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Holiday Gifts for the Gardener 2023

Posted on Saturday, December 2, 2023 · Leave a Comment 

Once again it is time to find the perfect gifts for your loved ones. Gardeners are easy to shop for because there are so many good things to shop for, and they will be probably be pleased with whatever you choose. As a shopper, I always try to support local, family owned businesses – they support our community and I want to support them when possible. Let’s take a look at some ideas.

 

Sculpture in the woods at Bedrock Gardens

Think about buying tickets for you and your gardening friend to a special garden, or perhaps one of the spring flower shows. This will allow the two of you to have some time together and to get some ideas about what you both can do in your gardens. One of my favorite gardens is Bedrock Garden in Lee, NH. This garden was developed by plant guru Jill Nooney and her husband, Bob Munger, over a 25 year period and recently achieved 501-(c)-3 status as a non-profit. Not only does it have a fabulous collection of plants, Jill is a sculptor and welder who has created art that is displayed in the gardens. This is truly a gem of a place and worthy of visits. Suggested donation of $15. See their website for schedules.

 

Another garden I love is Saint Gaudens National Historic Site in Cornish, NH. Augustus Saint Gaudens was a world-known sculptor who lived and worked there in the early 20th century. The well-maintained formal gardens and grounds are enhanced by his fabuolous life-sized (or larger) bronze sculptures. The grounds are open year-round, and the galleries are open from Memorial Day weeknd through October 31. Admission is $10 and is valid for 7 days.

 

Of the Spring Flower Shows, the Connecticut show in Hartford is probably the biggest in New England, and well worth a visit. It will be February 22 to 25 in 2024 and although tickets are not yet on sale, you can make up a nice card inviting your gardening buddy to go with you.

 

Garden tools are generally a hit. On my second birthday I was given a child-sized wheelbarrow, a watering can and a shovel, all of which helped form me as a life-time gardener. Most garden centers sell good quality tools for kids made of metal, not plastic. See what you can find for a small person in your life.

 

I’ve had this Smart Cart for 20 years

Adults like tools, too. For 20 years now I’ve had a Smart Cart, a well balanced two-wheel cart. The frame is made of airplane-grade tubular aluminum and the 7-cubic ft body of heavy-duty plastic. It comes either with bike-type wheels or smaller, fatter wheels capable of traversing wet areas more easily and carrying heavier loads. I chose the wide wheels, which make the cart rated for 600 pounds. The narrower wheels are rated for 400 lbs. I’ve never had a flat tire and the cart has served me well. The bin pops out if you want to wash a dog in it, or carry home manure in your Subaru. It is not inexpensive, but worth the investment.

 

My favorite weeder is the CobraHead weeder, a single-tine, curved hook that teases out roots with ease and precision. It has become an extension of my body – I use it for planting, weeding, and more. About $29 and available not only on-line, but from good garden centers and seed companies everywhere.

 

Although there may be no better mousetrap to invent, amazingly there is a new design to the shovel, one called the Root Slayer. It is all one piece of steel; it has a straight leading edge that comes sharp and stays sharp. The edges are serrated and able to slice though roots like a hot knife through butter. Great for planting in the woods or near trees. I still use my regular shovel or spade for digging in my garden or filling a wheelbarrow with compost. But if I want to plant a tree in a field, it is great for slicing though sod. I use it for dividing big clumps of daylilies and other tough perennials. Available at good garden centers.

 

Root Slayer spade and CobraHead weeder are excellent tools

I know most of you probably keep track of garden events on your phone – things like when you planted lettuce seeds or when your delphinium bloom. I don’t. I like an old fashioned journal I can write in with a pen. Blank books are readily available, and some companies even sell special garden journals. Gardening is a slow and thoughtful pastime and lends itself to the handwritten word.

 

If you know that your gift-recipient starts seeds in the spring, or plans to, you might consider getting an electric heat mat as a gift. They considerably speed up the time needed for germination of weeds in the spring, So for example, corn seeds can take 2 or 3 weeks to germinate in cold, wet soil, but will pop up in 3 to 5 days when on a heat mat. If course, you then have to transplant the seedlings, but that is not bad for a small patch. I generally use a planting flat with 98 cells for corn and transplant them when they have leaves two inches tall.

 

Garlic clips are quite effective deer repellents

If deer are a problem, some garlic-oil clips will add some protection in winter for your tasty trees and shrubs. I’ve had excellent luck with them, specifically with a brand called “Plant Pro-Tec Deer and Rabbit Repellent”. They come in a package of 25 for about a dollar each, and seem to last all winter. The are advertised as working for 6 to 8 months. Of course, depending on how hungry the deer are, the may not be 100% effective.

 

Seeds are great gifts, and serve well as stocking stuffers. If you save heirloom tomato or flower seeds, you can package up some of your favorites for a friend, along with a good description. And you can gift a nice houseplant, particularly one in bloom. But most of us already have all the houseplants we need.

 

Lastly, books are great gifts for gardeners – especially now, in winter when we have time on our hands. If I could select just one book, I’d pick “Essential Native Trees and Shrubs for the Eastern United States” by Tony Dove and Ginger Woolridge (2018, Imagine, Bunker Hill Studio Books, $35 hardback). I’m totally behind the movement to plant native plants to support our birds, pollinators and wildlife and this book will answer all your questions – which are attractive to deer, salt tolerant, good for poor soils and much more. It has excellent photos.

 

Enjoy picking good gardening gifts as you play Santa this year. Your loved ones will love you even more.

 

Henry is writing just one gardening article per month this winter. You may reach him at PO Box 364, Cornish Flat, NH 03746 or by e-mail at henry.homeyere@comcast.net.

Filed under Article · Tagged with deer clips, gardening books, root slayer, smart cart

The Basics of a Garden Library

Posted on Tuesday, February 16, 2021 · Leave a Comment 

I know that many people, especially gardeners under the age of forty, use the internet to find the answers to their questions. That is fine, but the internet is full of “fake news” and spurious assertions. I do use the web, but if I want to learn about something in-depth, I reach for a book. People who write books generally write about things they know. Garden books are written by gardener

 

Some years ago I taught a class in sustainable gardening at Granite State College, part of the University of New Hampshire system. I asked my students to buy The Garden Primer by Barbara Damrosch. This paperback is a compact 800-pages of readable, educational information about nearly every aspect of gardening. It came in out on 2008, but is still in print. Everyone could benefit by owning it.

 

For a book on vegetable gardening there is none better than Vermont’s own Ed Smith’s The Vegetable Gardener’s Bible. With more than a million copies sold, this book goes into detail on every veggie you could grow – when and how to plant, how long seeds last, when to harvest, and much more.

 

For the serious flower gardener or landscape professional I would recommend an 1,100 page book by Allan M. Armitage. His Herbaceous Perennial Plants: A Treatise on their Identification, Culture, and Garden Attributes. This book came out in 1989 and it is now its fourth edition, which came out in 2020. My goal for the winter is to read it, or the relevant parts, cover to cover. Why? Because I can learn from a man who is not only a PhD professor, but a hands-on gardener of many decades.

 

Are you interested in flower gardening? My first choice of books would be Tracy DiSabato-Aust’s book, The Well-Tended Perennial Garden: Planting & Pruning Techniques. She is obviously a well-experienced gardener and designer, and one who has learned to get her flowers to re-bloom, or bloom at a shorter height, and who knows how much sun and water each needs. Staking? Dividing plants? It’s all there and more.

 

There are plants in the book that I absolutely lust for. Unusual plants that will fill niches in my diverse garden beds. It also tells me why some plants I have tried have died out. It informs me about named varieties to look for that have special attributes.

 

Dr. Armitage is opinionated and often funny. I like that. It has some photos, but certainly not one for every flower mentioned. This is not a coffee table book, but a book for plant collectors, landscapers – and fanatics. At just under $80, I think it’s a bargain.

 

Trees? The most prolific and best informed expert, in my opinion, is Michael Dirr. I use his Manual of Woody Landscape Plants: Their Identification, Ornamental Characteristics, Culture, Propagation and Uses every week of the year. It has informed me about any tree or shrub I want to know about. Now in its 6th edition, it sells new for $81.80, but it is available used for much less (usually earlier editions).

 

Professor Dirr also has written many other books, several of them with terrific color photos (in contrast to his Manual, described above, which has only drawings). I spent one winter going through his Dirr’s Encyclopedia of Trees and Shrubs with its descriptions of 3700 species and cultivars and 3,500 photos.

 

Pruning is key to keeping your woody plants looking good. My favorite pruning book is by Lee Reich, The Pruning Book. With both diagrams and photographs, this book covers many species and their specific needs. His book, Grow Fruit Naturally is another excellent book you might want.

 

Soil is the key to good gardening, but a topic that is usually boring and scientifically described. Want at easy explanation of how it works? Try a book by Dianne Miessler, Grow Your Soil: Harness the Power of the Soil Food Web to Create Your Best Garden Ever. It explains very well how soils work, what soil test results mean, and how to correct deficiencies. You don’t need to be a scientist to read this one. ($16.95 in paper).

 

Stone is a key element in many gardens, part of the “bones” of a garden. Dan Snow, a Vermont dry stonewaller and stone artist, has written a number of fine books on using stone. Listening to Stone and In the Company of Stone both offer practical and philosophical advice and share many fine photos of his projects.

 

Gordon Hayward, a Vermont landscape designer and prolific author also has an excellent book on how to use stone, Stone in the Garden: Inspiring Designs and Practical Projects. Want to build a stone path or a retaining wall? Hayward simplifies the process. As with Dan Snow’s books, great photographs full of ideas.

 

Sydney Eddison is another prolific garden writer with many fine titles. Her The Gardener’s Palette: Creating Color in the Garden taught me a lot about the use of colors in the garden. Her advice is always practical and nicely explained.

 

So invest in some books this winter, curl up in a comfy place and see what you can learn that will help you, come spring.

 

Henry is the author of 4 gardening books including Organic Gardening (not just) in the Northeast: A Hands-On, Month-by-Month Guide. It is a collection of his gardening articles gleaned from 10 years of writing. It has recently been re-printed and is available from Henry for $19. He is at PO Box 364, Cornish Flat, NH 03746. His email is henry.homeyer@comcast.net.

 

 

 

Filed under Article · Tagged with Armitage, Damrosch, Dirr, gardening books

Holiday Gifts for the Gardener

It’s that time of year again. Time to think about buying gifts for our loved ones. For gardeners there are so many things, selecting something is easy – from under $10 to over $500. Let me play Santa, offering you ideas to choose from – or things to avoid.

Let’s start with the no-no’s: Unless your sweetie has asked for more houseplants, don’t buy houseplants. The only exception to that might be an orchid in bloom – if she can consider it like cut flowers and jettison it after it finishes blooming. But in general, houseplants are work, and require space on a windowsill. Likewise avoid buying a do-it-yourself beehive kit or an earthworm farm for digesting the leftover lettuce that would otherwise go in the compost.

On the other hand, a truckload of good compost would be welcomed by almost any gardener. Just don’t have Santa deliver it on the driveway. Santa has to deliver to the garden, or near the garden. Composted barn scrapings are sold by most dairy farmers and garden centers, and by some lawn maintenance companies. Ask for “hot composted manure” or aged barn scrapings. The hot composted stuff should not have any viable weed seeds.

Garden gloves are good gifts. These range in price from $6.95 to $24.95. Now days you can even get them in pink. Me? I like the stretchy gloves impregnated with latex on the palms, but not on the backs, so hands can breathe.

Last summer I got a set of deer-repelling blinking lights. Quite innovative. They are solar powered, and emit a red LED light all night that scares deer or other pests. It is called Nite-Guard Solar (www.niteguard.com). You need at least 4 of these devices, so that one is facing each direction around the garden at eye-height of the deer or raccoon. In my limited use, they seem to be a big help. Of course, with heavy deer pressure, only an 8-foot fence is 100% effective.

Speaking of deer, another problem they present is Lyme disease, carried by ticks that deer and mice carry. There is a gaiter available that is impregnated with permethrin. These gaiters wrap around your pants to prevent ticks from getting to you – and to kill them if they try to attach to your pant legs. If you have a lots of ticks, these may be a great help. Available on line at www.Lymeez.com. This is a new version of one that I tried earlier, and the manufacturer assures me it will be ready for shipment by December 19.

I’m not, in general, a big fan of rototillers, but was given a little one to try out last spring. It’s called the Mantis tiller (www.mantis.com). It only weighs 24 pounds and digs down to a maximum of 10 inches. I used it for working compost into the top 6 inches of my vegetable garden and found that it did a good job. It starts easily and runs well.

My basic complaint with large tillers is that they can go down 18 inches or so, moving microorganisms from one soil depth to another. This little guy is less likely to do that. Big ones can also damage soil structure, particularly if wet.

This summer I got a sauerkraut crock from Gardeners Supply (www.gardeners.com) and like it a lot. Mine has a 1.3 gallon capacity, and comes with a kit that includes weights to keep the kraut submerged. It has a water-sealed air lock for the cover which allows the gases to be vented, but no extraneous air-borne yeasts or bacteria to enter it.

Every year I mention my favorite weeding tool, the Cobrahead Weeder (www.cobrahead.com). It is available everywhere now because it really works: like a single steel finger it can tease out long grass roots, prepare a place for a tomato seedling, or get under a big weed, allowing you to pull from above and below. If your Sweetie doesn’t have one, get one, and she’ll love you even more!

Books are always good presents

Books are always good gifts. I recently got a copy of a nice book by Vermont garden designer and author Gordon Hayward and his wife Mary called Tending Your Garden: A Year-Round Guide to Garden Maintenance. Hayward is a hands-on guy who knows a lot, and the book if full of lovely photos and sensible ideas. I also love his book, Stone in the Garden. In fact, I like all his books!

Forest Trees of Vermont by Trevor Evans is one of the nicest guides to trees I have seen. Great photos, easy-to use, it even comes with a little ruler for measuring leaves! Applicable anywhere in the Northeast. Available from Forestry Press, www.ForestryPress.com.

In general, if you like an author, any book by the same author will be good. Thus you could look for books by Michael Dirr (trees, shrubs), Barbara Damroch (general gardening), Ed Smith (vegetables) or Sydney Eddison (flowers and design). And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention my own books – they cover just about everything, but with an organic bias. My New Hampshire Gardener’s Companion is just out in an updated second edition and is relevant anywhere in New England.

Lastly, if you really don’t know what to get or are too busy to find something good, get a gift certificate to a local, family-owned garden center and let your loved pick a gift. Every serious gardener lusts after new perennials and shrubs, so why not facilitate the process with a gift certificate? And the garden centers would be happy for your business at this, a slow time of year.

Henry’s website is www.Gardening-Guy.com. Send questions to him at henry.homeyer@comcast.net.

• “Organic Gardening – Not Just in the Northeast”

  Henry’s latest Book, Organic Gardening (not just) in the Northeast: A Hands-On Month-by-Month Guide is now available for $21.00 INCLUDING postage. To Learn more about this book click here: Organic Gardening (not just) in the Northeast: A Hands-On Month-by-Month Guide is organized around the calendar year, starting in March and continuing through the year with timely advice. The book is packed with useful information you won’t find elsewhere: how to sharpen your pruners, use a screwdriver to test for compaction in your lawn, and build a welcoming cedar arbor as an entrance to the garden. Learn how to grow ladyslipper orchids or Himalayan blue poppies, prune apple trees, grow giant pumpkins, and even how to start a date palm from a grocery store date or build a small stone igloo to delight the grandchildren. Eccentric, eclectic, and entertaining, whether you are a beginner or a veteran, this book has something more for you. To see what other garden writers have said about it click here