Is there a gardener on your Christmas gift list? Here are some suggestions sure to be appreciated by the gardener in your life.
Most gardeners love gardening books. Not only are they good reference materials during the season, they give us something to dream about over the winter. A beginning gardener will appreciate a basic gardening methods book while more advanced gardeners might like a book specific to their area of interest. There are books solely about roses, or hostas or cactuses or lilies. Some books pertain to certain growing conditions, such as shade gardening or container gardening. Others deal with specific themes, such as gardens for butterflies, for scent, for nighttime interest, for cutting, for herbs, or for all white-flowering plants. Then there are the reference and identification books about trees, shrubs, grasses, perennials, annuals, weeds, native plants or herbs. There are a number of books on the market published specifically for gardening in Wisconsin and the upper Midwest. A subscription to a gardening magazine would also be much appreciated.
Gardeners also love tools. Like any pursuit, the proper tools make gardening much more enjoyable. Perhaps your gardener would like a sturdier trowel or a better hoe. Maybe a stronger spading fork or a sharp new pruning saw. How about a wheel barrow or garden cart? Watering cans and gloves, gloves, gloves – we really go through them! – are always great gifts.
If your gardener has withdrawal symptoms over the cold months, he or she will surely perk up after receiving a boxed set of daffodil, amaryllis or paper white bulbs for forcing indoors. This time of year you can find these at garden centers, home improvement stores, department stores and some grocery stores.
For gardeners who like indoor gardening, a new or unusual houseplant may be just the thing. People who enjoy container gardening, indoors or out, will be very excited by any new pot or growing container.
If practicality is your aim, then a bag of compost, vermiculite, peat moss, perlite or organic fertilizer is the best bet. Hoses, plant supports and twine are also always needed. If whimsy is the goal, there are hundreds of metal or glass items meant to decorate the garden from which to choose. They range in price from a few dollars to hundreds of dollars and in style from kitschy to tasteful and elegant.
To pamper the gardener, there are many specialty soaps and lotions marketed specifically for gardeners that are meant to clean and soothe hard-working hands.
If you’re just not sure what to buy for the gardener on your list, a gift card to one of the local garden centers or to a mail order company is always a winner.
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