Garden Tools

Christmas Gift for a Gardener

Looking for a Christmas gift for a gardener? Newer products coming out in 2021 for gardeners can be found in many garden catalogs his year.

Smart Pot®

Starting with the Smart Pot® which is a container 20-, 10-, or 5-gallon size. Made from a geotextile fab it air prunes the roots providing a denser root system. Really good containers for raising any vegetable.

Lighthouse Grow Tent


The lighthouse grow tent, a 4 by 4 by 6-foot tall tent with a silver lining inside. After placing a rack and lights, it makes a perfect grow house for starting seedlings. There are openings for venting if needed.

Swan Neck Hoe


One of my favorites while not new are not common in this country is the swan neck hoe. The blade is curved skimming below the soil level without having to pull too hard. With a 6-foot-long handle, you can reach across your garden easily. They also come with a copper head meaning it is the last hoe you will use. Copper tools enrich the soil with trace copper nutrients.

Brass Siphon Mixer


The brass siphon mixer goes on your hose to your flowers or garden that siphons a solution of fertilizer, fungicide, or insecticide. Works great for fertilizing drip systems in gardens. It siphons at a rate of 5 cups concentrate to 5 gallons of water.

Neom Oil

An insecticide that is a thousand years old but is becoming more popular in the United State is Neom oil. It is a pressed-out oil from the seeds of the neem trees (a broadleaf evergreen) from India. An organic insecticide that makes it harder for insects to grow and lay eggs. Good for aphids, mites, moth larvae, and grasshoppers and does not harm beneficial insects like ladybugs or bees.

Long Handled Spading Fork


Another tool not used much is a long-handled spading fork. The tool works great for digging underground vegetables like carrots and potatoes without much effort.

Solar Power Robot Mower


Tired of mowing? How about a robot mower powered by the sun? This mower comes from Husqvarna great for smaller areas.

Easy Bloom Gadget


The Easy Bloom Gadget will check your plants and soil and let you know about their situation, quality, and what they need.

Of course, there are many other selections that make great gifts for gardeners like stirrup hoes. Dibbles, and bulb planters.

Flowers (annual and perennial), Vegetable and Fruits

All-American Selection

Every year the All-American Selection of vegetables and flowers comes out with winners of excellence in hardiness and breeding for the upcoming year.

Celosia Candela Pink
Celosia Candela Pink

This year’s flowers begin with a celosia called Candela Pink. It has bright pink blooms with keep coming thru the growing season. Works good in containers or mass plantings and can be dried.

Zinnia Profusion Red Yellow
Zinnia Profusion Red Yellow

Another annual flower is the zinnia Profusion Red Yellow. A bicolor zinnia starting with a bright red center area with yellow outer petals. Like with most zinnias, they will bloom over the season until frost.

Leucanthemum Sweet Daisy Birdy
Leucanthemum Sweet Daisy Birdy

A perennial made it into the AAS which is more unusual is the Leucanthemum Sweet Daisy Birdy. Its hardiness is down to zone 3 with both heat and cold tolerance. The blooms are 5” across white good for a moonlit garden. Being a type of Shasta Daisy, it is a low maintenance plant.

Echalion Crème Brulee
Echalion Crème Brulee

As for vegetables, let us start with an onion called Echalion Crème Brulee. It is a shallot grown from seed with a single center bulb. The bulbs are sweeter than most shallots with a slight citrus flavor.

Pepper Pot-a-peno
Pepper Pot-a-peno

Next is a pepper Pot-a-peno, a compact pepper you can grow in a hanging pot. It is a jalapeno type, early maturing plant.

Goldilocks winter squash
Goldilocks winter squash

Lastly is an acorn winter squash called Goldilocks. It is a vigorous plant with high yields. The color is bright orange making it has a dual eating and decorating fruit.

DIY Projects, Home Improvement

Wall Texture

Wall texture is a way to give a wall a 3-D effect casing shadows with light. You can get the desired effect with painting with different tools, stick-on effects, or wallpaper (not your grandmother’s wallpaper).

Marbled wallpaper


We all know of the popcorn ceilings from the ’60s and 70’s most people hate. It is becoming in vogue to create 3-D textures on walls. One way is when you mud a wall is to take a tool for designing textures in the mud called a comb, stiff brush, or trowel. Then paint when it dries.

Texturing mud


Maybe an easier way is to take a textured wallpaper and use it. They use visual design and raised relief. Patterns come in wood, marble, or metal.

Wallpaper


The easiest way to incorporate painting techniques. Use more paint and a rough brush for a design. You can buy different paint textured roller that is plastic.

Using a textured roller


You can buy silica sand to mix in the paint. This gives the wall a rough, glistening effect.

If you like vintage textures, use Fresco, which applied gives an effect of chalk. Paint the wall then lightly go over it again with light color paint.