Raking in the holiday gift ideas

Can you believe it? One minute we’re trick-or-treating and suddenly we’ve been thrust smack into the middle of — the holidays!

People are making lists, checking them two or three times, losing the list, making new ones, and just throwing caution to the winds and getting everyone one of those icky plastic gift cards. It’s all such a rush. Personally, I find it entertaining to watch last-minute shoppers. Not that I’m one of those irritatingly perfect people who did their shopping in July. If I did that I’d just lose the stuff only to have it reappear next July. This is only useful if I bought something a gardener could use. And there are plenty of great ideas out there for gardening gifts for the holidays. So, let’s start making that list, shall we?

Have a gardener who’s hard to shop for? Check out the yellow pages or the Internet for nurseries and garden centers where your gardener lives and order a gift certificate for next spring.

For the book lover try Amy Stewart’s “Flower Confidential,” a peek into the world of floriculture and the flower market. From the science surrounding the quest for a true blue rose to the seamy side of the grower’s world of imported flowers, this is a great winter read.

A good companion book is Stewart’s “The Earth Moved: On the Remarkable Achievements of Earthworms,” a trip into the underworld of those humble creatures every gardener loves.

Gardeners love mysteries and there are plenty of authors playing in the dirt. Susan Wittig Albert’s herbal sleuth China Bayles, Anne Ripley’s PBS garden show hostess Louise Eldridge, and Mary Freeman’s landscaper Rachel O’Connor can always weed through great plots. Julie Wray Herman’s “Three Dirty Women Landscaping, Inc.” mystery series might be worth a look as well. Wrap these up with a nice fragrant tea to warm up your gentle gardener. Add a lovely floral mug with some exotic honey made from flowers and you’re on a roll.

A shiny silver retractable rake tied up with a huge red bow, some gel knee pads and a homemade gift certificate promising your undivided attention with the spring cleanup makes a snazzy gift for the tool junky.

Or maybe a cool shiny new wheelbarrow with a sack of Erben’s Wacky Alpackys manure from locals Mike and Kay Erben, 745-1513 or pacacrazy2@netscape.net.

Gardening gloves and some soothing gardener’s hand cream is always a welcome gift. Pair these with a gardening magazine like Horticulture, Fine Gardening or my favorite, Gardens Illustrated.

A bit pricey, but, for those who just have to have fresh growing vegetable matter there’s the Aero Grow Aero Garden Kit. This is a semi-aeroponic countertop grow unit with a light. This kit is hot on the market right now. It’s really more of a cross between a hydroponic and an aeroponic — one that uses mist rather than water and soil — to grow prepackaged seed plugs.

You can have this unit right on the kitchen counter growing a selection of herbs or salad greens for your gardener with a culinary interest. I’ve seen this at Alaska Mill and Feed and the local Sears store recently.

Totally over the top would be round-trip tickets to Seattle for the Northwest Flower and Garden Show next Feb. 20-24, found at Gardenshow.com. This should come with a bottle of bubbly, well chilled, and ear plugs to block out the shrieks of delight.

Don’t forget the homemade gifts and promises. Are the handles on your gardener’s tools getting gray and fusty looking? Sand them a bit and paint them a nice bright color, scour the metal parts and oil them. Tie them together with a nice bow and another one of those promissory notes for garden chores and you’re all set.

Or you could make some great ice sculptures out in the garden, build some snow arbors, string up some lights and give your gardener a winter garden party.

Of course, I’m covered. I gave my gifts in September just before freeze up. I packed up leftover pots of nursery plants and gave them to friends instead of storing them until next season. It was nice to visit with friends, find nice homes for my plants and surprise the neighbors with a replacement lilac for the tree the road grader took out.

I won’t be wondering where I put those gifts I thought I put in the closet last July.

Now all I have to do is bake the pfeffernusse.

Brooke Heppinstall, artist and gardener, is the owner of Wool Wood Studio & Gardens, an art studio and nursery specializing in Alaska-grown perennials and shrubs. Visit online at Woolwood.blogspot.com.