Mary Lee Kiracofe
| Guest columnist
It’s hard to believe that we’re already on the cusp of the holiday season, a time that often brings plenty of anxiety when trying to select the perfect gift for those on our list. If your holiday list includes aspiring or veteran gardeners, no need to panic. Gardeners can be easy to please.
As a starting point, take a few things into consideration when selecting a special gift for that gardener on your list.
A living gift? Go native
When gift giving, an initial impulse is to give a blooming, holiday-related plant like those readily available at the entrances of local grocery and discount stores. The plant is vibrant and appealing now, but in our local climate the allure may last only a few weeks. For an exponential, long-term benefit, think about gifting a plant that is native to our area. Here’s why.
Native plants are well suited to local conditions. They are a valuable source of food and habitat for native wildlife and can even improve our soil and water quality. They are more disease resistant, require less water, and with their deeper root systems help reduce erosion.
For guidance, the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) developed a number of helpful research-based publications along with lists of specific plants native to our area. Check them out at the UF/IFAS Gardening Solutions Florida Native Plants page at gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu.
Keep in mind that native plants will thrive provided they’re planted in the right place. If your gift recipient is a beginning gardener, encourage them to carefully review the recommended sunlight requirements and necessary soil conditions that help the native plant thrive.
Tools of the trade
Many gardeners, even beginning gardeners, appreciate tools with specific features that make their work easier or more enjoyable. I’ve compiled a brief list of those features, along with some examples recommended by experts at our local nurseries and two dozen local Master Gardener Volunteers.
Protection from the elements
While a hat is essential for sun protection when one works outdoors, they do come in a variety of styles, sizes, and materials, so it may be best to let your gift recipient choose their own. Consider a gift certificate from a garden center or specialty hat manufacturer.
But hats aren’t the only way to protect your gardener from the elements. I’ve never seen anyone turn down a new pair of gardening gloves. It seems like a simple choice. However, in the interest of consumer satisfaction and best practices, experts recommend three considerations when choosing gloves: 1) cuff length: gauntlet style for thorny plants; 2) proper fit: for comfort and dexterity; and 3) material: nitrile for easy tasks or leather for heavy-duty work.
Travel above the hands and shield the arms with protection sleeves. Relatively new to the market, protection sleeves slip up the arm from the thumb toward the shoulder, are lightweight, and can provide up to 50+ UPF protection. They also create a barrier from poison ivy, thorns, or any plants that can be irritating to the skin. Users have found they are not hot in warm weather and can be dampened for an extra cooling sensation.
Ease of operation
Think of those repetitive garden tasks, like pruning or snipping, that can strain your hands. With multiple selections and price points for pruning shears, consider these features: First, hold a pair. The handle should be comfortable and easy to grip. A spring-loaded design will reduce strain on your hands and wrists. It also helps to have a colorful handle for those times when you drop or misplace them. And, if you’re a lefty, though you may have to search, they’ve got handles comfortable for you too.
Blades can be made from hardened high-carbon steel to forged steel to titanium-coated. Experts say curved blades provide power for cutting thicker branches and straight blades work best for delicate tasks. If you want to make a lifelong investment, select a pair of shears that can be disassembled so the blades can be sharpened or replaced.
Versatility
In demand right now are American-made, hand- crafted garden tools (spades, claws and broad hoes) with a broad variety of interchangeable stainless-steel heads. Designed by small-scale farmers, they also require less storage space.
Gardeners are also enthusiastic about Japanese-designed tools because of their versatility in both large and small spaces. The Hori-hori, aka soil knife, is handy in most any gardening situation from weeding flower beds to planting trees and shrubs, to replacing plants in a container garden.
Comfort plus organization
A helpful gift for gardeners of all ages and abilities is a garden kneeler that can be used either as a seat or low kneeler to protect the knees. Foam helps cushion the knees, and the legs function as handrails to assist in standing up.
Extremely lightweight, most kneelers fold flat for storage, and many brands require no assembly so they’re ready to be used. Many models come with heavy-duty canvas pockets to store pruners, twine, gloves, and other tools. This is a great feature that helps a gardener stay organized.
An object or an experience?
Not every gardening gift needs to be purchased. Consider giving an experience to your recipient, like sharing an afternoon stroll among the abundant camellias and sasanquas in full bloom at Maclay Gardens. Invite your recipient to join you for a Saturday morning lecture or workshop with experts at one of our local nurseries. The instructors are engaging, knowledgeable, and happy to answer questions.
Topics can range from attracting birds to proper pruning to growing seed potatoes. In the spring or early summer, take your recipient to tour the IFAS demonstration gardens. No tickets or preregistration required. Just show up and follow the signs.
Happy Holidays!
The choices are many when gifting a gardener. Remember you can always drop by one of our locally owned nurseries and talk with their experts or better yet, give the Master Gardener Volunteer office a call at 850-606-5200 and talk with one of our trained volunteers.
Mary Lee Kiracofe is a Master Gardener Volunteer with UF/IFAS Extension Leon County, an Equal Opportunity Institution. For gardening questions, email the extension office at AskAMasterGardener@ifas.ufl.edu.
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