Katrina Warnick
Adams County Master Gardener
"To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow". The year 2020 has highlighted just how inspirational this quote from Audrey Hepburn truly is. As you reflect on how to bring the year to a close and consider the gifts you may give to friends and family, I encourage you to give a gift that is known to bring hope for tomorrow. The Penn State Master Gardeners of Adams County have put together several gift ideas that may help someone start or further their gardening journey. Take a look at these suggestions – one or more may
appeal to you.
The Budding Gardener
Our Master Gardener group has learned that there is no child too young to want to play in the dirt with us. We’ve asked the elves to suggest a few gifts that might help spark their curious nature and turn this interest into a life- long passion for gardening.
Often we observe growth by seeing just the top of the plant and have to use books to understand what’s happening beneath the dirt. This year, you can help unveil this mystery. In a fashion similar to ant farms, there are several companies manufacturing root view farms. These consist of a planter box that has at least one side made of a clear panel. By planting seeds close to this viewing window, the child can watch the plant extend its roots below the soil.
There are many growing kits available in the marketplace. Find success by choosing kits that grow items that the child may want to eat, or ones that grow fast, or are unusual in the way they look or behave, or ones that contain plants they could give as presents. Some of our favorites are:
- Salad and microgreens, - they grow so fast
- Mushrooms may not be one of their favorite things to eat, but they grow in many colors and shapes and have fun names like Lions Mane
- If you have a thriving house plant, consider working with an interested child to take a cutting from this plant to start a new house plant for the purpose of giving it away as a gift.
My personal favorite suggestion came from a grandmother that loves spending time with her grandsons. She creates personalized coupons that offer time spent with the child to help them gets started using their gift. This gives the child the ability to redeem the spending-time-with-grandma coupon at a time of the child’s choosing, when they are eager to get started on their gardening journey.
For the budding gardener that is building up their tool collection, consider buying them a 3" auger. This tool can be adapted onto a hand powered drill. It is a fast and quick way to plant bulbs and is likely to be one of the first tools they use this spring or later in the fall.
A quality soil knife is a versatile and essential tool to own in that it helps gardeners dig holes, cut a variety of items and remove weeds. It is also a tool that many of us didn’t realize we needed until several years into our journey. Pair this with pruning shears, a turning fork and a trowel and you’ve got an ideal basic set of hand tools for the spring. Many of us have found that a five gallon bucket with a canvas tool caddy serves as an ideal home for our collection of gardening hand tools.
The Serious Gardener
We all have that one person in our lives that we call with emergency plant questions. For example - Why won’t my tomato plant produce before July; how do I deal with white flies on my house plants; what can I grow in this shady spot??? This year you can surprise them with a gift that any gardener would appreciate.
If you have the time and want to gift them with something from the heart, consider making seed bombs or plantable seed paper. They will be surprised and delighted by your gesture. These seed bombs could help them naturalize areas in their yard or around the community. Consider only using seeds native to Pennsylvania.
A Korean hand plow is a gardener‘s treasure. It can be used for weeding, digging holes and creating trenches. This tool was developed by farmers to behave as a natural extension of one’s arm and wrist. It saves the wrist and reduces fatigue. Look for one that has a swan-like neck and a tempered, angled blade.
A new pair of quality gardening gloves is at the top of many of our wish lists. The ones with long arm guards protect us from thorny items and poison ivy. Gloves that breathe are a go-to item for indoor and summer gardening. Waterproof gloves fill their role in the spring as we work in wet soil. A pair of leather gloves is ideal for heavier projects such as trimming trees and moving wood.
A gift of spending time in the garden with us was the number one desired gift. Consider borrowing from the idea above and creating a coupon for time with your favorite gardener.
We hope you find these suggestions helpful and discover an opportunity this month to provide a thoughtful gesture of gardening encouragement to someone special in your life.
Read other Christmas Gardening Gift Articles
Read other articles by Katrina Warnick
