Friend of Gardening--A Gardener's Christmas Stocking

By Gwen Podeschi. Christian County Master Gardener

So what do you get the gardener who has thousands of plants to take care of? I asked my daughter Emily to consider this question, and with her help, I've come up with a list of some great stocking stuffers for this Christmas season. So, friends and families of gardeners, take note. Here are some special "tools of the trade" to think about stuffing in those stockings – or Muck Shoes - this Christmas season.

"Mom, you never go into your garden unless you're in your goofy garden shoes," Emily says, so we'll start with the foot gear. The most important requirement is that I don't have to think about my shoes when I've got my eyes on garden work to be done and I'm up to my elbows in new plants, weeds, lawn-mowing, or even shoveling snow. Muck Shoes fill the bill to perfection. Waterproof top to bottom, these amazing shoes can be slipped on and off hands-free. They fit snugly just under your ankle and are lined with airmesh, so your feet can breathe, with socks or without. The ridged, non-skid sole is not a problem to clean up—I just turn on the hose and spray away. And, if you're like me, and a really good pair of shoes lets you forget what's on your feet, they are now making them in fun colors, like the periwinkle and purple that I found at a garden conference last winter.

"I think you need better gloves," Emily tells me. Up until this garden season, I would have agreed with her. I'm really guilty about abusing my hands in the garden. It comes with being somewhat obsessive-compulsive about weeds—I never seem to make it out of the driveway without finding a weed that I need to pull as I get into the car. And, believe me, I've tried to find great gloves with limited success, that is until this year. It was great when manufacturers finally realized that all work gloves didn't have to fit Smoky the Bear, but that was just the beginning. A gardener can typically go through two pairs of the hob-nailed cloth gloves in a season and these are fine until they get wet. Yuck!! A visit to the Chicago Botanical Garden gift shop yielded up a pair of fabric-lined rubber gloves, which quickly became the stinkiest component of my garden cabinet. Leather gloves are the ONLY answer for dealing with roses and other thorny garden inhabitants and I possess a nice pair that are flexible and fit my hands, but these are just too bulky and hot for general use.

Enter—the Atlas Glove. These are fantastic little washable cloth gloves with Nitrile coating on the palm-side surface. Comfortable in all weather, water-resistant where you need it, and flexible. I have finally found the perfect garden glove.

"That's great, Mom, but your hands are still a mess," Emily reminds me. Sadly, no one will ever ask me to be a model for bracelets and gloves in the Penney's catalog, but there are products to help assuage all the rough treatment that a garden can deal out. By far, the best friend of a gardener's hands I've found is the "Gardener's Hand Therapy" line of products from Crabtree & Evelyn. The English are known for their gardens, so leave it to an English company to produce something so well-adapted to soothing and cleaning your hands. The hand lotion is pleasantly-scented, non-greasy, and contains glycerin. The accompanying soap is great, but for really clean-challenged hands, try the hand scrub with pumice. Emily first spotted this in a Crabtree & Evelyn Shop in Canterbury, England, and I decided to give it a try, even though it seemed like a strange souvenir of our trip. What a find! It cleans up without stripping your hands of every bit of moisture. So, with a little help from across the pond, I'm in better shape than I could be to get back to work outside.

"I can't remember a time when you didn't have your red clippers," she reminds me, "so we'd better say something about that." My red clippers, as Emily calls them, are my Felco secateurs. The gardener in your house will love you forever if she or he finds a pair of these Swiss-made tools under the Christmas tree. The Felco 6 is a great basic clipper. Spring-action blades are sharpened easily with a whet stone from the manufacturer. Comfortable and ergonomic to use, this could be the only pair of clippers you will ever need to buy. Some of my Garden friends swear by the Felco 9, which is a bit more heavy work-friendly. New Felco 7 pruning shears have a handle that turns as you clip, reducing the stress on your hand. All models will come in a right- or left-handed version and there are a variety of holsters available that can be clipped or worn on a belt.

An adjunct to basic clippers is a really fine-bladed pair of shears for working on potted plants, gathering flowers, etc. My family was good to me when I lost my first pair of Fiskars Micro-tip Pruning Snips this summer and went on-line to find me a replacement. I had lost this pair of snips before, so I guess they were destined to leave my employment. I still miss them, but my new set is an improvement because the package included an orange blade shield, so I can carry them in my pocket.

"Hey, remember that garden tool with the raptor blade you went after weeds with in the vegetable garden this summer," Emily recalls. "That's something everybody should have." She is referring to the long-handled version of the Cobra. This single-bladed weeder/cultivator that comes as a hand-tool or standard garden tool and its sharp, deadly blade is invaluable in dealing with tough weeds like quack-grass and nutsedge. New Cobras are sold with a thin blue rubber coating covering the blade, which spells death for garden weeds. I especially like the standard version, but either one can be a great help.

And, if you're looking for one more item for that special gardener, what's better than a little nourishment—plant food that is. "How many jars of Osmocoat do you think you go through in a season, Mom?" Emily asks me. The answer is probably something like three. The important thing to look for is the "N-P-K" factor. Those are the essential nutritional elements of garden fertilizers—nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium. Each of these three basic components will promote foliage, roots growth, fruit and flowering. My preference for general use is a mix where all the numbers nearly equal, but fertilizers can be adjusted for special circumstances, such as vegetable production or plant propagation.

I hope these hints have given families that support gardeners in their outdoor adventures a few ideas for making Christmas a little more merry. And, if you're still puzzled about a gift, there might be just enough time left to stop at his or her favorite garden center and get a gift certificate in anticipation of next growing season. Given the weather this week, that can't come soon enough!

NOTE: I was remiss last month in giving credit for the photos from Missouri Botanical Garden. Thanks to my good friend in Master Gardening adventures, Deb Leahy, for documenting our trip.