We’re whirling into the holiday season, with all the pleasures and demands it entails. Let me suggest that you pause a moment and reflect on your busy year in the garden. Perhaps there are some particularly memorable transformations—trees that produced fruit for the first time, or the new fountain you added. Now, consider what might help you enjoy your garden even more next season.
Like me, you may have relatives and friends who ask what you’d like as a gift this year. I’ve put together a wish list of five types of gifts you might enjoy receiving this holiday season, from yourself or others. Go ahead and dog-ear these pages or tear them out and leave this list for friends and loved ones to find. (Hints are a kindness to the giver and the recipient.)
I’ll start with a few big-ticket items and move down the price list from there.
A Watering System
Add or upgrade an automated watering system for your garden. This is a big project that may require consultations with a installation/landscape company and a plumber. But, if someone wants to set your gardener’s heart aflutter, let them free you from the worries of watering your garden. Whether you prefer a drip, spray, or rotating watering system, you’ll want to ensure the system is automated. How lovely to set off on a vacation without having to hire the neighbor’s teenager or a local pet-sitter to come by and water your garden.
A Water Feature
While we’re on the topic of water, another gift that will delight any gardener is a pool, a waterfall, or a fountain for the garden. Here again, you may want to begin by consulting with a landscaper, electrician, and plumber. An in-ground pool could hold a few koi, some lilies, and papyrus plants and will require a filter and pump. Or you might prefer something a bit less permanent; a smaller, above-ground tub or basin that you can fill with water and a selection of water plants. A third option is a waterfall tumbling into either type of water container. The advantage of the waterfall is the addition of sound. The sound of flowing water can be very soothing. And that sound can also be achieved with a fountain. Again, sound adds to the beauty of moving water. Depending on its design, a fountain can have a quiet trickle of sound or some more sprightly character.
3-Dimensional Sculpture or Whimsical Item
Wouldn’t it be fun to step into your garden and find an elegant sculpture there? Perhaps there’s an artist you admire who has pieces made of stone or steel that you admire. Or, maybe a seagull in flight or a heron at rest in resin, wood, or plaster might be just the point of interest your garden needs. Some colonial gardens surrounded by picket fences are enhanced by an old bicycle painted in bright colors or wood-framed windows suspended to frame a favorite part of the garden. Mobiles are another source of pleasure and amusement in the garden. Whether Calder-esque or silly, the mobile moving to the breeze can be charming. Such gifts could even be do-it-yourself surprises from a friend or loved one.
Windchimes, Birdhouses, and Birdfeeders
There’s always room for one more windchime and another birdhouse in my garden, and possibly in yours too. If your gift-giver is good at crafts, she or he might design and build a birdhouse or birdfeeder for you. Windchimes can be made out of interesting found objects that reflect your particular interests or style. These gifts are particularly nice to receive from children or grandchildren. Even getting the pieces and working with a young person to create a gift can be very rewarding. You could also encourage someone to give you the gift of birdhouse-restoration. A coupon, perhaps, for the seasonal cleaning out of the interior of your birdhouses and their repainting—very important to the birds. (Be careful a clean-out isn’t performed on a birdhouse that contains birds that are wintering-over.)
Gardener’s Attire
What fun to untie a bright ribbon, lift the gift bag’s tissue paper, and find some attractive and helpful item to wear when gardening! An apron is always welcome. Cute or handsome, a useful apron for an active gardener must have pockets, be easy to wash, and easy to put on and take off. There are cleverly made aprons that have a plastic inner layer to keep the gardener dry when struggling with watering cans and muddy flower pots. Think, too, about the size of the gardener. The apron should be long enough to protect the lap but not so long that it impedes the legs and knees. Gardening gloves are another gardener’s resource that needs replacement regularly. Again, the quality of the material and the appropriateness of size are vital for gloves to be useful. The trick is to have gloves that protect the hands from thorns and sharp edges while allowing the gardener to pick up a slippery tool and handle the stem of a delicate flower. While leather gloves are lovely, washable material is usually preferable—one gets pretty dirty when playing around in the dirt. Finally, a gardener’s hat can be his or her trademark and protective friend. This is a gift that should be given only if the giver is confident that the hat will be welcome and a good fit. Consider these characteristics: Material: straw, canvas, or felt, depending on the climate—Maryland’s heat and humidity, call for a hat that will help the gardener stay cool. Design: usually, a wide brim is preferred to keep the sun out of the eyes and off the skin. A chin strap might be a useful option, especially if the garden is in a windy area. Look, too, for breathability. Are there vents or air-holes built into the hat? This is where straw hats have a real advantage, since the material provides natural ventilation.
Whether you make 20 copies of your Wish List and distribute them to one and all, or you use this list to inspire your own gift-giving, I wish you a happy and safe holiday season and all the best in 2025.
