Gifts for a gardener

[JenZen]

My MIL is really into gardening, so I'm looking for unique gift suggestions for Christmas.

Any help is appreciated. I have to get all my shopping done before our little bundle of joy arrives, and I'm trying to avoid the malls because a pregnant woman fighting for a parking space is just NOT a pretty thing. :)

Thanks,
Jen

[ClaraB]

Jen, have you tried Gardener's Supply Company (http://www.gardeners.com) ? I've ordered from them and their service has been good. Some suggestion might be: a nice pair of garden gloves, a subscription to a gardening mag, some nice hand lotion for gardener's hands, a gift certificate to a seed or plant company, a good gardening book, some good gardening tools... What kind of gardening does she do - flower, herb, vegetable, indoor gardening? That might help to narrow down the suggestions.

[HUNGRY!]

I don't know about unique, but I always get my Burpee seed catalogue on Christmas Eve and I would love it if a gift certificate showed up under the tree for me the next day! Their website is www.burpee.com (http://)

[Valerie226]

I'm a pretty avid gardener & I appreciate gloves. I go thru several pairs a year, usually the fingers of the right hand. My favorites are ( brand) Atlas gloves. this type glove is made by others but Atlas IMHO is by far the best. they're stretchy gloves with the fingers & palms coated in a rubbery material. They come in light, medium, and an insulated one for cold weather. DH & I've used them for years. Almost every person I've seen who does heavy work, from contractors to workers in Home DEpot type places, wears these. They're inexpensive, about $5 a pair.
Another great gift is a good quality hand pruner like Felco. around $40. I've also got a set of springy folding garden buckets that I love. I think they were by Fiskars.

[tamawrite]

This will sound nutso to any non-gardeners, but how about a gift certificate for a load of compost? Honestly, it's the best thing a gardener can have!

[JenZen]

Thanks for the suggestions ... especially from you gardeners. :)

My MIL has been growing geraniums inside during the winter from her fall clippings, and then she plants them outside come spring. She lives in a subdivision, so all of her gardening is florals and landscaping. She's really good with flowers, however, and has a genuine interest in odd varieties, etc.

Her mother, however, lives on a farm and has a great garden, due in large part to the loads of cow manure that were dumped on it about three years ago. For the first year after, the soil was too soft to grow anything in, and now the vegetables are incredible! I've never seen so many tomatoes on one plant.

I was thinking about getting MIL some neat gardening gloves and some of that handsoap/lotion for gardeners. I just don't want to overdue the gardening angle, because I've been getting her garden-related items since I've known her. :) DH has given me all gift-buying responsibilities, so he's no help.

Thanks again. If you have any other ideas, let me know.

Jennifer

[aggie94]

Originally posted by JenZen
I was thinking about getting MIL some neat gardening gloves and some of that handsoap/lotion for gardeners.

I'm not sure if you already have something in mind as far as hand care products, but I live by Crabtree & Evelyn's Gardeners Hand Therapy line. I have a nasty habit of picking at my cuticles, partly because my hands tend to be very dry and cracked. This stuff works wonders. Recently, when I was having a manicure at the spa, the manicurist commented on the dry skin around my nails and recommended this stuff as the best product she knew of, not knowing that I was already hooked.

DH bought me this set (a pump bottle each of the soap and lotion), which I keep next to my bathroom sink at home:

http://us.st4.yimg.com/store1.yimg.com/I/shopcrabtree_1818_16903860

He also bought me a tube of the Hand Recovery, which is like an exfoliating hand scrub that leaves your hands super soft after you rinse it off:

http://us.st4.yimg.com/store1.yimg.com/I/shopcrabtree_1817_4719966

[SandyM]

Hi Jen,

I requested one of these for Christmas last year, and I LOVE it. (Mine came from amazon.com at $2.00 less than the price listed here, but currently they say they're out of stock.) I think this, combined with a few tools and accessories (gloves, lotion, pruners, etc., depending on how much you want to spend) is a great gift for any gardener.

http://www.duluthtrading.com/items/94246.asp

Good luck!