Gifts abound for gardener on your list Tools make excellent presents this season

With less than one week of shopping time left to secure that perfect gift, the clock may indeed be running out, but have no fear – there’s no shortage of gift ideas to tickle the gardener on your list. When in doubt, go for tools, tools, tools.

Nothing could please most gardeners more than a full wall of the garden shed hung with tools of all sorts and sizes. Tools to dig, prune, plant, cut, cultivate, measure and protect. Tools are the essential stuff serious gardeners arm themselves with to make the task of gardening easier, more efficient, and well, OK, let’s face it – downright fun.

First of all, start your gardener off with a great pair of gardening gloves. Look for those crafted with goatskin or cowhide. These gloves go anywhere and do anything. They have a remarkable life span, are comfortable beyond belief and are thick enough to protect, but supple enough to give the gardener control over horticultural tasks. Away with those bulky, cotton jersey gloves, and on with these soft and pliable hand protectors! These gloves usually sell for about $15 per pair, so include a $5 glove

guard that clips to the gardener’s belt loop and prevents leaving the gloves behind during chores.

If you know a gardener with fruit trees in need of pruning or perennial gardens that require heavy-duty cutting jobs, look for Felco hand pruners. Professionals use them because they are an excellent, long-lasting, quality product. The ends of Felco hand shears are made of metal alloy that won’t rust; the handle grip is coated with red rubber that is both comfortable and easy to find when the gardener misplaces the tool amidst the frenzy of outdoor work.

Felco pruners literally last a lifetime for the average gardener. Most models cost around $35. In the event that damage occurs to the faithful implement, spare parts can be purchased at a relatively low cost. When shopping for pruners, be sure to select bypass types in which the cutting blade slices clear through plant material. Pruners that cut by crushing plant material rather than by slicing are less desirable for plant health.

For the person who enjoys starting his or her own seedlings in spring, a soil cuber or blocker makes a handy little gift. Sink a blocker into a tub of potting media and pop out little cubes for starting seedlings or larger blocks for growing them on. These tools range from $20 to $80 and provide a nice alternative to other potting methods that are plastic-intensive.

Any gardener who has a vegetable garden that requires an abundance of weeding or hoeing will benefit from a three-pronged cultivator. This long-handled tool has a fairly small head that easily accesses hard-to-reach places. The diamond-shaped prongs scratch the surface or dig deep into the soil with little effort. Ideal for flower gardening, this tool is a less laborious alternative to the traditional hoe.

Look for a fine-quality tool with high carbon steel prongs and expect it to cost you about $35. For the gardener who enjoys cut-flower bouquets or bonsai, indulge them in specialty shears designed with fine, sharp tips that reach difficult places and make a nice, clean cuts that help ensure the longest-lasting blooms. These shears look like ordinary scissors, but have a larger gripping area and a thin, pointed blade that effortlessly races through stems, floral ribbon and other materials with which a bouquet lover would adorn an arrangement. Even the best snipping shears can be found in the $15 range. A high-quality, durable brand name to look for is Fiskars.

While you’re at it, sneak a rose dethorner into this gardener’s stocking. This novelty tool will make removing stems from thorns and leaves from a whole host of cut flowers a cinch.

Most gardeners will probably enjoy an indoor-outdoor thermometer, plant stakes and ties, metal garden markers along with a lifetime supply of permanent Sharpie markers, a sundial, a birdhouse and a set of binoculars, a pair of garden clogs or rubber boots, netted outerwear to keep the black flies and mosquitoes away or a pair of rugged overalls.

Shop at your local greenhouse and nursery’s garden center for the gardener on your list and you’ll find hundreds of tantalizing gifts. A.M. Leonard is an excellent source of gardening tools, which can be reached by calling (800) 543-8955 or by visiting amleo.com.

Diana George Chapin is the NEWS garden columnist. Send horticulture questions to Gardening Questions, RR1, Box 2120, Montville 04941, or e-mail them to dianagc@ctel.net. Selected questions will be answered in future columns. Include name, address and telephone number.