The past few years I have created a gift guide based on items I would recommend to someone passionate about gardens and gardening. I pull from the list of items I have purchased over the year that either provided me with inspiration or helped me be a better gardener. Below is a list of some great items I found this year, with some more practical gifts and others more luxurious.
(1) Luciano Giubbilei: The Art of Making Gardens ($43.86) I have been a long admire of Luciano’s work and have the first book written about his work next to my computer at work (The Gardens of Luciano Giubbilei) for quick inspiration. This second book is written by Luciano himself and reflects his evolution as a designer while working on an experimental boarder at Great Dexter. You still see is modern clean sensibility with more exploration with color in textural compositions. Outside of learning about his creative process, it is a great garden porn book with beautiful images.
(2) Broad Fork ($84.80) – This summer I spent hours working on getting organic matter into our soil at our house. For a lot of the work I used a tiller, but ordered this broad fork to use in smaller areas where I needed deeper cultivation. The tool has since migrated to the crews to use, but will need to get it back for more fall planting. This is a workout to use, but outside of a large tiller is the best tool for aerating compact soil in your garden beds.
(3) Eddie Bauer Multiclava ($20) – I have a few of these that I wear whenever I am working outside to protect my neck from the sun. It works better than sun screen which typically gets sweated off or major areas missed. The fabric is designed to wick moisture and does not you a hot neck. It also helps in the winter to help shield you from the wind. I have the bandana pattern and camouflage patterns, but there are lots of options to choose from and lots of different ways you can wear.
(4) Leonard GardenGlide ($34.99) – I received one as a sample from A.M. Leonard to try out and passed it along to the maintenance crew to use. In less than week, they came back requesting we order more for all the crews. It is a simple design, but the glide allows you to move with ease bags of mulch/soil, your weeding tub, or even plants around your garden. Much easier to move than a wheel barrel and uses little room for storage when not in use.
(5) Rouge Hoe ($38.95). I like to buy tools once! I expect them to last and take the beating I am going to put them through. That is why I love the Rouge brand. Built to last a life time with a thick tempered steel head and sturdy hickory handle. Handcrafted in the US the Prohoe is an essential tool for the serious gardener who believes is using the right tool for the job.
(6) Norwegian Wood ($16.96). I found this book up in Minneapolis over the summer and purchased to use with all the fire wood we have thanks to the plight of our ash trees from emerald ash borer. It will take your wood stacks to an art form and ensure you have excellent firewood for evening fire pits. I am using it to perfect my wood walls and chopping methods, a much better use of all the dead ash trees than the wood chipper.
(7) The Botanist Gin ($40ish) – Gin and tonic is my drink of choice, and Botanist Gin is my gin of choice. I found it at our local liqueur store and purchased it purely based on name and stunning bottle design. Distilled in Scotland on the Isle of Islay using local botanicals, it is a pure and clean gin. I mix with Fever Tree Tonic, but am open to any suggestions of other tonics to try (have also used Q Tonic). You cannot go wrong with this for any gin lover, let alone a plant geek gin lover.
(8) Paul Bangay: The Garden at Stonefields ($88.65). As I write this, Amazon only has one more copy remaining, so first come first served. This book was released back in 2013, but we were not able to easily get your hands on a copy in the USA. I just got a copy this week and have not had a chance to read yet, but the photos alone are amazing. The book provides the evolution of the gardens at Paul’s personal residence, from conception, during installation and on going care and maturity. This provides you the framework for how the great garden was created, an often secretive side gardens.