Life is a Garden has some ideas for fun-filled, sunny gifts for gardeners:
- A birdbath, bird feeder and a packet of wild birdseed.
- A potting bench for dad.
- A garden bench for ouma.
- A concrete rabbit or frog and other garden ornaments.
- Instead of the conventional festive stocking, use gumboots, garden clogs, or a watering can.
- Wrap gardening gloves, seed packets and a trowel in a flowery tea towel.
- For the diligent weeder, a good choice would be a kneeling pad and good quality hand tools.
- A garden diary or calendar so the gardener can plan and record seasonal plantings and blooming habits of plants.
Top edibles to use as gifts are chillies. There is a wide variety available, from hot to very hot. One thing to remember is that some of them can reach up to 2m tall and so are not ornamental. Also think about “berry delicious” in the form of strawberries and blueberries.
Trays of flowering seedlings or herbs and a bag of compost. Or pot these seedlings for instant annuals dripping with life, colour, and nutrition: Tomato, parsley and petunia; Basil, eggplant and petunia; Euphorbia (soft white) with red petunias.
Consider playing Santa with gifts of poinsettia (Christmas star) and amaryllis (Christmas flower).
Independent on Saturday