From Mélie’s Garden
It is holiday shopping time again and here are a few suggestions for the gardeners on your list.
There is a beautiful gardening magazine that I have enjoyed reading called Garden Design. It comes out quarterly and I have found every issue that I have received not only beautiful but also full of good information. Visit GardenDesign.com to subscribe.
The Connecticut Gardener is a newsletter that also comes out quarterly and is full of information about gardening in the Fishers Island area that is very helpful. Visit www.conngardener.com for information.
A membership in the America Horticulture Society is nice to have and they also have an informative magazine, “The American Gardener” at ahsgardening.org or call 800-777-7931 for membership information.
I spend some of the time in New York City and have always enjoyed my memberships at the New York Botanical Garden and Wave Hill. They are both wonderful places to visit and offer courses and lectures throughout the year. A membership also gives you a discount in their nice gift shops, which I have also found useful. For the NY Botanical Garden see www.Nybg.org or email membership@nybg.org and for Wavehill go to www.wavehill.org/ or call 718 549-3200 for information.
Other ideas for gardening friends are Amaryllis Bulbs from John Scheepers, Inc. that produce glorious flowers in mid-winter or a selection of unusual houseplants from Logee’s in Danielson, CT to cheer up the short winter days. www.johnscheepers.com and www.logees.com
Last year I gave my youngest grandchildren a small window birdfeeder that they have just loved. It sticks on to the window with big suction cups and works very well in a protected area where it won’t get much wind.
Natures Hangout Window Bird Feeder, www.Amazon.com
This year I am going to give them a self-watering vegetable garden where they can see the roots develop from the seeds they plant. Rootvue Farm, www.mindware.com and 800-999-0398
And, for my older grandchildren, I am going to give them a Build It Yourself Insect House which is advertised as a building kit for “Young & Old” from Gardner’s Edge that I think they will enjoy putting together and observing the insects that hopefully will move in. Build It Yourself Insect House, www.gardnersedge.com
What I would really like Santa to bring me this year is a new compost drum and a small wood chipper. But he might not be able to fit both of them into his sleigh and one might have to be delivered later by the Easter Bunny. Happy Christmas to all!
Be sure to click on any of the images to see a larger version.
