Finding the perfect gift for the gardener in your life is a lot like shopping without crowds and other hassles. Nurseries and garden centers have their "Christmas rush" in the spring. In December, they are relaxed, sensible places to get the perfect present for anyone who enjoys gardening.
Gardening continues to be America's number one outdoor leisure activity. Most gardeners would love to spend more of their leisure hours in the garden. But with busy lifestyles, no one wants to waste time replacing, fixing or being frustrated with cheap tools.
Western Garden Center has been helping area gardeners for decades. Karen Robbs, manager of Western Garden Center's Salt Lake store, reviewed with us garden gifts for the season. Even excluding plants and animals, she came up with some thoughtful and popular ideas.
Her first advice is to look for quality. "It doesn't matter what you buy, if it is not good quality it will not last," she said. "You will frustrate whoever uses the tools and then they just have to come back and get a replacement anyway. Better tools and accessories may cost a little more, but they are much easier to use and they do a better job."
Take the lowly shovel. "Even a very basic tool like a shovel is an investment in quality," she said. "Inexpensive shovels are made with thin, lightweight, stamped metal while the quality ones have a forged single piece head that comes well up the handle and is solid all around. Look for high quality wooden handles or consider getting one of the new fiberglass handled tools. These handles never need to be treated to keep them from weathering or splitting and most have a lifetime guarantee."
Size the tool to the task and the user, she advised. For example, smaller shovels are for people who find larger tools more awkward. This also holds true for pruning shears. Robbs offered these guidelines: "Do not get them too big. Some gardeners get massive loppers that they cannot use properly. If most of your pruning is on smaller branches, use a smaller pair of loppers or hand shears. Trying to cut 2-inch branches with small tools does not work. Having the physical strength to cut the branches is hard and you may destroy the tools."
Look for a good quality brand name. Corona and Felco are both excellent while Ames and Stanley also make quality specialty tools. Quality pruners are much easier to use and cause less damage to the plants. They make a good clean cut and do not leave the end of the twig broken and mangled.
"I personally prefer the bypass pruner with a scissor type cut as opposed to those with an anvil that crushes the end of the stem," she said.
Rakes are another basic garden tool. Leaf rakes are good to finish the cleanup in the spring and garden rakes will help level and clean planting beds. Cheap rakes usually fall apart and are not much fun to use.
Planting time is just around the corner so consider tools to make that job easier. Dibbles are popular European tools and are used by greenhouse professionals throughout the world. They are nothing more than a sharp pointed stick with a "T" handle but they make transplanting much easier.
"Dibbles are used by many of our customers for planting smaller bulbs, even for seeds and small transplants. They easily go into harder soils and make a small, perfectly formed hole that is easy to use," Robbs said.
"Gloves are always popular garden gifts. Fortunately, they are widely available in all sizes, so select them according to the length of the recipient's fingers. Lined gloves are great for winter tasks like pruning while unlined are better all-purpose choices. Goatskin gloves are lightweight and are very flexible. I also like well-made cowhide gloves. Most of the cotton gloves look pretty but will not last the serious gardener very long."
Tabletop fountains are very popular. They offer the sound of a babbling brook inside your home. Prices start at less than $30 and go up from there. They use small, inexpensive pumps that consume very little electricity and are easy to set up and use. If you fill them with distilled water, they will not develop spots or stains on the fountain.
If your gardener likes outdoor fountains, buy him a kit to build one in the spring. If he already has one, select thoughtful accessories such as statuary or a different fountain nozzle to change the look of the water display.
Garden books are also very popular Christmas gifts. Robbs said some titles are perennial favorites. "Pruning books are always popular at Christmas. I guess that is because that is probably the first task people are going to start. Water gardening is becoming more popular each year and so we carry several titles on that subject. We sell thousands of herb plants each year so herb books are another popular gift."
Because many gardeners are new to growing vegetables, so any good vegetable growing book is a welcome gift. Because varieties and growing techniques change, look for new updated editions for experienced gardeners, she suggested.
The very popular "Sunset Western Garden" book has two new companion volumes. They are the "Sunset Western Landscape" book and the "Sunset Garden Problem Solver." Each of those volumes complements the original book. These and many other titles offer some vicarious gardening in front of a cozy fire before the season breaks.
Other popular gifts according to Robbs are bird feeders. "We have many different kinds and the seed to fill them. Different feeders and feeds attract different kinds of birds. Bird feeding and watching is America's second most popular hobby and is growing every year.
"One of the most popular types is the window bird feeder that fastens to a window so you can see the birds up close. Bird feeders are a gift that can be used year round and are a fun choice for children and for adults," she said.
Whatever your choice, whatever your budget and whatever your taste, garden gifts are always welcome. What could be better under the Christmas tree than gifts to help grow more plants and make the world even more beautiful?
Have a question for Larry? E-mail it to features@desnews.com. Subject: Larry Sagers.