Gifts for Gardeners
Christmas is just around the corner and if you have been procrastinating buying presents, I’m guilty of waiting till the last minute, you might be looking for some gift ideas for the plant lover in your family. Last week I had the wonderful opportunity to present during the December Garden Hour on Enabling Gardening for all and I found a bunch of cool gift ideas I wanted to talk about for this year. If you are looking for some cool tools check out these ideas. Hopefully one of these will work for that hard to shop for person in your life.
- This first one I will admit I purchased for my father for his birthday last
spring. One of my Master Gardeners recommended it and we had the opportunity to try it out during the fruit tree pruning workshop I held during the spring. These electric hand pruners are amazing for people who have arthritis in their hands or simply have a bunch of plants that need pruning. There are a wide variety of different brands out that that work equally well. The one word of caution I will say is to make sure you watch your fingers when you are using them because they cut pretty quick and they can easily nick fingers.
- For the gardener who works out in the garden, lawn or landscape a stool
might be a great option. This particular picture combines a stole with a removable tool bag. Seats can help spare your knees and there are a wide variety of options of shapes, sizes and colors available. There are also some wonderful options that convert from a stool to a padded kneeler. Any of these options work well for someone who might have trouble getting off the ground or for working closer to the ground.
- Keep the weeds down in between rows without having to get down on
your hands and knees can be a challenge, especially if you have arthritis or mobility issues. I snagged this cultivator/weeder from a garage sale earlier this year. Each of the teeth can help work up the soil and dig up small weeds as they are getting started. The long handle helps you stay upright so you don’t have to get down on the ground and the small size is perfect for working around plants or in between rows.
- Another tool that I found during my research is these augers that can be
used on corded or cordless drills. These come in a couple different sizes but I love the longer one so you don’t have to be down on your hands and knees. They were originally designed to help plant bulbs but I can also see them working well to plant smaller bedding plants or vegetables in the spring. There are several other types of attachments for weeding that have been developed for drills with new ones coming on the market fairly frequently.
- For the serious gardener who struggles with weeds the Tertil weeding
robot might be the option for you. This solar powered robot, based on the Roomba, is weather proof and patrols its territory cutting small weeds down as it goes. The Tertil covers about 200 square feet and does relatively well from what I’ve been told. This is a pricier gift but it might be just perfect for someone who goes on vacation during the growing season.
If you are still stumped for gift ideas consider buying an Amaryllis bulb for them to plant and bloom this spring, a gift card to a local greenhouse that they don’t usually visit or offer them a “coupon” book to come help them in the garden this coming year. There are a ton of options for gifts that can be given to that hard to shop for person this season.
Have questions? Contact our office where our Horticulture Extension Agent will assist you with questions.
Phone: (316) 321-9660
Email: callae@ksu.edu