Gifts for Gardeners
Posted:7 December 2011
I rather like this month – the pressure is off! A bit of fireside gardening is lovely at this time of year – although it has still been very mild here in Brighton. Gardening in your head or on paper can be very enjoyable and you can certainly get carried away with thinking of exciting projects for the spring.
Spend time on the winters evenings planning and looking through the seed and bulb catalogues – I love this job! – it is great to make notes of the things you want to grow – what was successful last year and which specialist group of plants you may want to try your hand at growing. For example, dahlias or chrysanthemums. See www.hallsofheddon.co.uk for a really comprehensive list of dahlias and chrysanthemums.
Get your orders for seeds in early to avoid the Christmas post and to ensure your selections are available – see Chilterns Seeds www.chilternseeds.co.uk, Nicky’s Nursery www.nickys-nursery.co.uk or The Real Seed Catalogue www.realseeds.co.uk and here at The Garden House we also has a great selection, see our SHOP section on this website.
Some other great gift ideas for your gardening friends:
Secateurs – you can get a reasonable pair for £15, or, if you are really trying to impress someone, buy Felcos! www.worldoffelco.co.uk and how about a sharpening stone to go with them?
Pocket knife for taking cuttings and slicing open sacks of compost. We love the Felco Victorinox General Purpose Knife from World of Felco www.worldoffelco.co.uk or Harrod Horticultural www.harrodhorticultural.com
Hand tools – there are many really good ranges around – try a long handled fork and trowel from Quality Garden Tools www.qualitygardentools.com or Sneeboer tools are very special and a real investment that is going to last www.sneeboer.com
Labelling systems – Labels N Things do some wonderful black labels that are long lasting and you can write on them with a white pen which will withstand all weathers and can be recycled by cleaning with white spirit www.labelsnthings.co.uk
Trugs are a must and tubtrugs make a brilliant present, especially if filled with other lovely gardening items such as seeds and books or plants and a small bag of compost. You can buy these from Amazon or www.tubtrugs.com
Or how about one of our Garden House Vouchers for a very special workshop or garden visit? We will be visiting the Cambridge Botanic Gardens in February – join us for a truly magical experience! Definitely something to look forward to in February and a great gift for a friend – see our DIARY for more details of this and many other courses, workshops or garden visits.
Finally, theres a wealth of great gardening books out there, guaranteed to give pleasure to any gardener. Anything by the RHS is always good, or a year book of “what to do in the garden each month” is always really useful. A plant identification book is always helpful too. The Garden House plan to recommend books to buy from Amazon in the New Year so watch this space!
So for all your gardening friends and family, lots of ideas and time to get shopping!