Christmas present for a gardening mad Mum...

Hello,

Call me mega organised, but I've been off work sick so my mind has wandered to Christmas presents *shudder*. My Mum absolutely loves gardening and has recently started planting and looking after an allotment. Is there anything that any allotment goers would recomment/class/suggest as a "must have" that I could look into for a present? She's already got a massive book containg all the ins and outs, and she's bought all of her seeks/bulbs etc.

Any help appreciated!

Thanks, Claire.

A present of a really good spade and fork set, or decent gloves or secateurs would never go amiss- it's hard to justify buying them for yourself but they really make a difference when it comes to working with them.

You7 could always bring her round to my garden and tell her its her's to do up

Hehe she's doing mine first! She came down for a few days last week, secateurs in hand. Came home from work and half the weeds had gone - brilliant!

I think gloves would be a good idea. You're right, it's the little practical things like that. They're essential but you woulnd't always treat yourself to a good set.

Thanks!

How about getting her an azada much easier on the back than a spade, try http://www.get-digging.co.uk

we bought the future in laws a padded knee stool thingy from Dukeries garden centre.

it has multiple uses as a seat,step, or a kneeler with handles to help them lever themselves upright.

A garden centre voucher? Half of the fun is mooching round looking at everything. I have some gardening clogs that I really like to slip into for gardening. Also purchased at a garden centre, they are waterproof etc and anti slip soles. Keeps your shoes decent.

Thing is, when a non gardener buys something for a gardener, its often wide of the mark. You could try and see what her current project is and buy something related to that. For example if she is thinking of specialising in growing fruit, you could buy her good pruning equipment, a pruning knife is good as well as secateurs which are the obvious thing. Or a more specialised book. I have a shelf full of garden books and its never enough. One which identifies different cultivars of various plants and tells you where to put them is useful as well as a decent gardening encyclopaedia (which I presume is the book of ins and outs you refer to). I have a good book which is solely on propagating plants, which is useful if you want to save money, as you wouldnt believe how many different ways there are to take cuttings etc. The expert series of books are really good, anything with RHS in the title is usually good too.

Before I was a gardener, I used to try and buy gardening presents for my dad. They invariably missed the mark as they were often the luxury items that he simply didnt need. When I started gardening I tuned into what he did need and bought him a box of things that he would use all the time like plant labels, waterproof labelling pen, garden twine and wire, slug pellets, fertiliser, dibber, seed trays, canes etc. He really appreciated this. I also noticed one year that his watering can was damaged and he was making do - so I bought him a really nice one. So you could look at what she has and if she is "making do" with old or damaged equipment that you could replace.

Hope that helps!

my old ma used to always get a truck load of s***

but she did actually ask for it, manure that is

gifts that I've really appreciated have been allotment books, wellington boots, trugs for taking home my harvests (definitely one of my best gifts) and a folding table & chair

My OH dug me a pond for my b'day, but that was in May when the weather was a bit nicer !

This year I'd like a blueberry bush. Fruit trees / bushes would be a nice touch.