Gardeners share ideas for presents

This time of year has everyone trying to find the perfect gift for those on their holiday list.

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Some local gardeners are offering ideas for gardening-related gifts.

Gardener Jil Powell said some of her "best ever gardening items" that she uses frequently are knee pads, designed for basketball players, that were purchased at a sporting-goods store; pruners and loppers; a short-handled shovel; and a wagon.

A gift card to a gardening center or hardware store also "is great for gardeners," she said.

Betty Crowther said she has been given a plethora of gardening gifts that would make great presents for gardeners.

"I have had many wonderful gardening gifts over the years," she said. "One of the most recent and lovely was my pond. My husband presented me with an illustrated brochure of a pond and all the details about the installation he had arranged."

Crowther says a wheelbarrow that her son and daughter gave to her as a joint gift is in "constant use."

"Most of my garden tools were Christmas or birthday presents," she said. "I always hope for, and usually receive, a gift certificate to my favorite nursery. I also have some very special plants that my family and friends have given me over the years and when I walk around my yard, I have all the fond memories of those people as well as the beautiful plants.

"The most recent gift my husband has given me is two tickets for the Chelsea Flower show in England next May, which I am already looking forward to attending," she said.

Carol Finch, a Columbia County master gardener and a member of three area gardening clubs, always appreciates supplies.

"Some of them are heavy and I really appreciate it when my dear, nongardening, but supportive husband uses his pick-em-up truck and brings me bags of top soil, compost, potting soil, mulch, bales of pine straw and, most recently, a 50-pound bag of time-release fertilizer. No bows or gift wrapping necessary."

Judy McAlister already knows what her favorite gift is: the Bionic Rose Glove distributed by The Rose Gardener in Acworth, Ga. In fact, McAlister has already ordered a pair of the gloves for her sister for Christmas.

"They are extra long -- to the elbow -- and are made of kidskin leather and are machine washable," McAlister said. "They are great for preventing arm scratches when pruning plants with stickers, like roses. They are also ergonomically designed for motion and have padding in the grip areas."

Initially purchased for her husband, who takes a blood thinner and bleeds easily when scratched, McAlister has quickly grown to love the gloves herself.

"He loves them and so do I, since I'm not constantly putting Band-Aids on him," she said. "These are not inexpensive, but they work and are durable."