Useful Gifts for the Gardener

  • Post published:12/10/2016
  • Post comments:2 Comments

 

Full range of Felco pruners at Oesco in Conway
Full range of Felco pruners at OESCO in Conway

For me most holiday gifts for the gardener fall into two main categories, functional and informational.

Functional gifts include the necessary tools a gardener needs. We all start out with fairly inexpensive tools, partly because as a beginning gardener we don’t really know how hard a tool will have to work. As we grow as a gardener we come to recognize sturdiness and good quality and buy, or are given, better tools.

Trowels at Greenfield Farmers Coop
Trowels at Greenfield Farmers Coop

I was wandering through the Greenfield Farmers Cooperative on High Street a few days ago, looking at their large range of tools with long handles like spades and rakes. On the hand tool aisle there was an assortment of trowels. The new stainless steel trowels are one of the bargains on offer from Corona and Mint Craft at only $6. You can choose the size depending on your own need and the feel of the trowel in your hand. Some have inch markings in the steel to help you plant at the proper depths.

Also on the Coop’s rack were pruners and clippers of various sizes. The Corona by pass pruner is $30 and the smaller needle nose thinning shears is $24. The Dramm needle nose compact pruner is $15. Each pruner package lists the size of the wood that can be safely and effectively cut,

In addition to tools, the Coop has a large collection of equipment. I love my Gilmour hose and nozzle. I found various lengths of high quality Gilmour hoses from 25 to 100 feet (in blue which means they won’t get lost in the garden) ranging in price from $15 to $30.  High quality hoses with good nozzles are basic necessities and we can save money by buying quality that will last for years and years, rather than replacing worn out items every year or two.

Near the hoses and nozzles was a collection of Dramm watering wands. I acquired my Dramm rain wand after seeing it in action at a garden bloggers event. Through some kind of magic and 400 holes the rain wand allows a fast and high flow that will not beat down plants. The Coop’s Dramm Sunrise wand with its one touch control is 16 inches long and comes in beautiful shades of metallic red, blue, orange and green for $18. All Dramm products are manufactured in the U.S.

Hyacinth vase and bulb at Shelburne Farm and Garden
Hyacinth vase and bulb at Shelburne Farm and Garden

While checking out holiday gifts at the Shelburne Farm and Garden I ended up buying myself an early gift, a small iron plant stand ($40) with a mosaic top which is now holding my begonia plant in front of a window sill. If you wanted a plant stand you could furnish it with amaryllis bulbs in shades of red and white for $9, or a giant amaryllis for $25. Or you could choose a hyacinth vase, with hyacinth bulb for $8. The fragrance of blooming hyacinth in mid-winter is a happy reminder that spring will come again.

We ladies like to look our best even when covered with mud and grass stains, so striking foot ware like Sloggers at $33 are almost irresistible. I loved the Sloggers strewn with brilliant red poppies. When we wash off the mud we enjoy reviving with emollients like the Naked Bee Hand Repair, Facial Moisturizer, Body Lotion and Foot Balm made from organic plant oils. The prices range from $15-$4.

I am becoming notorious for leaving my pruners out in the garden and spending a lot of time searching for them. I drove off to OESCO in Conway to see if I could find a holster to wear on my belt. They not only had a collection of three Felco leather holsters, $10-13 they also had a sturdy bright red cloth holster for $4.

OESCO began as the Orchard Equipment and Supply Company, so it is no surprise that their products include many tools like pruners and saws for use in orchards. I was shown one item that is newly back on their sales rack, the Wheeler saw. This small, fine toothed saw was invented by Mr. Wheeler more than 40 years ago. He had an orchard but found using the kind of pruning saw that was available at the time, with its slippery handle and large teeth was uncomfortable and often not effective in the neat pruning cuts he wanted.

Wheeler saw at OESCO in Conway
wheeler Saw at OESCO in Conway

So it was that he designed a small push cut saw on the order of a bow saw, with fine teeth that was easier to handle. Indeed the instructions that come with the saw when sold at OESCO name the advantage of being able to wear warm gloves during winter pruning season, being able to slip the saw over the arm when shifting around and makes clean cuts. The saw blade is so fine that it is not worth while to sharpen, but the blade cane easily be changed without tools while working in the orchard.

OESCO bought the rights to the Wheeler saw and began manufacturing it in Conway. A number of years ago the metal bow part of the saw became unavailable locally and so production stopped. However, a new local source of this metal part is now available and the Wheeler saw is again being produced.

Next week I will talk about informational gifts, but there is actually another what-you-will category comprised of gift certificates. We all have loving relatives, or friends, who want to please us, but who, not being gardeners themselves, have no clue about plants or good quality tools. In their wisdom and love they give gift certificates which will give the gardener great pleasure. There is the pleasure of anticipating a longed for necessity or perhaps something that is more indulgent.

December 3, 2016

This Post Has 2 Comments

  1. Good ideas! I would love any of those gifts. I will make a list … 😉

  2. Pat

    Beth – I think my husband has an eye on that saw.

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