Wish list gives not so subtle hints

Let me start out by saying that one can never be too subtle about making one’s Christmas wishes known. Subtlety, my friend, is the key to alleviating much pre-Christmas stress for those closest to you (not to mention the fastest way to successfully accumulate the gifts you’ve been longing for all year).

I have an extremely subtle and highly effective strategy I use during the holidays that I must share with you. My strategy makes gift-giving stress- and hassle-free. This applies specifically to my husband, John, who would normally spend hours fretting over what to give, putting the whole shopping affair off until the last possible moment, and sometimes later.

My strategy is simple: I casually place mail-order catalogs with pages marked and items circled on top of John’s mail pile. Subscription cards to my favorite gardening magazines replace the bookmarks in the book he’s reading. Pictures of neat tools and garden gadgets are pasted on his calendar daily, so that, like an Advent calendar, he has to remove a new one each day to see the date.

I know, I know. You’re saying, “This is so plainly obvious, how can she possibly call it subtle?” Well, it’s the science to it that’s subtle. I learned this technique in a psychology class I took years ago. It’s called “spaced repetition.” The idea is to repeat a concept over time. Usually, teachers use the technique to teach children, but I have proof that it works on adults, as well.

You might think my ploys are a little annoying, but I like to think I’m doing John a favor. I mean, he can use all those hours he normally would spend pining over what to give me thinking of ways to retaliate. And if you think I can be annoying … well, let’s just say there have been a lot of marked-up Cabella, L.L. Bean and Orvis magazines in my mail pile lately. Not to mention the pictures of fly-fishing equipment I find taped to my toothbrush every morning.

On the top of my Christmas list is a set of gardening tools. Not any ordinary set of tools, but the “Garden Tool Gift Pack” from Snow and Nealley Co. of Hampden. These tools are the best gardening tools you’ll find. The gift pack contains three essential tools; a transplanting trowel (with markings to help you measure soil depth as you transplant); a three-tined claw that will make cultivating around your tomatoes more of a pleasure than ever; and a Cape Cod weeder, which will slice through the toughest of thistles with one swift swipe.

Each tool is lightweight and durable — made of native Maine ash and high-carbon steel. They are hand-forged in brick furnaces at the factory in Hampden. Their design and make are well-thought-out and reflect concerns of every avid gardener. Maybe that’s why they practically garden by themselves.

Just before I taped the advertisement for the tools to his calendar, I wrote John a note on it explaining that, yes, these tools are something I want but, more importantly, they are something I desperately need. (John’s a stickler for using the right tool for the right job, so — I’m not sure, but I think this note may have earned me a few Brownie points. I’ll find out for sure Christmas Day.) The tools can be found at good hardware stores, gift stores and garden centers throughout the state.

The second item on my Christmas wish list has been there since 1989 — a pair of overalls. Every gardener needs them. Though I’ve wanted a pair for years, I’ve not found the perfect pair yet — probably because I have high-performance expectations for the most important aspect of overalls: their pockets.

The pair I’m dreaming about has huge, deep pockets. Everyone knows a gardener can never have too many pockets. Pockets for seed packets and hand tools. Pockets big enough for plant labels, string and scissors. Pockets for carrying the first peas back to the kitchen. Pockets roomy enough to humanely harbor garden toads which delight and catch children off guard. That’s the best thing about pockets, the treasures pockets can conceal. I’m going to have to look for some farm supply center advertisements to see if I can spot a picture to tape to John’s calendar.

To go with my overalls, I would like a pair of garden clogs, such as the hard rubber ones offered in the Gardener’s Supply Co. catalog (to get a catalog, call 800-863-1700) or in retail garden centers right here in Maine. Bright-yellow clogs would be just perfect, I think. I’m not picky, though, blue or red would do, too. I imagine these garden clogs are helpful in the garden, but I mostly want a pair so that I can play, uninhibited, in mud puddles in the spring.

Since I am experienced in the art of wish-list composition, I happen to have a list of lots of little goodies gardeners might love for Christmas. I can’t imagine a gardener who wouldn’t enjoy some fragrant hand lotion, scented soaps and scented candles for a little aromatherapy during the winter months. Maybe a birdhouse, bat house or butterfly hibernation box would tickle a gardener you know. Enrollment in a master gardener, adult eduation or correspondence course might be perfect for someone else. Subscriptions to magazines, specialty newsletters (for bird lovers, rose growers, cut-flower lovers, etc.) and, of course, gardening books make nice gifts, too.

The lumber or materials for a compost bin, along with a compost aerator, would make an unusual gift. And, of course, more tools, tools, tools. As Dave Nealley of Snow and Nealley says, if you bought a lot of them, yourself, it would be overindulgent, but if others buy them for you, you really can’t refuse!

This isn’t nearly a complete list of ideas. I can think of others. Just let me catch my breath, and I’ll be right back with another list.

Diana George Chapin is the NEWS garden columnist. Send horticulture questions to Gardening Questions, c/o MaineWeekend, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor 04402-1329. Selected questions will be answered in future gardening columns. Include name, address and telephone number.