Gifts for gardening aficionados this holiday season
Gardeners can be capricious when it comes to money, spending lavishly on plants and amendments but relatively little on the accessories they secretly crave. These 10 ideas can make you a hero to the gardener on your gift list.
Ready for vines
Arboria’s western red cedar Astoria Arbor is a striking addition to any yard, whether standing alone or with vines twining up its 7-foot sides. An optional seat and back makes the arbor into a lovely garden retreat. $306; optional seat $84 homedepot.com
Easy on the knees
No more taking a knee in the garden. This heavy-duty Deluxe Tractor Scoot lets you scoot around with your tools in tow and a bucket basket to hold produce, weeds or whatever else you need to haul. Almost as cool as getting a new bike under the tree. $90. gardeners.com
Useful carryall
Trugs are shallow rectangular baskets, usually used for carrying fresh flowers. Spanish-made Tubtrugs haul just about anything. The polyethylene tubs are flexible yet strong in several bright colors and sizes up to 20 gallons. Food safe, with interior markings for measuring. $14 (7 gallon) to $32 (20 gallon). us.tubtrugs.com
Classy hammock
This classy canvas Western Outdoor Hammock comes with an elegant larch-wood frame, $173 to $200, depending on color. Available at the GDF Studio Store on Saturdays and Sundays, 7901 Deering Ave., Canoga Park or gdfstudio.com
Protective gloves
Goatskin gloves are supple, strong and stay flexible even when wet. Bear Wallow Glove Company makes gloves with seams on the outside for added comfort in sizes 6 to 13. Perfect gardener gloves, $23, Protector Comfort Rose Gloves, $55, are goatskin gloves with 12-inch calfskin extensions to protect your arms against thorns.
Hand pruners
No gardener is complete without a good pair of hand pruners, and Swiss-made Felcos are considered the gold standard, able to cut up to an inch in diameter, with high-quality replaceable parts and a lifetime guarantee. Felco 2 is the classic model, $48 on Amazon. (The Felco 6 is the same model, designed for smaller hands.)
Pretty pots
These unique, handsome pots are perfect for succulents, available exclusively at the Potted store in Atwater Village on 3158 Los Feliz Blvd. Circle pots come with their own 18-inch cord; the store will drill a hole for drainage at your request. The Point pot, designed by LA artist/garden designer Dustin Gimbel sits on a flat surface or hangs from a cord (sold separately). $95 each. pottedstore.com
Get cutting
Admit it, garden nerds, there’s something thrilling about revving a chain saw, and the top-rated Remington Electric Pole Saw/Chainsaw combo is just right for most home pruning jobs. The lightweight telescoping pole lets you trim 8-inch diameter branches 10 to 15 feet overhead, and the 8-amp chainsaw is easily removed to work alone. Be a champ and include a heavy-duty 100-foot extension cord, protective goggles and gloves. Remington models RM1025SPS and RM1015SPS online and major retailers, $80-$100. homedepot.com and lowes.com
Looking sharp
Truly Garden’s Hori Hori Garden Knife is one of those tools you didn’t know you needed, until you get one, and then you can’t imagine living without. The handle is made from sustainably harvested wood, and the knife comes with its own handsome sheath and sharpening rod to make it easy to dig out weeds, plant bulbs and open fertilizer bags. The blade has easy-to-read measurements so you know how deep to make your holes for planting. $28 trulygarden.com
Bee kit
Help your gardener be an eco-hero with a Crown Bees’ mason bee kit. Unlike the threatened honeybee, mason bees don’t sting and they work alone, pollinating twice as efficiently as their honeybee kin. This kit provides a handsome cedar wood “chalet” and reusable wood tubes where mason bees can nest as well as instructions and bee cocoons acclimated to our region. $165 (smaller kits available for less.) crownbees.com