“Consider practicality when purchasing last-minute gifts for gardeners - Danbury News Times” plus 1 more

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Consider practicality when purchasing last-minute gifts for gardeners - Danbury News Times Posted: 17 Dec 2009 12:06 PM PST Your favorite gardener may not be digging in the dirt these days, but it's a sure bet he or she is dreaming of presents that will permit such happy play come April. Want to help make their wishes come true? Consider gifting the following: l Birdhouses and birdseed. Why, you may ask, are presents for the birds important for the gardener? Here's a few reasons: Not only do our feathered friends add color, sound, movement and interest to our yards, but they are also nature's best foe of insect pests. If you provide suet and seed for birds -- such as woodpeckers and wrens -- in the depths of winter, they'll stick around come the breezes of spring, to make their nests and raise their young in your domain. And they'll gobble their weight in mosquitoes, aphids and beetles when they do. Look for practical birdhouses and an endless supply of seed at Agway in Danbury, Bethel and New Milford. l Seed trays and lights. It's difficult to believe with the days so short, but in another couple of months, it'll be time to set up the seed-starting equipment. Might as well be prepared. Lay in a supply of seedling trays, soilless mix and lights. A gift certificate to Gardener's Supply can assist. www.gardeners.org. l Hand soaps and lotions: Good old-fashioned Lava soap, yep, that square- packaged, red-papered pumiced soap, can't be surpassed for getting out ingrained garden grime. Look for it at the grocery store. Bag Balm, which was invented to relieve, um, bovine udder discomfort, is matchless for repairing dried-out digits. However, if you want to get upscale and persnickety, try Crabtree & Evelyn Gardeners Hand Therapy cream, pricy but fabulous, and available at the Crabtree & Evelyn store at the mall. l Garden journals. A necessity for the new year. I like mine with lots of space, 300 pages or so, and a minimum of frippery. `Course, I also use it to keep track of my weight, jot favorite words, sorrow over how much money I've lost in the stock market, etc. Mostly my annual journals serve as a reminder of chores to be done, plants to try, and gardens to visit, as well as sowing times, weather vagaries, and my planting successes and failures. However, your favorite gardener's horticultural toy box may be already full. If so, think about donating to these worthy causes in their name: l Heifer Project, www.heifer.org, is an international organization which emphasizes sustainable agriculture and farming self-help. Donors choose agricultural gifts (and training) such as chickens, goats or bees to help families become self-sufficient. Recipients are expected to share the bounty when the heifer calves and the bees swarm. l Plant a Row for the Hungry, sponsored by the Garden Writers of America, www.gardenwriters.org, exists to encourage gardeners to plant an extra row of produce each year and bestow the surplus on food banks, soup kitchens and local social service organizations. Experience teaches that the best gifts are from the heart. If you know your gardener's heart, check out these ideas. Does your group need a speaker? Colleen Plimpton is available to present informative, humorous lectures on a wide variety of gardening and landscape topics. Contact her at colleenplimpton@yahoo.com for details. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Garden Crusaders salute Murphy's efforts - BlueRidgeNow.com Posted: 21 Dec 2009 01:52 AM PST The Garden Crusader Awards, created by Gardener's Supply in 2001, recognize individuals who make a difference in their community through their passion for gardening. A Garden Crusader is a gardener who has beautified an abandoned piece of land, fed the hungry with their produce, comforted the sick, or taught about gardening or the environment. The crusader program donates $15,000 in cash and products every year to support community gardening. Since 1999, Murphy, a teacher and certified horticultural therapist, has been working to transform a 12-acre former nursery into Henderson County's public horticultural center. The Bullington Horticultural Center has a variety of gardens that are used to teach school-age children, as well as adults about the styles and purposes of different types of gardens. Each year Murphy reaches almost 3,000 children and 600 adults through community programs about gardening and horticulture. Murphy also has established several programs that reach out to a variety of people such as at-risk and learning-disabled youth, and elderly and disabled members of the community. "Working hands-on with children and adults is the best way to teach them about the importance of gardening," Murphy said. "I have worked hard to create these programs, and every day I reap the benefits of that work." Nancy Gilchrist nominated Murphy for a Garden Crusader Award because of his "dedication to teaching school children about gardening and natural science. His work with challenged youth is inspiring and educational for gardeners who learn through volunteer work and other community members." Murphy continues to plan, design and develop public gardens, as well as to establish a curriculum for both youth and adults. His work has been an inspiration to his community and has reached many children and adults who otherwise would never have had an experience with gardening. The deadline for nominations for the 2010 Garden Crusader Awards is June 1. The four categories are: Urban Renewal, Feeding the Hungry, Education and Restoration. To nominate a Garden Crusader, please visit www.gardeners.com for an online nomination or e-mail crusader@gardeners.com or call 888-239-1552 to request a nomination form. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

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