The shopping in Madrid is extensive and if you do not know where to head for it often feels like a minefield.

A favourite area for shopping in Madrid City is Salamanca. Full of upmarket boutiques selling exquisite dresses, chic hats, shoes, and bags perfect for Wimbledon, Ascot, and this summers weddings.

Another good shopping area in Madrid is Alonso Martinez, it quite similar to Salamanca in terms of style and what is available.

There are an abundance of Markets in Madrid. All of which are great for shopping. The majority of Madrid markets focus is selling food, however the Rastro market sells antiques and clothes, and the Marques de Viana Market Madrid sells crafts. My favourite is the Conde de Barajas Market selling paintings.

The best way to travel around Madrid when shopping is by the Metro. This is Madrids equivalent to the London underground and it is a cheap and fast way to travel.

Madrids equivalent to Bond Street is the famous Gran Via. Gran Via is another good place for a bit of shopping. Apart from shops there are many hotels, restaurants, and sights nearby.

On any shopping trip in Spain it is worth popping into El Corte Ingles. El Corte Ingles is a large upmarket department store although be careful there are more than six El Corte Ingles in Madrid. On each floor there is a different department. Women wears, mens wear, children wear, and toys, home furnishings, there is even a floor with gardening tools, DIY tools, and garden furniture. There is often a restaurant or two in each El Corte Ingles. Books, music, films, cosmetics, the list is endless. The most important thing for me is that you can buy a bikini (for example) for 10 or for 300 and this applies to almost everything in the El Corte Ingles department stores. When they supply something they supply every shape size and label. Brilliant for Christmas shopping, you can buy the whole familys presents in one hit, heading back to the car park (onsite) whenever your hands are full. El Corte Ingles is like the John Lewis of Spain and highly recommended on your shopping trip in Madrid.

There are several shopping centres in Madrid that have a fine array of retails fashion shops, with all the basic spanish high street stores such as Mango and Zara. Here are the top six shopping centres in Madrid:

Burgocentro Shopping Centre

El Centro de la Moraleja Shopping Centre

Equinocio Park Shopping Centre

Heron City Shopping Centre

Loranca Shopping Centre

Los Valles Shopping Centre

Basically a small garden will not require the same large equipment that would be of use in an extensive one. A ride-on mower is unnecessary if you only have a small strip of lawn. Another point to consider is who does most of the gardening? Some tools are too heavy for use by women.

Gardening is fun and rewarding and may be considered a hobby, talent or both and sometimes its just luck. Gardening is not as easy as it looks and involves dedication, time and consistency and many trials and errors.

Look for models that have blades that can be sharpened or replaced, models with tension control and with sizes that best fit your hands.

A trowel is a shovel-like piece of equipment which is used to dig up dirt and set small plants. There are many styles to choose from and type of handle on your trowel will determine how well it works. Easy grip, non-slide and non-slip grips are the best form of handle to choose.

A shovel has a scoop blade and is best used to move around dirt and garden soil. A spade has a flat blade great for cutting edges, digging and dividing plants. The edge of a spade should be kept sharpened for clean and efficient cutting will cause the least amount of damage to plants.

A pitchfork is a gardening tool which has 2-6 prongs and a long handle. The sizes of pitchforks vary, depending on what they are being used for. The space between each prong varies as well.

A pruning saw is used for pruning trees and larger shrubs, while secateurs are for plants like roses. Pruning saws have a narrow curved blade that fits between stems or branches and easily and cuts them as you pull the saw backwards.

A gardening spade has a long, thick handle and a heavy flat blade. This tool is used to dig up and move pieces of dirt from one place to another. It can also be used to pack down dirt once the flower has been planted.

Forks are used for turning and aerating compost and breaking up lumps of soil. The cheaper ones are often not strong enough for heavy soil, so go for sturdiness instead of price

Pruning shears are tools which have a long handles and blades. This type of gardening equipment is used to allow gardeners to precisely prune rose bushes and other plants and unruly vines, etc. It can also be used to cut the grass at the edges of walkways and garden beds, in those hard to reach places. It is also used to trim the edges and remove dead leaves or wood on flowers

A chipping hoe is a handy tool for getting rid of small weeds. The Dutch or push-hoe is slightly more user-friendly as the action required to use it does not jar the neck and shoulder quite so much.

A wheelbarrow is one of the larger pieces of garden equipment. It is a cart with a handle and at least one wheel which is designed for easy transportation of materials from one place to another. Purchasing a wheelbarrow will save you a lot of time and effort, especially if you are off to the compost heap, and will make for a pleasant gardening experience.

These are the basic gardening tools and helping you to your gardening success.