Two of my sons are farmers. What does one give a farmer for Christmas? I had to look it up on the internet. Sadly, I cannot afford an Ingersoll Rand’s 259G Impactool offering 1,050 foot pounds of torque in both forward and reverse. Fortunately for you, a gardener's love affair with tools and supplies is more manageable and might even fit in a Christmas stocking. (I'm thinking specifically in terms of the gardener who gardens, as I do, with troughs, containers and small spaces.) This is my Christmas wish-list, which I dare say probably isn't far from the hidden secrets of desire for the gardener in your life.
5.
Super-duper hand cream. It's one thing always to have dirty fingernails. It is another thing to have hands that are constantly dry, cracking and bleeding. This stuff is a gardener's best friend before going to bed at night.
4.
Rubber Garden Shoes. I don't care what anybody says. Wearing your walking shoes or hiking boots in the garden undermines their true functionality and they don't serve so well in the rain and mud. Kick these babies on and off at the door and resume life as usual inside (or outside) without having to chisel dried mud from treads.
3.
Root rake. Few people recognize the meticulous care container plants require: especially miniature shrubs, conifers and evergreens. It's all in the roots, and the success or failure of a trough landscape depends upon the roots getting well-placed and having a good start. Raking them before placement is essential to their wellness.
2.
Gardener's Vest and Hat. (Sorry. That's two.) I am forever dropping snips and misplacing pruners for want of a convenient means of keeping them at the ready. When you are contorted inside a holly (Ilex meserve) or rhody, groping for the right tool to prune the branch that is pulling your hair, it is a nightmare and cause for saying a curse word. The many-pocketed light-weight gardening vest is to the gardener what a holster is to a cowboy. As for the hat, one loses all pretensions about style, even dignity, in deference to find a good hat to protect from the sun.
And finally . . .
1.
Bonsai tool set. Some container gardening doesn't require specialized tools. But the troughs I make, which include several plants in a single container, require orchestrated arrangement and shaping of the plants in a way that brings harmony to the ensemble. This kind of detail and intention does require specialized tools. Your miniature gardener will strongly hug you upon receiving this gift.
No comments:
Post a Comment