Gardening gifts sure to please> Bulb-forcing kit adds color to winter

As the days left before the Christmas holiday wane, most of us find ourselves scurrying about, running last-minute errands and searching for the perfect gift for those on our shopping list.

Luckily, most people garden, and those who don’t (and I might be showing a bit of bias here) are inclined to enjoy it if given the opportunity.

Thus, a gardening-related gift is sure to please just about anyone on this year’s gift list. In this column I offer a few suggestions for easy gift ideas:

Prepare a bulb-forcing kit for someone who will enjoy bright flowers in midwinter. All you’ll need are an attractive container, a bag of potting medium, and an appropriate number of bulbs.

The container should allow for at least six bulbs, and be sure you purchase those that have been pre-chilled, when appropriate.

This gift is perfect for a child or novice gardener, because it doesn’t involve too much in the way of time, yet it yields great rewards. Include a book on bulb growing, if you’d like.

For the serious gardener, a gardener’s gift pack can include specialty hand products, including gardener’s soap and hand cream, a pair of gardening gloves (those with a single thin layer of leather are recommended because they are both durable and flexible), and specialty hand tools.

Add whatever else you’d like: note cards with a gardening theme, aromatherapeutic candles with their favorite floral or herbal fragrance, seed packets, a gift certificate to a seed company or farm and garden store, and a copy of one of Taylor’s Pocket Guides to gardening or copies of gardening magazines. A pleasant arrangement of these items in an attractive container or window box will give more purpose to the gift.

If your favorite gardener enjoys using the computer, consider giving a CD program to help in designing a landscape and researching plant materials for the job. Buy a good guide to landscape design to go along with it.

If your friends aren’t able to access the Internet, consider giving a gift subscription to a local provider so they can explore the oodles of information offered on the Net.

As always, books make fabulous gifts. To get away from the mainstream how-tos, seek out some specialty books offered locally and through mail-order sources.

For example, if your friends enjoy indoor gardening, look for a specialty book on bonsai or cactus culture to expand their interest.

If someone in your family likes to brew beer at home, a perfect resource will be the newly released “The Homebrewer’s Garden,” by Maine’s own Joe and Dennis Fisher of Winterport. This is a fabulous book on how to grow your own hops, brew with herbs, grow grains and make your own malts. It has an excellent reference section on a plethora of herbs, including cultural information, harvesting tips and uses for brewing. It also has an extensive listing of homebrew recipes and an appendix that provides many sources for further information.

Magazine subscriptions, gift certificates for a few hours of free labor or those redeemable at a local nursery are perfect gifts. If you think a gardener on your list would like to learn more about gardening and would like to volunteer in their community, offer to enroll them in a local Master Gardener course or a horticulture class offered through the local adult education program.

Last but not least, the perfect gift for those who tend to overdo it during the hours spent in the garden, but hate to admit it: Promise a trip to a local masseuse for a relaxing massage, come spring.

Your questions

Q: In your column and other gardening literature, I read about hardiness zones. What zones cover Maine? How would I find out which zone I live in? — D.S., Ripley

A: As you would imagine, Maine’s climate varies greatly, from our most southern coastal locations to those of our most northern points. Most of Maine is included in Zones 3, 4 and 5. However, there are colder pockets of Zone 2 in the north and warmer pockets of Zone 6 in coastal areas.

The University of Maine Cooperative Extension has a publication that identifies the zones and will help you identify the zone that includes your area. To find out how to obtain a copy, contact your local Cooperative Extension office or call 1-800-287-0274.

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