Here are some gift suggestions for your gardening friends and family. The holiday season is a great reason to get a gift for yourself, too.
• Gloves are one of the primary tools of the landscape. They protect your hands from blisters and more serious injuries, making everything you do in the garden safer, from handling rakes, shovels and brooms to pulling weeds and planting. They are also valuable when you are shoveling snow, carrying firewood, handling the Christmas tree, planting a live tree, pruning or performing other tasks that demand hand protection and dexterity outdoors.
The latest company to vie for the women's segment of the work glove market is Ironclad, with a glove called Evolution. The palms of these gloves have a tough, suede textured fabric that is actually a synthetic leather called Clarino. It displays the tough qualities of suede but breathes, is machine washable, soft and flexible. The tops are made of a Spandex-like material, so they are comfortable to wear all day. My wife, Sandy -- a woman's perspective was needed -- liked the high cuff on the glove for added protection, the comfort and the terry cloth covering the thumb, which lets you easily wipe away sweat or moisture while working. Cost: $19.99-$24.99
I dug, weeded and raked with the Ironclad Duraclad Heavy Utility glove that is sized for a man's hand. It is composed of the same materials as the women's glove, including a terry wipe on the thumb, but didn't have the high cuff. This model has a wrist protector. A tough rubberized mesh reinforcement is double-stitched into the palm and a Velcro tie keeps the glove on your hand. It's exceptionally comfortable. Cost: $29.99.
Both models can be machine washed. Available through Amazon, www.amazon.com, and Ironclad, www.iclad.com, 888-314-3197.
• Quite a practical item for the avid gardener is the Seed Saver Kit. There are thousands of flowers that are excellent candidates to collect seed for sowing, or trading next year -- short lived perennials and biennials such as gaillardia, black-eyed-Susan, verbena and columbine; annuals such as zinnia, impatiens, nasturtium and amaranth; trees such as fringe tree, crape myrtle, goldenrain tree and dogwood; shrubs such as clethra, Virginia sweetspire (Itea), American euonymus and spiraea.
This Seed Saver case can be carried everywhere you travel. If plants you admire have gone to seed, you can collect some on the spot. There are 10 airtight, glass-topped tins; glassine seed envelopes with labels, seed collection and storage bags; stakes for marking collection plants; seed desiccant; twine; bands; pencil; seed tin labels and a simple reference guide for seed collecting and storing. All this is packed into a 5 1/4 by 6 1/2 inch aluminum case, less than an inch thick. Available through Seeds of Change, www.seedsofchange.com, 800-762-7333. Cost: $25.
Note: There are some restrictions on interstate seed carrying; and it is sometimes illegal to transport seeds into the United States from foreign countries or vice versa. The focus on seed transit is primarily because invasive exotic plants have become a sensitive issue. To research transportation of plants and seed material between states check the Web site www.aphis.usda.gov/npb/ under the category of Plant Laws and Regulations; for international transport, www.aphis.usda.gov/ppq/permits/plantproducts/nursery.html.
• The most innovative gift I have seen this season is the Hidden Litter Potty Planter, developed to camouflage the cat's litter box. It is not a planter at all, but gardeners will like the plant theme. The faux planter comes with two foam filters, a bag of fir bark, an opening in the side of the container for cats to access and a "real" plastic plant that screws into a threaded hole in the planter to complete the device, which creates a private privy for felines.
You can place a live plant over the bark instead of a plastic one, but it must be water tight and not impede air circulation for the litter box. The fir bark deodorizes the kitty litter naturally and condensate won't form on the lid if the filters can breathe and aren't covered with a solid planter. Because the litter box is usually in an area with very little light, a plastic plant might be the answer for this whimsical litter box. There are two models -- the Decor will accommodate cats up to 14 pounds, the Contemporary is for cats up to 20 pounds and comes with a choice of plants. Available now through Hidden Litter, www.hiddenlitter.com, 800-884-1917; in stores in spring. Cost: $84.95 to $250 depending on the size and type of plant you choose.
