WELL, WELL … WINTER arrives in just a few days — Wednesday, Dec. 21.
Christmas is but a week away, oh no! Well, fear not, here is a list of easy to buy, readily available gifts for your last minute (panic) shopping as we have but a mere seven days until the big event.
Are you feeling any pressure yet trying to find those last minute stocking stuffers or a present for that hard to buy family member or friend? Today, I shall give you a list of gifts that cost $100 or less and can be used to stuff the stockings, hang on the tree or be decorated and wrapped up, all of which will delight and be useful, and thus appreciated, by any avid gardener.
1. Atlas Gloves ($4-$6): I cannot believe how much I absolutely love these things. In fact, I used to never wear gloves because I needed to feel the plant, stake, soil, etc. Well, Atlas gloves not only fit tight and true, but breathe as well. They don’t stink to high heaven like their predecessors did. Buy several pairs because gardeners go through them quickly. In fact, hang them all over the tree.
2. Tarps ($8-$30): I do so adore tarpaulins because of the ease, efficiency and the tidiness they provide. First, tarps transport material with great ease. I always pull a tarp along with me as I dead-head, prune and weed. Not only is there no mess as I work and toss stuff atop it, I can easily pull several wheelbarrow loads of debris with ease. Tarps placed on the sidewalk, driveway, path, patio or grass to also keep the area smudge-free and dirt-free as I work along, keeping my material (plants, soils and tools) pulling right along with me. The cleanup is finished as I haul off the tarp. Buy several sizes because everyone loves a gift pack.
3. Dramm water breaker ($25-$35): A plus for the superior aluminum head. Why this item? Well, because it is the best watering attachment in the world. It’s full-flow, low-velocity, gentle shower allows you to water cuttings, seedlings, transplants, flowers, trees, bushes and the like. One water tool, all watering jobs — got it? Get it!
4. Bag of great grass seed ($35-$100): This gift is only for the keeper of the castle who wants, adores or dreams of a great lawn. The secret is over-seeding now and in March. Get only the best seed — a mix with a 90 percent plus germination rate, a weed count of less than 0.01 percent weed seed, and get the drought-resistant and evergreen rye and fescue blends only.
5. Orchard saw ($50-$75): Anyone who will ever in their lifetime prune absolutely needs a good orchard saw — or two or three. Orchard saws’ curved blade design makes for cutting ease, and they are so easy to haul around. Some are small, fold-up, pocket-sized cutting marvels. Others can be as big as a 24-inch fixed blade of cross-cutting razor sharp teeth, cutting into a 6-inch diameter limb with ease. I own three — a small fold up compact, a medium grade 14-inch fixed-blade and a 22-inch fixed-blade. Combined with my pruners and loppers, they are all the tools I need to sculpt any plant.
6. Pruners ($48-$72): Yes, there are pruners for less than $20, and all of those are bad for your hands and plants. Felco pruners are where it is at, and they are available in many models — all in right and left-handed versions. I know a lot of folks who just can’t bring themselves to spend $50 or $70 on a pair of pruners. So be a secret Santa and give the world’s best precision pruning tool.
7. Loppers ($45-$90): Loppers are pruners on steroids and make a small job out of a big branch. Always get a guillotine or bypass lopper (pruners as well) because that blade configuration gives a precise cut and does not damage the plant like anvil type blades do. Oh by the way, Felco also makes loppers.
8. Trench shovel ($42-$70): This is the ideal shovel for our rocky, boulder-ridden soil. It is also the perfect shovel for digging around roots and other obstacles or to root-prune. A trench shovel is a long (18 inches or more) and thin (4-6 inches wide) bladed, handled shovel that tapers at the end. This thin, long blade digs around rock, root and hard, compacted soils. It also digs with ease around bushes and trees waiting to be transplanted.
9. Gift cards ($5-?) this is one of my favorite garden items. Not only is it whatever the person wants, but if you do it right, it is an afternoon out. In the envelope containing the gift card to the recipient’s favorite nursery is also a note telling the person you can make a day of it. You will first go out and buy some garden stuff, then go out after to lunch or coffee, and finally back to the house for chitchat. A great way to spend a winter day waiting for the sun and warmth to return.
But in the meantime, wrap yourself in peace and love, hold your friends and family near and dear, and please … stay well, all!
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Andrew May is a freelance writer and ornamental horticulturist who dreams of having Clallam and Jefferson counties nationally recognized as “Flower Peninsula USA.” Send him questions c/o Peninsula Daily News, P.O. Box 1330, Port Angeles, WA 98362, or email news@peninsuladailynews.com (subject line: Andrew May).
