Gifts for Gardeners: Pink Pruning Shears and Book Reviews Reprised

We're reminding gardeners and their gifting friends to reread Linda Coyner's gardening articles for gift books ideas. We've found that there are gardening books we'll buy because they're classics and that have received enthusiastic reviews over the years. Not just books but actual plants and tools are wonderful ideas for your friends and relatives who are avid gardeners, as well as for yourself.

We have pre-ordered plants that will appear in the springtime from such sources as Digging Dog Nursery in northern California. In fact, we have several astrantia now that we're planting before heavy rains appear. In September we were lucky enough to have excellent help from an employee of the nursery and now are watching the results of that foray. Annie's Annuals is another nursery we're lucky to live nearby but for unusual and well-described plants, their mail order fills the void. They're not just for annuals; our most beautiful rose in terms of aroma, re-blooming and abundance is a rose from Annie's.

A pair of gardening shears of the bypass type we bought this year are those offered by Saboten and called The Elegance Trio. They also include a trimmer and an anvil type. We chose the ones that are pink, great for small hands and easy to use. They've got a strip for securing around your wrist or for pulling out of a pocket quickly. The smooth finish is coated with ©Teflon-S. Tools including the Image from Amazon
Saboten 1218 Pruning Shears (Pink).

Although Linda is no longer able to write for the site, when she was able to she received the 2002 Garden Writers Association Garden Globe award for her SeniorWomen.com articles, Garden Edition: "Soy Bean (a.k.a. Edamane)" and Garden Edition: "Water Saving Products for The Garden," 3 Part Series.

In April 2004 she received the same Garden Globe award for her two-part article in SeniorWomen.com, Part One: Sun sense for gardeners; Skin and Eye Protection and Part Two: Sun sense for gardeners; Protective Clothing

Below we're reprising a few of Linda's book reviews.

Annuals with Style: Design Ideas from Classic to Cutting Edge by Michael A. Ruggiero, Tom Christopher, Thomas Christopher, Taunton Press .

This lovely book is chock full of useful information for all types of gardener. While it's primary focus is annuals, the book is also an easy-to-read primer on the life cycle of plants, making sense of that not-so-neat business of what "annual," "perennial," and "biennial" mean. The authors' fresh look at the use of annuals in garden design leaves behind the commonplace to create lively combinations with tropicals, succulents, grasses, vines, foliage plants, and biennials. Typical of Taunton Press, the book is beautifully designed. There's no shortage of excellent photos, many of which were contributed by Ruggiero.

The 'Essential Annuals' section is the place where we get a close-up discussion of the plants, in alphabetical order. The formatted information for each plant — Start, Garden uses, Culture, Gardener's Choice, Pests and Diseases — is very thorough. The tidbits of history are interesting and I especially liked the 'Gardener's Choice' section, which describes recommended varieties. In this section, however, the book's design fails the reader by using identification photos that are small and sometimes not helpful. It's here also that the page design doesn't clearly show where one plant entry starts and the next ends.

Image from Amazon
Garden Butterflies of North America: A Gallery of Garden Butterflies & How to Attract Them by Rick Mikula, Willow Creek Press

The subject of butterflies and butterfly gardening is so hot these days you're likely to see several titles on the subject this gift giving season. This one grabbed my attention once I learned more about the author.

As is always the case, I see his name everywhere butterflies are discussed. He's been butterfly farming for the last 20 years and serves as butterfly habitat consultant for many universities, zoos, museums, and aviaries. He even has his own web site (www.holeinhand.com) which has his books for sale. The Gallery of Garden Butterflies is the highlight of the book. Each of 40 or so butterflies get a spot in the gallery with a large photo and a page of text. You'll also see a map of North America with the butterfly's range highlighted.

When it comes to butterflies, learning to recognize which caterpillars are destined to become these lovely creatures is half the battle for me. Don't expect much help here. Apparently, the caterpillars of one butterfly can vary so greatly that most books, including this one, resort to a general description rather than a photo.

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Home and Shopping, Garden, Gift Shopping, Shop for Garden, Senior Women Web, Sightings, Book Reviews, Tam Gray, Linda Coyner

Gifts for Gardeners: Pink Pruning Shears and Book Reviews Reprised

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