! 

source

source

That though was the surprising find as reported in this article - a 1950s Ford Popular that had somehow wound up completely buried in a suburban back garden.  Quite how or why it got there is anyone's guess, although the military vehicle theory is as good as any.  Ford Pops would have likely been used as basic runabouts by the postwar armed forces - perhaps this one went AWOL and was hidden away to be retrieved later.  Such incidents are surprisingly commonplace with pre-war cars whose owners - fearing their potential destruction in bombing raids during WW2 - buried them in their gardens to be retrieved after the hostilities were over only for them to be forgotten until unearthed decades later, but this is a rarer instance of a post-WW2 car being found in such a way.  This is assuming it is a Ford Popular, which I have no reason to doubt, although it would be something if it were to found to be an older vehicle.



Either way it is an amazing (and amusing) find and definitely brightened up my day when I first read about it, hence its inclusion here.  If nothing else it ought to encourage the green-fingered amongst you to get out in to your garden, if you have one, and start digging.  If it sounds too much like hard work you don't even have to rip up your lawn to uncover fascinating treasures, as this similar story from Stoke-on-Trent proves:

Medieval coin found in Stoke-on-Trent garden raspberry patch

It always astounds me to think how these historical artefacts can just resurface (quite literally) after centuries underground, as the movement and cultivation of the earth slowly brings them back to ground level again, to be rediscovered in the sometimes most bizarre of circumstances.  It gives one to wonder just what other treasures are still waiting to be uncovered - perhaps in your own back garden!

A 19th(?) century clay pipe that was dug up in the family back garden in the '90s by
our pet dog Toby(!).

What's the strangest thing you've unearthed in your garden?  Let me know in the comments and if you haven't found anything yet - get your spades on!