IN THE GARDEN

By Caroline Collins

If you have a gardener on your list this holiday season, there’s good news. Lots of gorgeous and useful tools are available, in addition to beautiful books and magazines.

All gardeners need gloves, and they need more than one pair. There are gloves for roses, gloves for wet conditions, and gloves for children. One popular but pricey possibility for women is the “Fox Glove.” This is a slim-fitting glove made of nylon and Lycra that retails for about $24.99. For more information about Fox Gloves, or to buy online, visit www.foxglovesinc.com. Charley’s Greenhouse in Mt. Vernon, Washington, offers the Fox Glove, along with mud gloves for children, and just about any other kind of gardening glove you might seek. They have a searchable web site at www.charleysgreenhouse.com.

For a gift that will last for years, Smith and Hawken offers a high-end line of “heirloom” garden tools, and an “heirloom” wooden cabinet to store them in. Visit their website www.smithandhawken.com to learn more, but be prepared to spend more, too.

If you know a gardener who has reached the point where heavy lifting is a problem, visit the garden department at a home center like Home Depot and peruse the lightweight decorative pots. These look just like terra cotta, but weigh almost nothing. Actually, there are still a few hanging around our own International Market’s little garden section (back by the wine and cheese). Fill one with some smaller accessories (or wine and cheese, for that matter) and tie a bow around it for a quick and helpful gift.

Many gardeners wilt during the indoor days of winter, so try propping one up with indoor seed starting kits (www.park seed.com has some nice ones) or reading material. Favorite books of mine include Ken Druse’s beautifully photographed and engagingly written “Making More Plants,” and, especially for the west coast newcomer, Sunset Magazine’s “Western Garden Book.” The latest edition of this comprehensive reference was issued in 2001, and not everyone has it. Those who do often keep it on their bedside table!

A magazine subscription will please the armchair gardener. In addition to what you see on local newsstands, a gardener might appreciate more rarified British fare like “Plants,” which presents new introductions and specialty plants from around the world. Published by an apparently eccentric gentleman named Dirk Van der Werff, it’s available at www.plants-magazine.com. A safe bet for the well-manicured green thumb is “The English Garden.” More information about that magazine (and others) can be found on Amazon.com, under magazines.If you’re low on funds, or prone to procrastination, the gift of your time will go a long way. Use a greeting card as the basis for a gift certificate offering your own labor. Digging planting holes, raking, hauling ­ these chores can pile up, and an offer of assistance will brighten the season for a gardener with limited time, strength, or money.

For the gardener who seems to have everything, you still have an ace in the (planting) hole. Most gardeners are plantaholics, and can’t resist tossing another perennial into the border or another handful of annual seeds into the bed. You may not feel confident choosing plants, so try a gift certificate from an online retailer like Burpee. Go to www.Burpee.com and search for gift.

Finally, consider an excursion to a local horticultural marvel like the University of British Columbia’s Botanical Garden, or VanDusen on Oak Street in Vancouver. Combined with lunch, this gift lets you spend some pleasant time with your recipient, and might even get the gardening urge to germinate in you.

BACK TO TOP