Great gifts for the gardener in your life

THE weather started off very seasonably for December, with freezing temperatures during the day as well as at night, making it essential to wrap up warm when going outside.

We so rarely get dry, bright and cold weather these days - it is like ‘proper’ winter weather!

It is having the effect of melting herbaceous perennials that had been hanging on until now with the milder temperatures during November.

Any tender plants should have been brought in at this stage, but the horticultural fleece is good to have on standby for exceptionally cold night-time temperatures for plants like echiums, tree ferns and larger banana plants that may have been left in the ground over winter.

That shopping time of year is upon us once more and the question remains, what to get the gardening friend, budding gardener or garden enthusiast in your family this Christmas?

This time of year always sees new gardening themed books hit the shelves. Anja Murray’s Wild Embrace (inset, right) is about ways to connect with nature; it is all about stopping to smell the roses, taking the time to appreciate where we are, what we see, smell, taste, feel and hear in nature.

We are all so busy with life that sometimes we forget to appreciate the simple everyday things, this book highlights all we are missing and how to slow down, take some time to reconnect with the natural world, and o see it through a different lens.

The Gardeners Almanac 2024 (inset, right) is a month by month guide to tasks that can be undertaken in the garden, with plenty of tips, tricks, and plant recommendations along the way. A great little book to have at hand throughout the year as a prompt for sowing different crops and providing reminders to undertake different tasks in the garden.

A diary or notebook is a very useful and good habit for a gardener to use regularly. 

Making a note of when different jobs are undertaken each year, new plants encountered along the way, when crops were sown and harvested, etc, makes for interesting reading, and patterns emerge as the years go by.

It is important to shop local and support local- made goods and it is so encouraging to encounter great shops like The Green Dot in Clonakilty, Designs in Skibbereen, Forest And Flock and The Craft Shop in Bantry. All stock Irish-made products and many are locally crafted and great quality.

There are lots of West Cork-inspired wildflower paintings and greeting cards, bird feeders and wood crafted pieces for the house and garden and much more.

Gardeners, by nature, are very hands so practical gifts are always greatly appreciated. Waterproof fleece lined gloves are a great addition to the gardening attire, particularly with the plummeting winter temperatures. Quality hand tools like trowels, secateurs, hand forks and hand-held hoes are useful gifts that will last for years.

Plants are always a good option and particularly ones that provide some winter interest and can be gifted while in flower: Viburnum bodnatense, Daphne bholua, Mahonia japonica and Camellia sasanqua all spring to mind when considering such plants.

Bird feeders will be a welcome addition to any garden this winter, and the simpler the design the better for ease of refilling with bird food.

The birds are flocking to our gardens now that the weather has become colder and they are very grateful for the seeds and fat balls left out.

Perhaps an annual membership to BirdWatch Ireland would make a nice gift for the potential bird watcher in the family? It will give regular updates throughout the year about different events happening all over the country, as well as the magazine Wings delivered three times during the year.

An easy to care for houseplant like a succulent or spider plant or a nicely appointed sealed pot which will enable easy watering, or maybe a stylish small watering can for use on houseplants, are all options for friends that have limited gardening space.

There are always lots of great gardening courses starting in the new year with different experts. Jimi Blake starts his new plants person course in January and it runs for one day of the month for 12 months. See www.huntingbrookgardens.com for more about different courses and tours that Jimi will be running in 2024.

Leonie Cornelius is doing an online garden design course called ‘Design your Joy Garden Workshop’, aimed at helping make a start on your dream garden in 2024. It could make a lovely gift for a friend or family that needs some inspiration. The tickets are for sale on eventbrite.ie.

Artist and gardener TJ Maher runs a garden course over nine months which looks at different aspects of gardening like understanding colour, plant selection, garden design principles, attracting wildlife to the garden, propagation and much more. See www.patthanagardenireland.com for details about the garden and courses on offer next year.

Irish seed savers, based in Scariff, Co. Clare, always have a good line-up of gardening courses and those planned for next year can be viewed and booked under workshops on www.irishseedsavers.ie

Happy Christmas shopping this December for the gardening friend in your life!