Sanhedrin Nursery – Garden Blog

• Feed the birds this winter and enjoy the pleasure of their company. Bird feeders come in many styles and make wonderful gifts.

• Spring bulbs can still be planted now. They make lovely gifts for friends and relatives.

• Clean up the yard and compost dead plants. Replace them with pansies and primroses for winter bloom.

• Check your nursery for stocking stuffers: kids’ gloves, watering cans, bonsai figurines, seeds and bulbs.

• Prune birches and maples, if necessary, before Christmas to avoid problems with bleeding as the sap starts to rise very early in these trees.

Great Gifts for Gardeners

This time of year we are all thinking more about our gift lists than our gardens. But whether it’s decorating your indoor space with houseplants and indoor fountains, or gathering gifts for those who love the garden, there are lots of things to discover at local nurseries.

For a gardener who starts her own seedlings, an Orbit® coil-up hose will keep the greenhouse tidy. The 6-pattern nozzle will gently water seedlings, or wash off the tables.

Watering cans are available for indoor or outdoor watering. The new, old-fashioned galvanized cans are rust-resistant and strong for a long life in the garden. Their classic shapes include the extra long spout for easy ‘long reach’ watering. Smaller watering cans make nice gifts for the indoor gardener.

An unusual gift for the person who takes care of the landscape is the Weed Dragon®, a propane torch that kills weeds safely and naturally without herbicides. It’s great for killing weeds between stepping-stones, in sidewalk cracks and along chainlink fences.

Looking toward pruning season, there are few tools more important to a gardener than a good pair of pruning shears. Felco® has long been the leader in pruning shears with a dozen different models to accommodate large hands, small hands, lefties, or equipped with a rotating handle to reduce fatigue. A Felco® pruning saw is a must-have for every orchardist. All Felco® tools come with a lifetime guarantee, and replacement blades, springs, etc. are available to keep them in tip-top condition.

A sturdy pair of loppers is a fine tool for tree work as well as pruning old rose bushes and climbers. With high-carbon steel blades, these tools last for many years, making large jobs easier.

Of course, a good pair of gloves is important to any gardener. The elbow-length, Thorngard gloves are great for pruning rosebushes and dealing with blackberries. The popular Nitrile Touch® gloves are loved by many gardeners. And the leather Bionic™ gloves are great for older gardeners as they give support and reduce fatigue for arthritic hands.

The Garden Bench and Kneeler is an excellent gift for those who find kneeling somewhat difficult. The padded bench can be flipped over to become a kneeling pad with upright supports that serve as handles to get up and down. The cushioned surface is gentle on the knees while working in your garden. The kneeler folds up for easy storage.

One of the most coveted garden tools is a good quality digging fork. Beautiful Spear & Jackson tools from England have a reputation for quality and durability, and are made to be used for a lifetime and passed on to the next generation.

Add a gardening calendar and you and your gardening friends can look forward to another great year of gardening pleasures. The Gardening by the Moon Calendar gives detailed timing for appropriate gardening activities, and the Old Farmer’s Almanac® is a helpful and fun book to have on hand.

We wish you all a very happy holiday season, and hope we can help you be successful gardeners in the year ahead!

• Choose living Christmas trees now. Most will be able to be kept in their containers and used for one or two more years as a Christmas tree.

• Stop peach leaf curl by spraying soon with copper sulfate to help prevent this disfiguring disease from attacking your trees next spring.

• Clean up rose bushes by removing spent flowers and raking up old leaves, but wait until February for heavy pruning.

• Feed the birds this winter and enjoy the pleasure of their company. Bird feeders come in many styles and make wonderful gifts.

• Rhododendrons are hardy shrubs that are particularly beautiful in the spring when they bloom. Choose plants now when selection is the best.

Need Gifts for a Gardener?

When times get tough, many of us turn to practical gifts rather than luxury items. For the gardener on your list, there are many practical items that will enhance their gardening experience in the years to come.

Start with a nice pair of leather gardening gloves to prevent injury and chapped, rough skin; or flexible, rubberized cotton gloves that keep fingernails clean and hands dry. There are long-sleeved gauntlet gloves that protect from sharp thorns of roses or berry vines, and “Bionic” gloves made especially to offer people with arthritis a glove with comfort and flexibility.

Kneepads or a kneeler seat make weeding and planting less of a strain, without knee and back pain. The Garden Kneeler Seat can be used for kneeling in the garden and it has handles to help you get up and down. Or flip it over for a seat for resting or working in raised beds.

When it’s time to clean up the garden, there is no finer tool than a “Bos Bag”. This tough, self-standing, washable, tear resistant bag stands open for easy loading and folds flat for storage.

There are few tools more important to a gardener than a good pair of pruning shears. Felco has long been the leader in pruning shears with a dozen different models to accommodate large hands, small hands, lefties, or equipped with a rotating handle to reduce fatigue. Ratchet pruning shears may be just the ticket for light work or delicate hands.

And speaking of tools, the Hori-Hori Digging Tool is a traditional Japanese gardening tool that can be used for just about every kind of gardening, digging, cutting or weeding activity. The stainless steel knife blade is very sharp and concave shaped for scooping soil and other materials.

One of the most coveted garden tools is a good quality digging fork. Beautiful tools from England have a reputation for quality and durability, and are made to be used for a lifetime and passed on to the next generation.

Add a gardening calendar and you and your gardening friends can look forward to another great year of gardening pleasures. Ecology Action has produced a “2009 Garden Calendar” with a handy “things to do” list for each month. The “Gardening by the Moon” Calendar gives detailed timing for appropriate gardening activities, and the “Old Farmer’s Almanac” is a helpful and fun book to have on hand.

We wish you all a very happy holiday season, and hope we can help you be successful gardeners in the year ahead!