Gifts for gardeners

Jill Severn

Photo by Anna Schlecht

Jill Severn's Gardening Column

The gift of a gardener’s legacy, now in print

I know I’m a bit late with suggestions for holiday gifts for gardeners, but then, aren’t most of us running late on one thing or another this time of year? And anyway, some of my suggestions are perfect for my running-late compatriots:

First and foremost, give time. Make homemade gift certificates good for an hour or more of weeding, a Saturday afternoon shoveling compost, or a pledge to shell peas. This is an especially good strategy for kids, and for all others who have time but not much money. And if you keep your promise, most gardeners will appreciate it more than any other gift.

Gift certificates to nurseries – both online specialty places, seed companies, and local garden centers – will also be welcome – certainly more welcome than plants this time of year. Buying a gardener a new plant isn’t always a kindness; most gardeners have very specific tastes, and usually limited space. Giving us something we don’t like or don’t have room for makes us squirm. Do we have to plant it because the giver’s feelings will be hurt if we don’t? Of course, there’s a similar dilemma with gifts of sweaters and socks, but in the case of a living plant, it’s a matter of life or death.

Subscriptions to garden magazines are a good bet for two reasons: one, nearly all gardeners enjoy them, and two, it’s a thrill to find something in our mailboxes that isn’t junk.

If you google “garden magazines” you will find something for everyone, including a publication called “Garden and Gun,” and another called “The Garden,” which is a publication of the British Royal Horticultural Society. You have to join the Society to subscribe; the cost is £49.95. But maybe it’s worth it to be an official member of a British Society – possibly as close as we will ever get to knighthood.

Although it’s a little ritzy for my taste, I subscribe to Fine Gardening, though I wish there were also a magazine called Ordinary Gardening for those of us who don’t get a lot of professional help. Still, I learn something from every issue, and the photographs are often inspiring. It’s also a window into what plant breeders are up to as they hybridize, clone and patent their way to the future.

Then of course there are books – thousands of them, old and new. In Jolly Olde England, it seems all the gardeners spend their winters writing books. The old ones – like Mirabel Osler’s “A Gentle Plea for Chaos,” are composed of very long sentences, often charming, and they are nice bedtime books that promote serene and colorful dreams. Anything by Gertrude Jekyll is of historic importance; ditto Christopher Lloyd (the gardener of Great Dixter, not the actor).

In case you missed last week’s column, the late Madeleine Wilde’s newly published book, “Notes from the Garden” is also a sure winner.

Many books purport to be about Pacific Northwest vegetable gardening, but they often include territory east of the Cascades, which is a radically different climate with different planting times and requirements. The best book for our climate is by Steve Solomon, a founder of the Territorial Seed Company. It’s called “Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades.”

Finally, there’s garden gear, from gloves and trowels to food dehydrators and canning jars – but here, as in all else, it’s way too easy to make assumptions about what your intended recipients want or need. My advice: ask. The thrill of surprise may be lost, but the recipients of a truly welcome gift will be grateful – and they will be spared an awkward situation.

Jill Severn writes from her home in Olympia, where she grows vegetables, flowers and a small flock of chickens. She loves conversation among gardeners. Start one by emailing her at  jill@theJOLTnews.com