Several years ago I was having a conversation with an actress between takes.    She said she had an agreement with her husband regarding categories of gifts – they must be either – Shiny, furry or involve real estate.

No electrical cords allowed!

The more I thought about this wisdom, the more I liked it!

Everyone likes personal gifts… Gifts with thought and meaning…

Luckily as gardeners we like the Real Estate category… but many of these are Shiny too!

So here is my list of favorite things and secret desires for gardening enthusiasts at all levels and price ranges…

Express what you love – Write a poem or share a photo of your garden. basically free!

Package of seeds – starting at $.50 – Inexpensive and thoughtful…   even better if sharing seeds from your garden…  It’s a gift that extents the anticipation and bounty of the season.

I love walking around my garden, and thinking about my friends who have given me seeds and plants, next best think to having them near.

Bulbs! – easily found at garden centers… a bag of bulbs under $10.  I have often ordered a variety of Narcissus or Daffodils – did you know there are 14 categories of the cherry bulbs and within each of these categories of the cheery bulbs and within each of  these categories you can choose early, mid-season or late-blooming.  Just check the zone of the reciprient.

If I have many small gifts to give or in need of hostess gifts, I will order 3 groups and divide them into packages of a few of each for each recipient!  It’s tickles me that often during the following years I will get a delighted call or email full of delight, as  bulbs begin to bloom in their gardens.

Garden Gloves!  – these are my favorites… next best thing to bare hands – they last a long time, washable and come in a rainbow of great colors…. 

ATLAS® Nitrile TOUCH® 370 Gloves usually around $8.

Gift Certificate to local garden Center.  – Support local business and you decide the amount!   Always welcome by gardeners at any levels.

Garden Inspiration –

Helen Yoest’s book of inspiration on rethinking your landscape.    No matter how much you know about gardening,  Helen leads you into your garden to reassess what you love or need  to rethink and find your personal garden Haven – who cares what the neighbors think!    I keep this book on my nightstand and find myself reading and chuckling then evaluating.   Helen intuitive writing from her personal experience of a life in the garden, but also reviewed by experts in the individual topics.   A welcome addition to any Gardener’s library!

 

A winter Blooming Plant – everyone loves the unexpected fragrance and color drifting through the winter garden and this time of year garden centers feature plants that do just that – provide winter interest, through color, berries, scent. These are always welcome! 

From a dwarf conifer or hellebore for under $20. Or more bang for more bucks look for: Daphne Odora, Prunus Mume, Corylopsis, Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Jelena,

Any of these will bring joy for years to come!

 

Capture the Joy! One of my favorite garden tools is a Camera – I love capturing nature and the fruits of my labor – so on my personal wish list:

 Ollo clip -It’s in the $70 range, the reviews are great!  So an excellent idea for your favorite garden blogger for garden photography – a way to transform your Smart phone’s camera to capture fisheye, wide & macro – all in your pocket, never miss a shot again!

I’ve been a good gardener Santa!

For the Serious Gardener –

Get a Grip – These are the cutest!  On the food they do not look too chunky even though steel toed!  Add water proof and comfortable what’s not to like.

Lawngrips start about $90 – styles for men and women.  Recommended by serious gardeners!

Reach Out – ARS Powerful Long Reach Pruner  Around $100 – two friends of mine have these and they are not only easy to use – balance with one hand and pull the trigger handle at the bottom with the other hand for hard to reach light pruning!

Find you Higher Power – Stokes 10 foot Orchard Ladder – $250 – $300 – the lightweight  tripod designs makes transporting and leveling easy…  the wide arch of the legs gives stability! 

And with only 3 legs instead of 4 you can really get into that tree or shrub.  I recently tried this ladder and it felt stable,safe and grounded!

 Dear Santa… I might let you use this amazing shiny gift too!

 What’s on your list?  Or share your ideas…