Gifts to get them growing next year
Are there gardeners in your life? We have Christmas and holiday gift ideas for you.
The hidden horticulturalists among us flourished this past spring and summer as they stayed home to help fight the pandemic. Plus, the weather co-operated with a great growing season. Herald these new gardeners’ — and veteran growers’ — joy with something to get them growing next year:
Soil delivery. The best gifts are the things you would never buy yourself, like a load of dirt. Too many gardeners set themselves up for failure by gardening in inferior soils. Over the years, Mark has brought in dump-truck loads of compost and mulch to amend the beds around his home. From $140, you can have a cubic yard of triple mix, mulch or compost delivered to your gardener from the folks at Big Yellow Bag. Much easier than lugging bags home from the garden centre. Available at bigyellowbag.com.
Bird feeder and seed. Dazzle the birdwatcher in your life with a new feeder or a quality seed mix. In winter, nyjer seed for finches and black oil sunflower seed for cardinals are both great options.
Agood sun hat. Some might say this is about as sexy as a cubic yard of compost. But the summers are getting hotter and, for us, the iconic Tilley hat is an indispensable part of our hot-weather wardrobe. Tilley is the preferred brand for their outstanding warranty and for being made in Canada, to boot. Ben has two: one for working in the garden, and one for date night with wife Sam.
Books. If you are a regular reader of our column, you would know that we have our
favourites such as “Nature’s Best Hope,” by Doug Tallamy, a very persuasive argument for growing native plants that will change the way you think about gardening. A touching memoir can be found in “Birds Art Life,” by Toronto author
Kyo Maclear. This is a personal story about discovering the joys of birding in Toronto, and learning to appreciate the little things against a bigger backdrop.
For more practical gardening books, look for Tara Nolan’s recent “Gardening Your Front Yard: Projects and Ideas for Big and Small Spaces.” The annual “Gardener’s Journal,” by Helen and Sarah Battersby, is an excellent resource guide and diary.
Native plant gift card. Open up new possibilities for the gardener in your life by showing them a canvas, with native perennial plants the paint for that canvas. Consider giving them a gift certificate to a native plant nursery. The North American Native Plant Society has a great list of native plant nurseries online at nanps.org
Alemon tree. Two growing trends have been supercharged in 2020: houseplants and food crops. Put them together and you get an indoor lemon tree for fresh citrus throughout the year. With enough sunlight and proper fertilizer, you really can
grow a successful lemon crop indoors.
Plant pots. One way to spoil the beauty of a flowering houseplant is to place it in an ugly, plastic pot. Why not upgrade your look and also support a local craftsperson? This year, the famous One of a Kind Craft Show has moved online, where you might be able to find something unique and well crafted at oneofakindshow.com until Dec. 20.
Create something. If your gardener can cut and screw wood, there is no shortage of projects they’ll appreciate, from benches to trellises, to bird-nesting boxes, to cold frames and raised beds. Raised beds are a low-cost, high-return project for which there are plenty of plans online. The returns are great: less weed access, easier to access since they’re higher, earlier spring soil warmth and a tidier look, especially in vegetable gardens.
Nurture the gardener in your life with a garden-centric gift.