Gardening is about more than tools and plants. It is about knowledge and information — the tools and plants alone won’t take us very far.
I am a reader, so I depend on garden magazines to keep me informed and up to date. Membership in a society or subscription to a magazine is an easy gift to arrange and a beautiful and useful gift to receive.
One magazine, The American Gardener, comes to me through the American Horticultural Society. I’ve been a devoted member of the AHS for many years, and I welcome each bi-monthly magazine, which comes with news of individual plant cultivars, organic techniques, gardener profiles, book reviews and news of AHS activities that might give me inspiration for community gardening projects.
For myself, I am now part of a group working on improving the plantings at The Energy Park at the end of Miles Street in Greenfield. Gardens are not only for our own pleasure, but for the pleasure of our communities — and the environmental health of our communities.
I should mention that membership ($35 per person) in the AHS brings many other benefits, like reduced entry to more than 300 public gardens and arboreta in the United States.
While The American Gardener is full of practical advice, Garden Design magazine has a more glamorous look at gardens, plants and garden styles. Garden Design has plenty of in-depth information, also, but the look is more luxurious.
It does not have any advertising, and it publishes seasonally — four times a year. The magazine has been described as a “bookazine,” and it’s exciting to see it arrive in the mailbox. This book is a happy change from its former incarnation, which focused heavily on furnishings and décor. You can order it online at: subscribe.gardendesign.com The cost is $45 a year, but the first issue is free, which makes it $45 for five issues, not four.
Horticultural and plant societies are other ways to gain information about plants and gardeners. In addition to the American Horticultural Society, I belong to the New England Wildflower Society, which maintains the Garden in the Woods in Framingham and operates Nasami Farm in Whately, where I spent a fair amount of time this past summer buying native plants for my new garden.
The New England Wildflower Society is the oldest conservation society in the nation, and it offers many classes and workshops for adults and children, with discounted fees for members. Its Go Botany website is free to all. It’s where you can go to help identify the plants you might see and be curious about.
Membership is $40 for one and $55 if you want to include access to The Garden in the Woods.
Does the gardener in your life have a particular passion for one family of plants?
There are many societies, from African violets to conifers, herbs, irises and more. The AHS has a page listing many of these societies with contact information. I was a member of the New England Rose Society and found its website and printed materials very useful, but the meeting I attended disappointed me, because all of the gardeners were competitive and using lots of chemicals. I admit it was only one meeting, but a sufficient disappointment that I never attended another. Annual membership fees in most societies range from $25 to $50. Memberships can be bought online, and they can be marked as a gift.
One informational gift I get every year — and treasure — is the calendar from the University of Massachusetts. It is a service of the Extension Service, which also provides soil testing, tick testing and diagnosing plant problems to home gardeners. The calendar includes a stunning photograph for every month, as well as information and seasonal tips for every day of the year. Before you even get to the dates section of the calendar, next year’s edition gives suggestions for gardening in a dry season, with lists of drought-tolerant perennials and annuals.
You can order the calendar online for $12, plus $3.50 for shipping, or send your order and check made out to “UMass” to: UMass Garden Calendar, c/o Andrew Associates, 6 Pearson Way, Enfield, CT 06082.
Good information is important, but beauty is essential.
Marjie Moser of Paint & Dye in Shelburne Falls has created beautiful ways to be with plants in the off season. She takes various kinds of silk and prints them with leaves and flowers. She has some kind of magic wrapping technique that transforms the (deadheaded) flowers from the Bridge of Flowers into phantasmical images.
Her silk scarves range in price from $36 to $68. She also dyes and prints linen table runners ($48 to $68) with her leafy prints, as well as totes, tea towels and T-shirts, ranging in price from $10 to $32. Of course, the Paint & Dye offers many other treasures, like printed pillows, beeswax candles and her own handmade scented soaps. Moser is a quilter, and I bought a small elegant quilted case that closes with a unique Japanese button for a granddaughter who is never without her cell phone.
For more information about Moser, visit: marjoriemoser.com
Internet shopping has become popular, but I enjoy visiting local stores and small shops, where I can find beautiful items made locally — from saws at OESCO to tea towels at Paint & Dye. The gifts are unique, and our local economy benefits.
Happy shopping to all!
Pat Leuchtman has written and gardened since 1980. She lives in Greenfield. Readers can leave comments at her Web site: www.commonweeder.com