Stumped by gift ideas for gardeners this season? Don’t let desperation for inspiration have you considering wrapping up a truck of manure. Though nothing says “I love you” quite like a big ol’ pile of poo, this classic, simple gift won’t make the grade when handing out holiday treasures.
Treat your gardener to a thoughtful gift, one sure to please without odiferous side effects. Vegetable gardening is hot this year, and gifts to fit every budget are easy to find. Try one of these for those with an edible garden:
The best gift doesn’t involve big purchases, just time and a willing hand. A day spent in the garden with them might mean more than any bauble you could buy. For a gift that they’ll cherish, build a cold frame for their tender spring seedlings using plans from Garden Gate magazine.
Treat them to a shopping spree at local garden centers. For those who assesses stem and leaf like the lines of a thoroughbred, a gift certificate is akin to a launching a kid into a candy shop.
Give good taste with herbs to flavor their food. Delightful on a winter windowsill or long lasting in the garden, herbs for a kitchen garden can be given individually or in kits.
If you want a prepackaged collection, check out the five-herb collection from High Country Gardens ($15.95). Their Herb Kit for Wine Lovers is designed for growing seasonings for creating the right dish to serve with wine. If your gardener prefers tea, go with the Herbal Tea Pocket Garden instead.
Any gardener who’s turned up a shirttail to carry vegetables into the house will adore English style garden trugs, wooden baskets attractive enough to double as décor. Sturdy, able to lift produce by the pound, myrtle wood trugs are handmade by Barber’s Baskets in Oregon ($49 small, $79 large).
How-to books are indispensable; they distract us in winter months. For vegetable growers, several tomes are go-to resources for big harvests or small space techniques.
Small spaces don’t mean tiny gardens. Grow big with Mel Bartholomew’s Square Foot Gardening: A New Way to Garden in Less Space with Less Work ($19.99 Rodale). Taking readers through his method of using every square-inch of your raised bed, gardeners learn techniques for making the most the vegetable patch.
Gardeners ready for huge harvests will love Eliot Coleman’s The Winter Harvest Handbook: Year Round Vegetable Production Using Deep Organic Techniques and Unheated Greenhouses ($29.95, Chelsea Green publishing). Coleman gives simple, clear steps for producing food in all four seasons.
Today’s post can be found in the Longmont Ledger.
Gardening after five 