Beware the flowerpots, and spades, and mowers...

It may be Chelsea Flower Show month but venturing into the garden is not all jolly hollyhocks when even the humble flowerpot is the cause of more than 5,000 garden accidents each year.

According to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) these results can be split into a top ten risk list with that summer Sunday favourite – the lawnmower – hitting the top spot.

Lawnmowers – or rather people driving them over sticks and stones and those with faulty electrics – were responsible for a mammoth 6,500 accidents a year, swiftly followed by 5,300 annual injuries caused by the humble flowerpot.

Next came the obvious suspects: secateurs and pruners causing 4,400 injuries a year, followed by spades (3,600), electric hedge trimmers (3,100), seemingly harmless plant tubs and troughs (2,800), shears (2,200), garden forks (2,000), hoses and sprinklers (1,900) and garden canes and sticks (1,800).

Even royalty are not immune from the odd mishap in the garden. In 2001 Prince Charles sported an eyepatch for an injury reportedly caused by sawing a tree at one of his royal residencies. It wasn’t noted if the Prince was wearing protective gear such as goggles and gloves at the time, but this is just the advice issued by RoSPA on their garden safety checklist definitely worth a read if you’re a keen or novice gardener.

Also check out Churchill’s garden safety advice on how to prevent accidents from barbecues and garden fires and make sure you have adequate home insurance cover for accidental damage or garden equipment.