What to buy for your favourite gardening buddy? A very upscale Brit periodical recently featured French enamel buckets with wood handles, slightly battered to ”add to their character” at just £20 each or about Cdn$30 (
deepuddy.co.uk). Or how about a lamp with a paper shade covered with skeletal magnolia leaves from
greatenglish.co.uk for a mere £125 plus p&p? Then can we interest you in The Gluttonous Gardener’s wine-and-vine crates, with a grape vine ready for planting along with a bottle of Bordeaux (
.glut.co.uk)? No? Then there are reproductions of educational German botanical charts costing £48, plus p&p, each from Whippet Grey (
whippetgrey.co.uk). Ah well, perhaps something more Canadian orientated . . .
Much closer to home, a new line of birch bark planters is the perfect way to bring the outdoors inside and add a natural element to your houseplants and flower arrangements. Pop a pot of ivy or pothos into one for a snazzy gift idea. Four sizes, all just under 10 inches in diameter, and varying in height from seven to over 30 inches. Available through your local friendly florist or garden centre and definitely more modestly priced.
“Kissing balls welcome holiday guests with fragrance and style” announced the eye-stopping header in Canadian Garden Centre & Nursery trade periodical. Actually these are a new take by Wilson Wreath on the old-fashioned “kissing ring” which, unlike “kissing balls” contained a sprig of mistletoe. Between 12 and 14 inches in diameter, made of balsam fir complemented with cones, faux holly, berries streamers and bow, ideal for hanging outside in a porch to welcome holiday season guests to the home. Available, as with many of the neat ideas below from any good garden centre, but probably too sophisticated for the big box stores.
Mount a seasonal wreath for the front door to welcome friends, but how about a special goodies-filled one for our feathered friends? Old acquaintances NIC (Natural Insect Control),
naturalinsectcontrol.com, has the very thing, available through their website or your local friendly garden centre. NIC also carries Botaniwipes, for the stocking of houseplant-loving friends. Heck, there seems to a wipe now for everything so why not houseplant leaves? Better yet, these are loaded with neem oil for natural protection.
Gardening Starter Kits for both indoor and outdoor gardening are quickly becoming the ‘in thing’ this coming season. Seed merchant Ferry-Morse has not been left out of the field. The kits come with growing medium and instructions. Perfect for beginner gardeners, the gourmet chef searching for fresh herbs, parents looking for new learning activities for their children and, yes, even the experienced green thumb brigade. Check out the local garden centre. Modestly priced.
Garden retailers Rittenhouse may have been around for almost a century but they embraced online activity long ago. Browse their catalogue at
.rittenhouse.ca. They have a range of great selections to suit every gardener – and every pocketbook. For instance: finally a home moisture meter with a 17” probe for indoor plats, containers, hanging baskets, even compost heaps ($34.95, AA battery included); a soil thermometer calibrated in Centigrade and Fahrenheit ($23.18); or a mini hand seeder to pick up and dispense the smallest seeds without batteries or electricity ($43.76).
Another great name in Canadian gardening gizmos is Lee Valley online (
leevalley.com) and at locations in several major cities across the nation. Check out their Christmas Gift Catalog 2010 for such use ideas as a Gardener’s Jorunal ($39.50) for a record of the garden; a kneeling pad $22.50); Badger Balm for those tired hands ($8.50); and that must for every true gardener the almost-mythical Haws watering can at $65.
The Canadian Weather Trivia Calendar 2011, by Environment Canada’s renowned David Phillips. “Nothing changes like the weather,” he says and perhaps nothing engages Canadians more – especially gardeners. Rush for this one as it sells out early. Under $20 at all major bookstores.
