Garden Variety Gifts
Are you struggling with holiday gift ideas? Your job may be easier if there’s a gardener on your list.
But first you need to wade through all the offerings. There are hundreds of kits, ornaments, tools and even garden fashions. In case the choices seem overwhelming, consider what some of the leading garden experts in Orange County recommend as must-have items, available at most gardening stores, for those who toil in the soil.
Lew Whitney, president of Roger’s Gardens in Corona del Mar, is a serious gardener who recommends practical items. Tops on his list is Rapitest pH meter ($17), a soil probe with a short wire that renders an instant measurement of the soil’s alkalinity or acidity.
“I tried it in my garden where I discovered that I had been overcorrecting the deficiencies in my clay soil,” Whitney says. “I had faithfully added gypsum every time I planted anything new, and as a result the planting beds were too alkaline.”
Whitney also recommends Felco pruning shears ($49 to $59), which are renowned for durability and workmanship. There are a number of different models; Whitney prefers model No. 2. He also suggests a leather holster ($10)--”so you don’t put a hole in your pocket when carrying shears around your garden.”
His other favorite tool is Adjust-O-Rake ($20), an expanding steel leaf rake whose teeth width can change from 24 inches to 7 1/2 inches, making it possible to rake between plants.
Mary Lou Heard, owner of Heard’s Country Gardens in Westminster, is a dedicated gardener who doesn’t go near her landscape without gloves and hat.
She favors Wondergloves, an elastic glove coated with rubber ($10). “They give you total control, right down to your fingertips,” she says.
Her collection of garden hats ranges from simple straw to ornamental hats for Sunday garden parties.
“Real gardeners take their hats seriously,” she says. “When selecting one as a gift, be sure there’s good airflow to cool a sweaty brow. The hat must also have a brim as big as Texas to block out hot sunlight.”
Heard also suggests practical garden items such as stakes ($2.50 to $30) for securing garden plants. “Whether plain bamboo or fancy with ornamentation, there’s no such thing as too many stakes for gardeners,” she says.
Heard also likes Eversharp ($25), a scissors-blossom holder manufactured by the makers of the Swiss Army knife. “The blade is small enough to work with miniature roses and sturdy enough to handle the larger canes of hybrid tea roses,” she says.
Landscape architect Shirley Kerins of Huntington Beach can’t garden without her favorite tool, a steel weeder ($15) she found at Smith & Hawken in South Coast Plaza, Costa Mesa. Made in a left- or right-handed style, it acts as a hoe to scrape weeds just under the soil surface.
She also recommends the farmer’s weeder ($15) at Smith & Hawken. This versatile tool serves as a knife to cut tough roots and can also be used for digging holes, planting bulbs or removing rocks.
Sheri Holladay, manager of Smith & Hawken, says gardeners are often down on their knees, weeding, pruning, and perhaps praying for better plants. Kneepads help. Some are inserted into gardening pants ($5); others strap on ($26).
There are rain shoes ($29), made from a soft PVC plastic, and gardening clogs ($42) too.
And for a gift that can be enjoyed if foul weather prevents gardening, try books or videos. “The Tool Book” by William Bryant Logan (Workman Publishing Co., $40) explains how to choose, use and care for all those implements that make good gardening possible.
