Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Favorite Gifts for Gardeners by Donna Duffy

Throughout the year, and especially during the winter holidays, I often want to buy a special gardening gift for a friend. So I polled twelve gardeners to see what gift they’d most like to receive. Here’s their list (in random order):


Items you can purchase: 
·   Hori hori knife
·    Shredder that turns “stuff” into mulch
·    Gardening tool tote bag
·    Slip-on rubber gardening shoes
·    Nitrile gardening gloves
·    Flower bulbs (Amaryllis, etc.)
·    Compost tumbler
·    Bluebird watering spike
·    Cool, useful watering can
·    Cold frames
·    Garden journal
·    Fun garden markers, mine says “plantus unknownus”
·    Lawn Buddy – small plastic “wagon” with tool and trash holders
·    Awl for electric drill that digs holes for bulbs

Things you can make:
·    Calendar of favorite photos from the garden
·    Pressed flower cards
·    Framed collage of favorite photos from the garden
·    Recipe cards using garden edibles, accompanied by samples
·    Handmade stepping stone 
·    Heart stone decorated by my grandkids with colored stones

Gifts from the heart – priceless (and free!)
·    Cuttings of rare or unusual plants
·    Prized seeds from a friend’s garden
·    Gift certificate for yard work provided by a friend (e.g., weeding, digging, planting)
·    A friend planted a section of her garden on the day my son was born, and named it after him