For me, most holiday gifts for the gardener fall into two main categories, functional and informational.
Functional gifts include the necessary gardening tools. We all start out with fairly inexpensive tools, partly because as a beginning gardener, we don’t really know how hard a tool will have to work. As we grow as a gardener, we come to recognize sturdiness and good quality, and we buy, or are given, better tools.
I was wandering through Greenfield Farmers Co-op Exchange on High Street a few days ago, looking at their large range of tools with long handles, like spades and rakes. On the hand tool aisle, there was an assortment of trowels. The new stainless steel trowels are one of the bargains from Corona and Mint Craft at only $6. You can choose the size, depending on your own need and the feel of the trowel in your hand. Some have inch markings in the steel to help you plant at the proper depths.
Also on the co-op’s rack were pruners and clippers of various sizes. The Corona
bypass pruner is $30 and the smaller needle nose thinning shears are $24 each. The Dramm needle nose compact pruner is $15. Each pruner package lists the size of the wood that can be safely and effectively cut.
In addition to tools, the co-op has a large collection of equipment. I love my Gilmour hose and nozzle. I found various lengths of high-quality Gilmour hoses from 25 to 100 feet (in blue, which means they won’t get lost in the garden) ranging in price from $15 to $30. High-quality hoses with good nozzles are basic necessities, and we can save money by buying quality that will last for years and years, rather than replacing worn out items every year or two.
Near the hoses and nozzles was a collection of Dramm watering wands. I acquired my Dramm rain wand after seeing it in action at a garden bloggers event. Through some kind of magic and 400 holes, the rain wand allows a fast and high flow that will not beat down plants.
The co-op’s Dramm Sunrise wand, with its one touch control, is 16 inches long and comes in beautiful shades of metallic red, blue, orange and green for $18. All Dramm products are manufactured in the United States.
While checking out holiday gifts at the Shelburne Farm and Garden, I ended up buying myself an early gift — a small iron plant stand for $40, with a mosaic top, which is now holding my begonia plant in front of a window sill. If you wanted a plant stand, you could furnish it with amaryllis bulbs in shades of red and white for $9, or a giant amaryllis for $25. Or, you could choose a hyacinth vase with a hyacinth bulb for $8. The fragrance of blooming hyacinth in mid-winter is a happy reminder that spring will come again.
We ladies like to look our best, even when covered with mud and grass stains, so striking foot ware like Sloggers at $33 are almost irresistible. I loved the Sloggers strewn with brilliant red poppies. When we wash off the mud, we enjoy reviving with emollients like the Naked Bee Hand Repair, Facial Moisturizer and Body Lotion and Foot Balm, all made from organic plant oils. The prices range from $4 to $15.
I am becoming notorious for leaving my pruners out in the garden and spending a lot of time searching for them. I drove off to OESCO in Conway recently to see if I could find a holster to wear on my belt. They not only had a collection of three Felco leather holsters, ranging in price from $10 to $13, but also had a sturdy bright red cloth holster for $4.
OESCO began as the Orchard Equipment and Supply Co., so it is no surprise that their products include many tools, like pruners and saws, for use in orchards. I was shown one item that is newly back on their sales rack — the Wheeler saw. This small, fine- toothed saw was invented by Mr. Wheeler more than 40 years ago. He had an orchard, but found using the kind of pruning saw that was available at the time, with its slippery handle and large teeth, was uncomfortable and often not effective in the neat pruning cuts he wanted.
So, he designed a small push cut saw on the order of a bow saw, with fine teeth that was easier to handle. Indeed, the instructions that come with the saw list the advantages of being able to wear warm gloves during winter pruning season, being able to slip the saw over the arm when shifting around, and being able to make clean cuts. The saw blade is so fine that it is not necessary to sharpen, but the blade can easily be changed without tools, while working in the orchard.
OESCO bought the rights to the Wheeler saw and began manufacturing it in Conway. A number of years ago, the metal bow part of the saw became unavailable locally and so production stopped.
However, a new local source of this metal part is now available, and the Wheeler saw is again being produced.
Next week, I will talk about informational gifts, but there is actually another gift category comprised of gift certificates. We all have loving relatives or friends who want to please us, but who, not being gardeners themselves, have no clue about plants or high- quality tools.
In their wisdom and love, they give gift certificates, which will give any gardener great pleasure — of anticipating a longed for necessity or perhaps, something that is more indulgent.
Pat Leuchtman has written and gardened since 1980. She lives in Greenfield, where she continues to write and do her gardening. Readers can leave comments at her Website:
www.commonweeder.com