A Dozen Good Gifts for Gardeners

I love Christmas. Once every year I'm given a good excuse to spend too much money on my family and friends. I put a great deal of thought into each gift, trying to pick the appropriate and perfect one. Gardeners are easy to buy for, the possibilities seem endless. However, I prefer not to choose the mundane, like a new trowel or a soaker hose. Thoughtful gifts for gardeners range from affordable to outrageously expensive, but here's a list of 12, ten of them under $100.

One of the very best mail-order places to shop for gardeners is the Gardener's Supply Company, www.gardeners.com. The first four items on our shopping list come from their Christmas catalog.

1. Bird, bat, ladybug or butterfly shelters. Several styles are on offer, from English roosting pockets for birds to an elegant butterfly house with cupola roof. Prices range from $17- $68.

2. How about a whimsical set of garden tools to dangle from the Christmas tree? Trowels, rakes, watering cans and more in either red or green shrink to tree ornament size. These are no cheap plastic knockoffs either. Made from forged steel and wood a 7-piece set runs about $20.

3. Copper watering can. This one-quart dandy possesses the grace of a Balinese dancer. The curved and tapered spout easily reaches beneath leaves for proper bottom watering. $27.

4. Wellies. Oh, not those boring old green ones, but garden boots in cherry red or lemon yellow! You can even get liners for them to toast your tootsies in chilly weather. Boots $50. Liners $20.

5. About every other Christmas someone gives me an amaryllis that I've never managed to get to grow, much less flower. This month's edition of National Gardening www.garden.org features an inclusive article about growing amaryllis. Along with the bulb, give a copy of the magazine or download the article from the website.

6. The Kinsman Company www.kinsmangarden.com is another fine supply catalog. They offer a variety of standing and hanging English ironwork baskets lined with sphagnum or coco fiber. These have become very popular the past couple years. Buying one from a garden center, already planted, can be wildly expensive. From Kinsman a standing cauldron with coco fiber liner costs $48.

7. Four season birdbath from Duncraft www.duncraft.com. I like promoting this company because it's located right here in New Hampshire. This ingenious birdbath has a copper "dripper" that attaches to a garden hose. Moving water is less apt to freeze. In really cold weather use the thermostatically controlled heater provided in the kit. $90. Kinsman also offers a wide variety of birdbaths.

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