“Hoe, hoe, hoe! And other gifts for the gardener - Barre Montpelier Times Argus”

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Hoe, hoe, hoe! And other gifts for the gardener - Barre Montpelier Times Argus Posted: 06 Dec 2009 12:20 AM PST Hoe, hoe, hoe! And other gifts for the gardener By HENRY HOMEYER - Published: December 6, 2009 It's time again to pick the perfect present for Aunt Mabel and Uncle Melvin. If they're gardeners, the job is relatively easy. Go to your local family-run nursery and get a gift certificate good for a plant — or, better yet, three. They'll get what they want next spring and love you for it. Or get them a gardening book from your neighborhood bookstore. Local merchants need your holiday dollars much more than the big-box stores or the Internet giants. That said, there are plenty of nice gifts from small businesses via the Web, and many can be ordered by phone if you aren't keen on Internet shopping. One such small business is at www.GreenYankee.com. This is a site with information about gardening and how to tread lightly on the earth. It tells you everything from where to buy organic seeds to the current phase of the moon. It sells eco-friendly products, including a few of its own made in Massachusetts with recycled materials. I got the company's garden apron made of upholstery material and like it. It will hold my pruners, a portable phone, a small notebook, my diabetes test kit, plant tags and more. Unlike most aprons, this one is guy-friendly: It has quick-release plastic fasteners so I don't have to tie a bow behind my back. Handsome and sturdy, it costs $18.95. Dec. 17 is the order deadline for delivery by Christmas. You can call David Zoffoli to get one at (978) 790-4394. When I was a kid we had a claw-foot tub. Then we got a shower that gushed gallons of water. Later came water-saving nozzles, taking some of the fun out of scrubbing down after a day in the garden. This summer I got a nice compromise: a water-saving shower head on a flexible hose. It has five kinds of spray and introduces air into the mix to make it feel more powerful while saving water. It's part of the Evolution series, made by Oxygenics. It retails at $69.95 and may be available locally. I tested it and it used only 1.3 gallons a minute at full force. For information go to www.oxygenics.com or call (800) 344-3242. Speaking of getting clean, my late sister, Ruth Anne, swore by a soap called Savon de Marseille after a day in the garden. A world traveler, she always bought it in France. I was recently delighted to find it for sale from Gardener's Supply, at www.gardeners.com or (800) 427-3363. It comes as a 2-1/2-inch cube of soap made from olive oil and sea products. I see they also have it in lavender. Santa? Are you listening? I want a bar. It's $9.95 for the original, $14.95 for lavender. Also from Gardener's Supply is what seems to be the ultimate storage rack for onions, apples and winter squashes, called an Orchard Rack (Item No. 38-221). Made of rough-cut pine, it has six open, ventilated drawers. The whole thing is 40 inches tall. It costs $99.95 plus $20 shipping. I have just the spot for one of those, Santa. I've been good, too. Books are good gifts. I favor practical books, books I can learn from. Lee Reich's new book, "Landscaping with Fruit," is one of those. He includes fruits like juneberry, also known as serviceberry, shadbush or saskatoon (Amelanchier spp.). He tells which species and which named cultivars are best for fruit, and which for their early spring blossoms. Each fruit gets three pages or more including information on hardiness, pollination requirements, season of interest, growth habits and growing tips. I learned so much in 15 minutes that I will have to get a copy; it's $19.95 in paper, $30 hardback. Coffee table books generally don't do much for me, but Anna Pavord's "Bulb" is a combination of photos and great information. It's an encyclopedia of all the bulb plants. I love it because it has practical advice and wonderfully lyrical prose: She says of the martagon lily, for example, "it smells worse than a foxes den. But the martagon has a wonderfully wild soul and looks glorious at the edge of the garden ..." She tells you plant hardiness and soil requirements and adds suggestions for perennials to plant with some of these bulbs. It will help me to expand my palette of bulb plants. The book costs $39.95 in hardback. Tools are good gifts. Go to your local garden center and get an inexpensive folding pruning saw. Everyone needs a spare. Or get a pair of bypass loppers with gears. Fiskars is a manufacturer that makes three sizes, and I have them all. They're lightweight but strong. The gears make cutting through bigger hardwood limbs easy. They're available locally or from Gardener's Supply; prices range from $33 to $60. I've mentioned the CobraHead weeder before because it is the best weeding tool I've ever tested. I always keep two handy. They may be available locally, or can be bough for $24.95 at www.CobraHead.com or (866) 962-6272. And of course I have three books in print. "Notes from the Garden," "The Vermont Gardener's Companion" and "The New Hampshire Gardener's Companion" are inexpensive, useful gifts. They're available locally or from me at www.Gardening-Guy.com. Quality time with loved ones can be the greatest gift of all. Whatever you give, include a certificate good for a couple of hours of weeding. And then remember to do it next spring — without being asked! Henry Homeyer lives in Cornish Flat, N.H. fivefilters.org featured article: Normalising the crime of the century by John Pilger

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