Christmas gifts for the gardener
It is time to begin selecting the gifts for the gardeners on your holiday list. Try something different this year and establish ambitious goals to accomplish with the presents.
You may have someone on your Christmas list who’s having a bit of trouble getting involved in important activities after retiring. Consider paying their dues and training fees for the Bexar Master
Gardeners, bexarmg.org.
There are also opportunities for important environmental, educational and fun gardening projects with the Gardening Volunteers of South Texas ( gardeningvolunteers.org), the Men’s Gardening Club of San Antonio ( mensgardenclubofsa.com) and other volunteer groups that might meet the needs of the person on your present list. Pay the dues and attend a few meetings and /or project work sessions with them. That could turn out to be a wonderful gift.
Do you ever want to give a Christmas gift that links two individuals or families, like a newly retired grandfather and a granddaughter with an interest in the environment? How about getting them the same bird feeder kit?
I like the steel Absolute II Squirrel Resistant Feeder with weight-sensitive perches and sunflower seed. The squirrels are denied access to the sunflower seeds when they move onto the weight-sensitive perch.
Also include a wire mesh suet
feeder to distribute suet flavored with hot pepper. The insecteating birds such as wrens and woodpeckers relish the pepperflavored suet, and the squirrels pass it up.
The presents draw the two recipients together as they feed the birds and report on their progress.
The gift of a plant or tool at a good retail nursery in San Antonio might be appreciated by the gardener on your list, but what about a gift certificate so the recipient can decide what they’d like. This way, they get the fun of visiting the well-stocked nursery, and that’s always fun for gardeners.
How about a gift of a certificate that would cover the costs
for all the compost, milkweed, thyrallis, mist flower, porter weed, passion vine, frog fruit, horse herb, zinnias and other plants necessary to plant a 20by 10-foot butterfly garden? The
total cost would range from $300 to $1,000 based on the size and number of the plants.
Several area nurseries have certified butterfly gardens on site, so plans and models are
available. You could also include a copy of Geyata Ajilvsgi’s book “Butterfly Gardening for the South” as part of the gift and let the recipient use the gift certificate to purchase of plants from
one the plans included in the book.