A Christmas gift for that favourite gardening relative or friend? No problem if you are close enough to visit
Richters in Goodwood, Ontario, a short drive northeast of Toronto. Through until 22 December, visitors to the gift shop can select wonderful herbs, seasonal greenery, stocking stuffers, books, herbal ideas and much more, all the while sipping mulled cider, nibbling on herbal goodies and enjoying festive music. Richters is located on the south side of Highway 47 a kilometre east of Goodwood.
And of course, you can always go online. For the green-fingered fraternity who live in fear of an invasion of those dreaded garden gnomes, artist Fred Conlon as created his ‘Gnome Be Gone’ line, ferocious-looking critters who protect gardens and lawns from invasions by not only gnomes but also pink plastic flamingos. A wonderfully whimsical piece depicting two characters carrying off a gnome goes for $45 (gnome included). Or discourage those flighty flamingoes with “The Bird,” a parrot created from a pipe wrench ($110). Conlon's work is available through
www.sugarpost.com.
From down south, way down south came the idea of fake, very fake rocks to hide spare house keys under. Then there were equally disingenuous turtles, frogs and other assorted wildlife. Trouble is, they are light enough to be blown away and worse, # and other filchers quickly caught on. A new spin on the idea is RockLok, a fake rock that incorporates a lock box that requires a combination to open. They are also constructed of an artificial material that looks like the real McCoy Five sizes and various shapes from $64.99 to $69.99 available from
www.roclok.com. What to do when it is frozen to the ground, buried under metres of snow? Not to worry – burglars won’t be able to get at it either.
Then there is the black-fingered relation who disparages our efforts to green the world. Not quite ready yet but short t be here soon is the low-maintenance ‘Plantomatic.’ Perfect for the bone idle, it is a plant pot on three wheels incorporating an antenna-like solar panel that detect sunlight, then power the wheels move into to the sunniest spots on deck or patio. Brain child of Pep Torres, owner of the Museum of Ideas and Inventions in Barcelona, Spain, it was a recent hit at the 11th Annual British Invention Show.
