Halloween signals that
gift-giving holidays are coming up fast. It used to be that Thanksgiving
provided that starting point but now department stores display
Christmas decorations alongside the pumpkins and costumes.
The early notice is
not a bad thing as it has another advantage: it often coincides
with end-of-season sales (although here in Florida is more a “shift
of season” sale). To make room for holiday merchandise summer
goods, including yard and patio items, get marked down. At Lowe’s
for instance, I came across yard ornaments in bug and vegetable
shapes with small, brightly colored balls embedded (reminiscent
of gazing globes). At
Target, I snatched up a handy potting tray from the clearance
shelf.
Web sites and catalogs
have the advantage of offering garden products year-round. The
big retailers like Home Depot, Lowe’s and Wal-Mart have a good
selection of garden tools on hand even when it’s snowing outside.
Tools and books are my favorite categories but I'll outline ideas
that are more in keeping with the winter season.
Tools for the Gardener
Felco and Fiskars are
excellent brands in garden tools. In fact, the Felco pruner is
the standard by which all pruners are measured. Most catalogs
and Web sites carry the original for about $40. Other styles,
including an ergonomic design, run a bit more.
Fiskars makes a wide
selection of garden tools. Last year I recommended the Fiskars
PowerGear Loppers 9625. I stand by that recommendation. Any gardener
would be delighted to have one. It’s priced about $30. (For more
information, see Garden Edition
December 2001.)
Among Fiskars new offerings,
I recommend the Extended Reach Power-Lever® Grass & Hedge Shears.
This odd-looking tool is one that I gladly made room for in my
tool rack after testing it. My back is especially grateful and
my arms didn’t mind the gentle workout. I found it great for trimming
up close to beds where overlapping plants make it tricky to edge
with the mower or a string trimmer. Normally I’d use hand pruners
or shears and have to bend. Coming back from vacation, I used
it for trimming grass that had crept under my caladium foliage
and under a bayonet yucca with mean thorns. The 10” blades neatly
slipped under the foliage to cut grass. The cutting head rotates
270 degrees, which allows for convenient angling.
Fiskars also recommends
the tool for high hedges. I keep my hedges shoulder height to
avoid over-the-head pruning but it worked fine on my neighbor’s
hedges, cutting branches up to ½” thick. It has a reach of 38
inches, which lets you trim without the use of a ladder but holding
it above my head proved awkward. Price: $70. www.charleysgreenhouse.
com; www.Fiskars.com.
Also new from Fiskars
is the Power-Lever® Bypass and Anvil Pruners. It’s a compact pair
of pruners that is perfect for deadheading or any pruning that
required precision cutting and maneuvering. The contour of the
handles snuggles comfortable against the hand, and positions the
hand close to the blade, which gives the user the control needed
for careful pruning. They’d probably be great for bonsai or small
topiaries. With your hand in such close proximity to the plant,
you wouldn’t want to these pruners on anything with thorns.
These pruners come
in both anvil and bypass blade styles. Anvil pruners are best
for dry or hard-to-cut growth. Anvil pruners distribute the cutting
force equally preventing blades from twisting. Bypass blades are
best for green and growing wood. Bypass pruners allow for precise,
clean cuts as the hook contacts only one side of the cut, causing
less plant damage. Price for both: $21. www.charleysgreenhouse.com;
www.Fiskars.com.
Oxo is a new brand
in the garden-tool category, probably better known for its ergonomic
kitchen tools. For gift-giving, consider hand tools like the Plow
and the Transplanting Trowel. I especially liked the Plow. The
head comes to a point, making it great for clearing ground and
digging. The serrated edges helps cut through roots and can also
be used to open a bag or cut string. The handle has two positions.
Choke up on it for strength, or grab the back for added reach.
Both tools have Oxo’s
“Good Grips” handle and are stainless steel. They’re well made
and tough enough to handle just about an abuse a gardener or Mother
Nature can dish out. Price: $11 for the plow; $9 for the trowel.
www.oxo.com.
Coiled hoses became
popular this year. The Anaconda Hose appears to be more durable
than most of what’s out there. The ½-in. diameter hose extends
to 50 feet, retracts on its own to 38 inches, and makes up quickly
and easily into neat coils. Each end has standard-size leak-free
hose fixture that is solid brass. A heavy-duty spray gun with
an adjustable brass tip is also included. Guaranteed for 5 years.
Price: $60. www.whiteflowerfarm.com
Books for the Gardener
Books are a perennial favorite with gardeners but getting the
one that’s certain to please can be tricky as some gardeners are
readers while others want practical information and great ID photographs.
Christopher Lloyd’s
Garden Flowers (Timber Press, $40, hardcover) offers his personal
assessment of plants from Acanthus to Zigadenus. Lloyd, known
to be opinionated, distills his 80-some years of gardening in
this personal encyclopedia. Without wasting words, he uses his
refreshing dry humor to sum up his experience with each genus.
The book’s design is crisp and clean. The photographs are generous
and offer lovely glimpses into the master gardener’s garden. White
Flower Farms’ Web site indicates that its copies are autographed,
a special touch that would impress any gardener. www.whiteflowerfarm.com
The City Gardener’s
Handbook by Linda Yang (Storey Books, $20, paperback) impressed
me with its usefulness. It’s newly updated, packed with good information
for both city and country gardens, and very readable.
For a gardener who
enjoys reading, consider Legends in the Gardens: Who in the
World Is Nellie Stevens? by Linda L. Copeland and Allan M.
Armitage (Wings Publishers, 2001, $24.95, hardcover). It’s is
an irresistible invitation to readers to turn to favorite plants
to find out how they were named.
Making More Plants
(Clarkson Potter Publisher/Crown, $45, hardcover) is another good
choice. It’s exquisitely photographed and designed, and contains
information the author learned first hand about plant propagation.
(For more information, see Garden
Edition, November 2001.)
Other Gardening
Stuff
Garden gloves.
I’m a big fan of a garden glove called Fox Gloves and have mentioned
it before in Garden Edition. Personally, I’m not one to take time
to put on gloves but I’m always glad when I remember to put Fox
Gloves on. The gloves allow for excellent dexterity and, being
supplex nylon (the miracle fabric swimwear is made of), breathe
and feel comfortably supportive. Since they're not waterproof,
I use them for my dry gardening jobs—planting, repotting,
deadheading, excavating deep weed roots, and spreading mulch.
When they get dirty, throw them in the washer and they come out
like new. Available in small, medium, large and in lots of great
colors. Price: $25. www.
foxglovesinc.com
Tree ornaments.
Don’t overlook Smith & Hawken for gifts for gardeners. I was taken
by their limited edition greenhouse ornament, which comes complete
with a hothouse citrus tree. Price: $35. www.smithandhawken.
com
Bat house. They’re
not as cute and adorable as other backyard wildlife but bats earn
their keep by eating thousands of mosquitoes. The roof gives this
particular abode more character than most. For best results, place
the house on a tree in a large open area. Price: $95. www.whiteflowerfarm.com
Happy shopping!
