From time to time, you’ll see Gro Big Red blog posts that mention various tools and equipment that you may not heard of, have never taken the time to buy, or wish that someone else would buy for you. Whatever camp you fall into, there are literally dozens of gadgets, tools and other products that would help implement best management practices in the garden such as heavy duty bypass pruners, soaker hoses, seed starting lights and warmer trays, nitrile gloves, hose timers, rain gauges, 1 gallon pressure tank sprayers and hand-held rotary lawn spreaders. Of course, the 2018 Master Gardener calendar is a fantastic choice!
Others help with making gardening easier such as ergonomically correct hoes, kneeling pads, garden carts that you sit on, bulb planters, string trimmers and canvas/polyethylene tarps to drag leaves rather than bending over frequently to pick them up.
Another category are items that are just plain fun, such as a salsa garden kit – everything you need to grow a salsa garden in one handy package. Related items including bird feeding supplies and garden art are also fun and round out the outdoor gardening experience as well, and would be much appreciated for that special gardener on your gift giving list.
A couple of items to avoid – anvil hand pruners and loppers and hedge trimmers. These tools do the job of pruning, but in the case of anvils, cause damage to the stems, while hedge trimmers force you to prune at one pre-determined place rather than where cuts actually need to be made.
A final tip on garden gifts – if you’re just not sure about which item would be best, do a little checking in their tool shed or garage. If you don’t see the item that you have in mind or see one that is worn out, then that’s a good confirmation that you’ve found the garden gift that would be appreciated. If you just can’t find what you’re looking for, a gift certificate to a local garden center is also a good choice.
