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.
Holiday Gifts for the Gardener
Posted on Tuesday, November 23, 2021 · Leave a Comment
This tree guard keeps voles from damaging young trees
Ready to shop! Every time I turn on the radio or open a newspaper, there are articles about supply chain issues. Even the reliable old US Postal Service is saying deliveries may well be delayed. So share some garden produce this year or shop at a local, family-owned business when you can.
Food is a great gift. You don’t need fancy fruit shipped from Oregon if you made plenty of tomato sauce or quince jelly this year. Share the harvest. A quart of dried cherry tomatoes contains a lot of love and work. You had to grow, harvest, wash and dehydrate. Only people dear to my heart will rate such a gift.
My dream gift? A friend, loved one or reader sending me a nice card, along with a homemade certificate for four hours of weeding in my garden. Or two hours. Working in the garden with a friend or relative can be a great way to strengthen a friendship. Politics don’t matter in the garden. I might suspect my brother-in-law didn’t vote the way I did in the last election. But if he will bring his chain saw and help me take down and cut up a 12-inch diameter boxelder I want removed, send me the gift certificate!
Gardening books make great presents
Books are great gifts, and books printed in the United States should be readily available at your local bookstore. My first choice for a book to give? Doug Tallamy’s book, Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation That Starts in Your Yard. It explains how what we plant can affect the planet, especially our pollinators and birds. And all of us, really.
I’ve re-printed my last
gardening book, and will be selling it at a discount directly to you, signed. It’s a collection of my best
articles organized around the calendar year. It’s titled
Organic Gardening (not just) in the Northeast: A Hands-On, Month-by-Month Guide. Signed and mailed to you for just $19. Send a check to Henry Homeyer at PO Box 364, Cornish Flat, NH 03746. I will try to figure out how to reduce the price on my website,
www.Gardening-Guy.com where it is currently for sale at $21 if you want to use PayPal.
What else at the bookstore? Essential Native Trees and Shrubs for the Eastern United States by Tony Dove and Ginger Woolridge is a great companion for Doug Tallamy’s book. Michael Dirr has written lots of great tree books. He is informative and opinionated. Allan Armitage is just as opinionated and thorough about flowers as Dirr is about trees. Or get a gift certificate and let your gardener pick her own books at the local bookstore.
Garlic clips work well for me to deter deer
If deer are a problem in the garden of your loved one, I find nothing better than “Fend Off Deer and Rabbit Repellent Odor Clips”. Available at Gardeners Supply and other retailers. A package of 25 sells for about $20. I use one or two per shrub to keep deer away all winter. They clip on with a clothes-pin style attachment. They contain just garlic and soy oil, no chemicals.
I recently wrote about using hardware cloth (wire screening) to keep voles from chewing off bark and killing young trees. Since then I have used plastic spiral tree guards that are easy to install and will protect against sun scald in winter, too. They are inexpensive and can be re-used (I will remove them in the spring). They are sold as Rainbow Professional LTD White Spiral Tree Guards at OESCOinc.com or by calling them at 413-469-4335. They sent my order out the very day I called.
I like this Lowe anvil pruner
Also available from OESCO are some pruners that I like a lot. OESCO is a small company based in Conway MA catering to orchard professionals. The pruners are made by a German company, Lowe with 2 dots over the O, not to be confused with the American retailer Lowe’s. The pruners are of the anvil type, designed and manufactured well. They sell a size nice for small hands (Lowe 5.107) and a larger size, too. OESCO sells replacement blades and parts.
Of course every gardener needs a good weeding tool. My favorite is the CobraHead, and has been for years. They now have a mini-Cobrahead which is designed for smaller hands. Available from CobraHead.com or 866-962-6272 or at your local garden center. It has a single curved tine like a steel finger that will tease out roots from below while you tug a weed from above. I emailed the owner, Noel Valdes, who told me there are plenty in stock.
Root Slayer spade and CobraHead weeder are excellent tools
I found a wonderful shovel for digging in tough areas with lots of roots. It’s called the Root Slayer and is available from Gardeners Supply and a few other retailers. I’ve used mine all summer, and love it! Great for cutting though sod, too. It has a sharp blade and teeth along the sides for slicing roots.
Lastly, think about a gift certificate at your local nursery or garden center for plant purchases in the spring. Plants are always good.
Henry lives, writes and
gardens in Cornish Flat, NH. His e-mail is
henry.homeyer@comcast.net. He is the author of 4
gardening books.
Click Here to buy from Cobrahead