Gifts for gardeners: inexpensive, inspirational gifts for the gardener in your life.Gardeners are natural born gift-givers. All through the year, you can spot them giving friends baskets of strawberries and blueberries, filling up bags and boxes with big, juicy heirloom tomatoes and tender spring onions, and gifting everyone they know with their homemade jams, spaghetti sauces and summer corn, canned fresh for the winter months. If you have a gardener in your life, you're probably blessed with an abundance of gifts all year long. Lucky you! When it comes to gifting the special gardener in your life, do you know the perfect gift, or are you at a loss? You shouldn't be; this special breed of being is easy to please. Not only can you find thousands of items online, you can also visit local nurseries and find everything you need at your local botanical gardens and arboretum arboretum: see botanical garden. arboretum Place where trees, shrubs, and sometimes herbaceous plants are cultivated for scientific and educational purposes. An arboretum may be a collection in its own right or a part of a botanical garden. gift shops. Try these ideas: 1. Books: While frost is on the ground and the home fires are burning, books provide inspiration for the dreamy gardener. The variety of books is endless; just make sure it's new to their collection. Find a specialty book to inspire their imagination: bonsai bonsai (bōn`sī), art of cultivating dwarf trees. Bonsai, developed by the Japanese more than a thousand years ago, is derived from the Chinese practice of growing miniature plants. shaping, creating a butterfly or hummingbird garden, how to build a birdbath, fountain or pond, etc. If they had an overabundance o·ver·a·bun·dance n. A going or being beyond what is needed, desired, or appropriate; an excess: teenagers with an overabundance of energy. of zucchini this past summer, buy a zucchini recipe book to prepare them for next season. 2. Magazines: Magazines provide information and joy year-round. Depending upon your special gardener and their favorite activities, you can choose from Organic Gardening, Acres, Growing Edge, Fine Gardening, Country Garden, Horticulture and the list goes on and on. If a magazine subscription is your gift of choice, take some time for research and find an interesting, not-so-popular magazine that isn't available at the local newsstand. 3. Garden tools: Be a little nosy nos·y or nos·ey adj. nos·i·er, nos·i·est Informal 1. Given to prying into the affairs of others; snoopy. See Synonyms at curious. 2. Prying; inquisitive. and find out what they need the most. Is it time for a new pair of gloves? Are their clippers dull? Do they need a new caddy A plastic container that holds a CD or DVD disc for added protection. The bare disc is placed in the caddy, and the caddy is inserted into the drive. A caddy is not a jewel case. A jewel case protects the disc for transportation. A caddy protects the disc while reading and writing. , apron or garden trowel? Be a saint and opt for a whole new garden tool set. There are many to choose from, complete with tool belt or tote. 4. Gardening footwear: What are gardening shoes? They are easy to slip on and off, protective, waterproof and clean at the spray of a garden hose! The ones with holes are popular fight now, but don't forget to take thorns, sticks, pebbles and the sensitivity of the feet into consideration. Boots are a great choice too. There are many colorful, fun and useful galoshes that are sure to keep your gardener's feet dry during the spring and summer showers. 5. Seeds: Grab a few packets of wildflower wildflower Any flowering plant that grows without intentional human aid. Wildflowers are the source of all cultivated garden varieties of flowers. A wildflower growing where it is unwanted is considered a weed. , herb or vegetable seeds for one of the best gifts you can give. Get creative with new exotic plants you've never seen before, or if they have a penchant for native plants, collect some seeds of some favorites and package them up. 6. If you'd like to give something a bit larger and long lasting, think about birdbaths, garden benches, decorative arches, wind sculptures, stepping stones, solar garden lighting, garden fountains, beautiful statues, a bird feeder, a butterfly condo, a gazebo gazebo Lookout in the form of a turret, cupola (small, lanternlike dome), or garden house set on a height to give an extensive view. Few late-18th- and 19th-century rustic gazebos survive, but 17th-century turrets built up in an angle of the garden wall are not uncommon. , etc. Anything to beautify the garden, whether it makes it more colorful or more peaceful, will be enjoyed for years to come. 7. Scented Bloomers: If you really want to lift the spirits of your favorite gardener, bring them potted jasmine, begonias, passionflower passionflower, any plant of the genus Passiflora, mostly tropical American vines having pulpy fruits. Some species are grown in greenhouses for their large, unusual flowers of various colors; those seen by early Spanish settlers were interpreted as symbolic of vine or lavender. These scented bloomers will fill their home with relaxing aromas and colorful blooms. What more could a gardener want during the crisp, fall and winter months? United Plant Savers United Plant Savers is a group founded to protect native medicinal plants of the United States and Canada and their native habitat while ensuring an abundant renewable supply of medicinal plants for generations to come. offers organic cotton T-shirts, regular T or Fitted women's T with cap sleeves and a scooped neckline neckline The line that connects the two lowest points on the intermediate declines of a head-and-shoulders chart pattern. In an inverted head-and-shoulders formation, the neckline connects the two intermediate tops. , for $20. They also offer a 17"x23" black and green etching poster by Kevin Morgan, stating "If you listen, they will teach you," for $10. For More information visit: www.unitedplantsavers.org United Plant Saver's mission is to protect native medicinal plants Of the United States and Canada and their native habitat while Ensuring an abundant renewable supply of medicinal plants for Generations to come. Local, non-profit, gardening gift shops: The Asheville Botanical Gardens: www.ashevillebotanicalgardens. org, 151 W.T. Weaver Blvd., Asheville, 828-252-5190 The Asheville Botanical Gardens gift shop, The Garden Path, offers a wide selection of books, gardening tools and garden themed gifts for all ages, include hats, tee shirts, caps, jewelry, scarves, greeting cards, tote bags, CDs, stained glass, journals and more. North Carolina Arboretum The North Carolina Arboretum (434 acres) is an arboretum and botanical garden located within the Bent Creek Experimental Forest of the Pisgah National Forest at 100 Frederick Law Olmsted Way, southwest of Asheville, North Carolina near the Blue Ridge Parkway. : www.ncarboretum.org, 100 Frederick Law Olmsted Way, Asheville, 828-665-2492 The Arboretum's gift shop, The Garden Trellis 1. Trellis - An object-oriented language from the University of Karlsruhe(?) with static type-checking and encapsulation. 2. Trellis - An object-oriented application development system from DEC, based on the Trellis language. (Formerly named Owl). , offers handcrafts from local artists, bonsai tools, notecards NoteCards - An ambitious hypertext system developed at Xerox PARC, "designed to support the task of transforming a chaotic collection of unrelated thoughts into an integrated, orderly interpretation of ideas and their interconnections". and an extensive selection of books for gardeners, outdoor enthusiasts and children. The Screen Door/Common Ground Books: www.comground.org, 115 Fairview Rd., Asheville, 828-227-3667 Their retail store is an art gallery of funky garden art, and their book distribution company focuses on all aspects of gardening. Tena Moore is the editorial manager of New Life Journal and a freelance writer and online grassroots marketer. For more information, email submissions@newlifejournal.com |
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