By Ann Marie VanDerZanden
Horticulturist
Iowa State University
It is that time of year again. Winter has settled in, the days are short and the temperatures are cold. It’s hard for me to imagine spending summer mornings in my garden. During this time of year I do enjoy window shopping via the Internet, nursery catalogs and garden magazines for all sorts of garden things.
My enjoyment of this wintertime ritual is part of the reason I have written my December column on gift ideas for gardeners for the past couple of years. Based on the calls and e-mails I have received, I realize others are interested in this topic as well. This year I am going to focus on gifts that keep on giving.
One idea for a gift that keeps on giving is purchasing an ‘of the month club’ membership for the garden enthusiast in your life. Although for many years the ‘fruit of the month club’ was a good standby, now you can purchase a membership in one of these clubs for a variety of interest areas.
For example there are ‘of the month clubs’ for vegetables, cut or dried flowers and plants such as house plants, tropical plants or landscape plants, herbs and even potatoes. And for the gardener who is interested in a wide range of garden topics, consider a membership in a Gardener of the Month Club. Each month the recipient will receive a unique gift to help celebrate the art of gardening. A gift like this would be great for both the novice gardener and the most experienced gardener.
Again this year, there are a number of new books available from publishing houses that specialize in garden-related topics. Some of the new books focus on a particular group of plants such as viburnums, miniature orchids, hostas, coleus, succulents and camellias, just to name a few.
Other books focus on specialty type gardens such as alpine gardens, bulb gardens, and kitchen gardens. There also are a number of new titles that address gardening with perennials including maintenance issues, how to increase season long interest in the garden and selecting plants with unique foliage characteristics.
Maybe my favorite books showcase gardens from around the world, in particular the Pacific Northwest, Japan and China. As always, if you aren’t sure which one to select, a gift certificate to a local bookstore allows your gardener to select what interests them most. Spending time reading these books is sure to keep giving your favorite gardener ideas and inspiration.
It may seem odd to list tools as a gift that keeps on giving, but anybody who gardens knows how important tools are in the day to day process of planting or maintaining a garden. Most gardeners have their favorite tool, but I think many also enjoy a new gadget now and then. I still love the Foxglove gloves which have an ergonomic thumb design to improve the comfort and fit of the glove. They are great for planting or weeding or any garden task that requires complete dexterity. Foxgloves Grip are relatively new and build on the basic Foxglove model by adding silicone grip ovals. The grip ovals are larger and softer than an earlier model of the glove, and are great when you are using rakes, pruners or other tools.
In addition to ergonomically designed gloves, there also are a number of ergonomically designed garden tools to make gardening easier for everyone. The Good Grips Gel-e Garden Tools by OXO are designed to make gripping easier and as a result reduce hand fatigue. They are available in a garden trowel, transplanting trowel, fork and weeder.
These are just a few ideas for gifts that keep on giving. Hopefully they will provide you with a little inspiration as you start thinking about the gardeners on your list. This year consider giving them something they can enjoy all year long.
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