Combine small gardening gifts into larger present

The gardener you’re shopping for this holiday may tell you that they have all the tools they need. But here are a few they probably don’t have and will be glad you gave to them.

I like combining several small items into one larger present. For instance, a pair of garden gloves, some insect repellent and a bottle of hand soap or hand lotion in a wicker basket makes a great present for a gardener. To make it simple, you can get that whole setup from Fields and Lane. Plus, its hand lotion includes insect repellent, so you get soft hands and no bug bites.

This Oregon-based company also features a glove line. I have a pair of the Driver leather gloves made from goatskin. They are soft and comfortable to wear, but they are also strong and durable. They provide protection against the thorns of my roses, and when they get too soiled I toss them in the washing machine. It is best to air-dry them, but I have forgotten and put them in the dryer, and they came out fine. By the way, if you have leather gardening gloves and won’t be using them over winter, it can be a good idea to treat them with a good leather protector. They will last much longer if the leather doesn’t dry out.

The Power Planter is a planting auger that fits onto a standard power drill. It can make planting many small plants or bulbs quick and easy. The auger bits are either 2 or 3 inches wide and 7 to 48 inches long. The longer bits are good for installing poles for structures like temporary fencing or volleyball nets. The shorter ones also can be used for mixing potting soil or aerating soil in garden beds. They can be found in garden centers or hardware stores, or on the Power Planter website.

I hate garden hoses. They are hard to attach to the spigot with the small metal fitting, and they twist and kink and snag on everything in the garden. But I have been rethinking my hatred after installing the new Flexzilla garden hose. Both ends of the hose have swivel fittings that allow the hose to untwist at the spigot and attachment ends. I love this feature.

The aircraft aluminum fitting that attaches to the faucet is surrounded by a large grip handle that allows old, weak or arthritic hands a much better grip than the typical small metal nut. One of my hose spigots is close to the ground and hard to reach. This grip handle makes it much easier to attach the hose.

The hose is also flexible in cold weather and is drinking-water safe. It may not sound like much of a present, but for gardeners like me who hate hoses, this one is a great idea. Visit the Flexzilla website for more details.

If you have good garden hoses but need the swivel fitting, the Dramm Corporation that makes a lot of watering wands and sprinklers has come to my rescue. It has introduced a brass hose swivel that attaches to either end of the hose. It lets you spin the hose to remove all the twists and kinks. If you buy two, there will be one on each end of the hose.