GARDENERS CHRISTMAS LIST

Every year people ask me what to get me for Christmas, sometimes I say and sometimes I don’t. It is always interesting to see what I get and I think if you have a list it takes the surprise out of it. Of course, there are a few in my family when a list is necessary, but for the most part I’d prefer to have the surprise. This year I thought it might be fun to put together a list of my favorite garden things. The gardener’s in your life will love them too.

First on my list is about — Food – I love to eat so I cook. One of the best books I found this year is about gardening, growing, cooking and eating (all my favorite things). Grow Cook Eat: A Food Lover’s Guide to Vegetable Gardening, Including 50 Recipes, Plus Harvesting and Storage Tips by Willi Galloway is a great book for gardeners and cooks. I love that it can help you plan your veg garden for the next year and recipes that will inspire you to grow what you want to cook in your kitchen. This book has great advice on how to plant, harvest and store , plus 50 good recipes. Check out Willi’s website at www.digginfood.com.

Next on the list is also about food – Humm might be a theme here. The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook is another book I’m in love with this year. Deb Perelman has written a story of her life with a recipe commentary. Her Mom’s apple cake is amazing (yes I still have apples) and the Wild rice gratin even makes Kale taste fabulous. Sometimes I do ingredient based cooking. I find something interesting at the grocery and then look for a way to cook it. This book uses everyday things in the cupboard and then adds a twist . Makes you seem like a fabulous cook and it was really easy.

Now for a practical gift… I am a practical person as well and I know gift givers who just have to give something practical. They want it to be ‘useful’. For those people out there I present to you one of the best things for garden labeling. I like to label things in my garden. No, not everything, but I do mark where I planted bulbs and what they were, vegetable rows so I don’t dig over them and species plants so I don’t forget what they are. I also keep records on plants so I know how they do but If I can’t remember them or read the tag it gets very frustrating. Here is my label maker, it is a Brother P-Touch PT-2030 Label Maker. Beside it are a couple of labels. You can see one of the markers has no name….. oh … I did have a name but I can’t read it after just one season. It was marked with the pencil that came with the marker. I have also tried felt markers with the same result. The labels on the other ones are 3 years old. I can change them easily or use them again if I grow the same things. This one is battery operated with an automatic turn off so I can take it outside. Cool!

How about a “Box of Color”? I love to give and receive plants. Plan a couple of surprises for the gardener in your life by looking online or at the nursery for something interesting. Bulbs can be purchased and put in refrigerator at 40 degrees and given on Christmas. Vegetable Garden Seeds that are unusual can be purchased and put together with one of the above. I like to order seeds of things that people have commented on in my garden and give them to as gifts. I just got a box from the Netherlands just the other day that contained Crocus sieberi sublimis Tricolor and just the box was so cool! It came from a very long ways and can be planted in my garden!

Need ideas for what to buy? Check out my post on Winter Bulbs, Fall Bulbs, Spring Bulbs, Fall Into Spring. Keep in mind planting times and such. Feel free to ask me any questions you may have.

And now we come to… Power tools. Really, really. Two of the most amazing power tools I have are a Ryobi P515 ONE Plus 18V Cordless Lithium-Ion Reciprocating Saw w/ Anti-Vibe Handle and Toro Electric Blower/Vacuum with Metal Impeller. Years ago I would use the cordless saw for pruning. I would go into the hardware store looking for blades that would be long enough for big branches. The clerks would ask me what I was doing with it. Then they would laugh and say ‘You can’t use that for pruning’. Really? Well somehow the manufacturers caught on and now they make blades for pruning. It is so light weight that you can stand on a ladder and use it with ease. Your arm does not feel like it will fall off from the sawing motion of a hand saw. Don’t forget the battery! If you have Ryobi or Dewalt tools already you are set but if you don’t make sure to get a Ryobi Compact Battery too.

The leaf blower with a mulch attachment was a hard sell to me. I don’t like the noise of the blower. (lots written about noise pollution ). But faced with a huge amount of paved surfaces and really tired of sweeping I purchased the Toro Electric Blower/Vacuum with Metal Impeller. It is powerful so it blows the gravel, dirt and leaves. After the leaves are in a pile It can be used to suck them up and chop them into pieces and put in a bag. I love that. You can add to compost, cover plants or throw away. Better than burning them or having them piled only to blow all over again!

Last but certainly not least is this Hand Plow Ho-Mi EZ Digger, sometimes known as a Korean Cultivator, that is my go to tool when digging in the garden.

Have fun shopping for the gardener in your life. Share this post with those who will buy for you (it’s not exactly a list), or plan for what to get with the return of that unwanted present from your Great Aunt.

*disclaimer: affiliate links are used in this post.

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