The holiday season is rushing along with a frenzy. In the world of gardening, the frenzy is over. The bulbs have been planted (well - most of them!), the annuals are done and forgotten, the perennials are dormant, the vegetables from the garden are a pleasant memory or perhaps preserved in the freezer or glass jars. It is time for gardeners to relax for a while. If you have one or more avid gardeners on your list of people to buy a gift for this year, rest assured the choices are many and there is a very wide price range, from a few dollars into the hundreds.
A present that would be right in the holiday spirit would be a living plant to enjoy such as a live Poinsettia or a Rosemary tree. A fresh evergreen wreath or swag would also be a fragrant and lovely gift, as avid gardeners usually prefer natural decorations.
Does your gardener love roses? If so, there are some great things available. A gift certificate for a quality rose company is a welcome gift. Here is a list of some very reputable rose firms – www.heirloomroses.com, www.ashdownroses.com, www.highcountryroses.com, and www.uncommonrose.com. They all sell own root roses, which are superior to the grafted kind – healthier and longer -lived. Then the lucky recipient can choose one or more new roses from the comfort of his/her home and have them delivered ready to plant at the proper time. There is a much wider variety of roses available this way as opposed to buying only locally. I happily shop both ways. There is a wonderful catalog - www.kinsmangarden.com - that sells all sorts of unique gardening things including lovely and sturdy rose pillars. These are supports for tall and climbing roses – I would personally love one or more of these. They could also support clematis, morning glories and other climbers. (Tip – they also have beautiful small watering cans for $5 that would be a great little present for children). Another good gift for someone who tends roses is a good pair of pruners – the best ones are Felco pruners from Switzerland – available locally and by mail order also from Kinsman. Elbow length leather gloves are also another great gift option for a rosarian. I just bought a pair for myself last year and just love them. I purchased those from a rather "high-falutin" garden catalog – www.smith-hawkin.com - but they do have a wonderful selection of garden gloves. Smith & Hawken also has a retail outlet in Cincinnati on Madison Rd. (513-731-3133) that is really fun to visit.
Excellent stocking stuffers that almost any gardener would appreciate are plant markers – permanent metal markers so one does not forget the names of plants. I wish I had used these more, especially for my roses. A good selection of these are also available from Kinsman.
To encourage organic gardening for someone who always uses chemical fertilizers such as Miracle - Gro, how about a bottle of fish emulsion or seaweed fertilizer or bat guano?
Pinetree Garden Seeds (www.superseeds.com) offers The Pinetree Manure Medley – an enriching collection of bat guano, worm castings, and seabird guano in a nice canvas bag with a bar of gardening soap included. A gift only a true gardener would love! My good friend gave me this last year and it was much appreciated. This company also has a big selection of excellent gardening books – many marked down drastically. Pinetree also carries a very cute selection of Cicely Mary Barker’s Flower fairy gift sets – including a polystone Flower Fairy, a book – “Flower Fairies of the Garden,” and a packet of seeds.
A gift certificate to a local gardening center would also be a wonderful gift – I can think of a great one here locally on Greentree Rd. that offers everything from Ash trees to Zinnias. Next week – more gift ideas!