Santa goes green! Nigel Colborn reveals the best gifts for gardeners this Christmas
- Nigel Colborn picked out a selection of the best gifts for gardeners this Xmas
- British gardening expert suggests the book Cambridge College Gardens
- H recommends traditional Sussex garden trugs for storing tools and flowers
Choosing a present for a green-fingered loved one should never be difficult. In case you need some inspiration, here is my pick of the gifts on offer …
Fabulous fillers
By no means a boring present, good garden string is a gardener’s closest friend.
Naturally soft, but surprisingly strong, jute twine decays after a couple of years. That means it won’t strangle climbers when their stems thicken. It also makes pruning much easier.
Nutscene Garden Twine is widely available and prices vary — typically £6 for a 150m spool in a handy dispensing tin.
Cutting-edge: Invest in a sturdy pair of carbon-steel shears
Get lost in a book
Look no further than Cambridge College Gardens by Tim Richardson, with photo graphs by Clive Boursnell and Marcus Harpur, in which the author describes Cambridge’s less visited treasures.
With better soil than in Oxford, and fewer cluttered settings, these are truly dreamy gardens with fascinating histories.
The photography is superb from Boursnell and the late and sadly missed Harpur.
Available from White Lion Publishing for £40.
Say it with glove!
Try gauntlet gloves with tough hide for protecting wrists and forearms, but with hands made from pliable deerskin.
They’ll resist thorns, yet have the sensitivity required for more intricate pruning tasks.
Gold Leaf Tough Touch deer skin gloves are typically £25.95 for men, with smaller sizes less expensive, rhs.org.uk.
All sown up
For some years, I’ve purchased several shrubs online from crocus.co.uk. All arrived beautifully packed and in excellent condition. They established readily and have grown extremely well.
Crocus also offers ‘high-end’ garden accessories such as decorative cloches, containers and fancy water butts.
Brilliant for all gardeners, from beginners right through to professionals.
Nigel Colborn suggests gifting a traditional Sussex garden trug to green-fingered loved ones this Christmas
Terrific trugs
Both useful and beautiful, these traditional baskets are made from cricket bat willow with chestnut frames and handles. I received one on my 14th birthday and have sworn by them ever since.
They are handy for anything from tools to cut flowers. Being hand crafted they’re not cheap, and take time to make. Order now for delivery after Christmas.
Sussex garden trugs are about £50 for a large size — try Thomas Smith’s at sussextrugs.com.
Shear joy
For years, I’ve used lightweight, long-reach shears for hedge cutting. They’re well balanced and comfortable to use.
But quality varies and cheap versions don’t last.
The dearest ARS-KR-1000 shears have high-carbon steel blades, with a pivot bolt for adjustment, and retail at £75.
Darlac DP400 shears cost about £30. Both at amazon.co.uk.
Cool watering cans
Most professional gardeners agree Haws watering cans are the best. They’re pricey — almost £60 for a two-gallon Warley Fall metal can. But the extra-long spout and handle design results in a balanced, easy-to-use can.
Galvanised and painted dark green, these last a lifetime. Buy from haws.co.uk or retail ers at £7 to £80
Growing genius
Dobies offers an LED Full Spectrum Grow ing Light for £40. Suspend this over your propagator for healthy seedlings. Better still, the ritzy Geopod Standard 60cm propagator comes with lights and thermostat — all for £145. Buy from dobies.co.uk or harrodhorticultural.com.
In the frame
A cold frame could transform your gardening. Uses include rearing young plants, rooting cuttings, raising food crops and much more. You could build your own, but ready-made frames save a lot of bother.
Woodpeckerjoinery.co.uk has well-designed, 6ft by 3ft, glazed cedar frames for £495. Other shapes and sizes are available.