More Garden Gift Ideas

Gardeners love tools that make their work easier.

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Have you grown lilies, dahlias, peonies, or other tall plants, only to have them flop over and either have the stems break or the flowers get ruined sitting on the ground? I have a couple of good solutions for you.

Spirals are multi-stem plant supports. Pick the height you want and then just turn the spiral wire counterclockwise and engulf the stems. Attach the stakes, and the plant is supported. After blooming, when the support isn’t needed, just untwist it. They are made from galvanized steel and can be used on peonies, delphiniums, verbena, lilies, rudbeckia, lupins, roses, foxgloves, and many other plants.

Twisters are a similar system of plant support. They uncoil to more than 6 feet high. You supply the pole for the center, and then just lift it and attach it to the pole. When not in use, the twister lies flat. In use, it looks like a Christmas tree shape. Twisters are also made of galvanized steel.

Either system will work for many perennials, but the spirals may work best with plants that grow to one height and stop, such as a peony. Since the twisters can extend up to 6 feet high, they will work better on vines such as beans, clematis, peas, or tomatoes. Both should be available in your local garden center.

Dramm has some of the best garden hoses and watering wands. They have short pistol-grip heads and long-handled watering wands. I really like their telescopic watering wand. It lets me reach across the planted shelves in my greenhouse to reach the high-hanging baskets. It is also useful to spray water under the car to wash the slush off without being splashed with water. One of the best tools they make is the water shut-off timer for the garden hose. Without it, I have left the hose running to fill the pond until it was overflowing. With the timer, I just set the time and forget it. It is an egg-timer style, so it is not dependent on water pressure and doesn’t need batteries. Dramm hoses and tools are found in many garden centers. Their website is RainWand.com.

You won’t believe how useful a magnifying glass is until you start carrying one around. A folding 10x jeweler’s loupe fits in your pocket so you can always have it available. It is especially useful for getting splinters out. Gardeners will use it to identify small insects, such as aphids and spider mites. Plus, there are many very pretty tiny flowers that go unnoticed until you have a magnifying glass with you.

Fiskars makes an all-round garden tool that you will find more uses for than you may see at first glance. The Take Apart Garden Shears are good for cutting weed barrier cloth or string, like scissors, but they can also be used for pruning. They are good for indoor pruning of house plants that often go neglected and for larger outdoor plants such as roses. You can cut small roots out of holes being dug for bulbs and annuals and not worry if they get all clogged with mud. The hardened stainless steel blades come apart quickly for cleaning and easily go back precisely in place for cutting. They can be used by both right- and left-handed people and are covered by a lifetime warranty.

A garden hat can really help in the summer. It can protect from the sun’s rays, and it can keep you cooler. Hats with a 3-inch brim from the Wallaroo Hat company are recommended by the Skin Cancer Foundation and are rated at SPF 50 or higher. They have hats for men, women, and children. I am on my second one, called the Explorer. The first one lasted more than 10 years. They float if they fall into water. Because the wide brim can catch the wind, I found that the strap was necessary on windy days. Check out the styles at WallarooHats.com.

Courtesy of Jeff Rugg

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