MOTHER'S DAY GIFT IDEAS FOR GARDENERS
Helen Chesnut suggests a few tools, plants, books and whimsical decor items to give those moms with a green thumb
Q
I'm looking for ideas on gifts for my mother and mother-inlaw this coming weekend. They both garden.
A
Local garden centres are excellent sources for gifts that will please and honour mothers and also mothering figures in our lives.
For a gardening mom, finding an ideal offering can be quick, and easy, as in a potted flowering plant for her deck or patio garden. Favourites are Martha Washington (Regal) geranium, Rieger begonia and Phalaenopsis orchids.
A book on a gardening topic of Mother's particular interest, an essential tool currently missing from her collection of gardening aids, a gift certificate from her favourite garden centre, a garden-themed cookbook, a collection of culinary herb transplants are more options.
For protection from sun and heat in the summer garden, a broad-brimmed hat and/or a roomy, lightweight cotton shirt with long sleeves would be helpful.
Food gardening has become a passion for many in recent years. I'm sure I'm not alone in taking delight in every vegetable, berry and fruit I grow and also in discovering new ways of preparing them for meals.
If the mothers in your life are keen on growing edibles, consider looking among the transplants of her best-loved vegetables for some interesting looking varieties. If her garden has limited space, look for compact varieties suitable for growing in containers.
For mothers with a keen sense of humour, look for whimsical decor for her open or container garden. You may find garden fairies, elves, birds or butterflies, ornamental solar lights and small concrete animals. For container gardeners, a bright ornamental pot would be welcome.
It is more than appropriate, in these challenging times and on this weekend, to acknowledge Nature, the mother upon whose health and abundance we depend for our existence. Some of us are blessed with a wee bit of Mother Earth under our temporary care. May that care be entirely benign, and contribute to enhancing her health.