Gifts for the garden

Books, tools, birdhouses, seeds, art, and of course plants. There's no shortage of gifts to gladden the heart of a gardener, writes FIONNUALA FALLON

HAVING RECENTLY COME to the conclusion that the man with the snowy white beard, bright red suit, little round belly and nose like a cherry isn’t all that green-fingered, I thought it might be useful to make out a sort of “long list” for him of the kinds of Christmas presents that most gardeners might like to receive this Christmas.

In the end, it turned into a very, very, very long list, but one that does not (and this, I think, is perhaps the most important bit) include flowery wellies. I would, however, be very happy to find any of the following under the tree.

Nominated for the prestigious British Garden Media Guild’s 2011 awards (under the category Most Inspirational Garden Book of the year) is In The Footsteps of Augustine Henry and his Chinese Plant Collectors, by Seamus O’Brien of Kilmacurragh Botanic Gardens (Garden Art Press, €46). The Living Garden: A Place That Works With Nature, by fellow Irish Times contributor, garden writer and photographer, Jane Powers, (Frances Lincoln, £25) is a beautifully written, informative and persuasive guide to creating a garden that’s gently in tune with nature. Shirley Lanigan’s timely and useful The 100 Best Gardens In Ireland (Liberty Press, €25) is one that keen garden visitors will treasure. The Science of Gardening by UCC professor Peter Jones (Crowood Press, €25) cleverly answers the hows and whys of gardening, while the wonderfully informative The Polytunnel Book: Fruit Vegetables All Year Round by Joyce Russell (Frances Lincoln, £16.99 ), has proved so popular that it’s already on its third print run.

As for non-Irish garden books, a selection includes My Garden, The City, And Me: Rooftop Adventures in the Wilds of London, by city girl and flat-dweller, Helen Babbs (Timber Press, £9.99); The Thrifty Forager: Living Off Your Local Landscape, by the British garden writer and television presenter, Alys Fowler (Kyle Books, £16.99); Grow Your Own Food For Free, Well, Almost, by Dave Hamilton (Green Books, £14.99); the excellent, information-packed trilogy by award-winning garden writer Val Bourne, The Ten-Minute Gardener’s Flower-Growing Diary’, The Ten-Minute Gardener’s Vegetable Growing Diary and The Ten-Minute Gardener’s Fruit-Growing Diary (Bantam Press, all £9.99); and Home Ground: Sanctuary In The City by acclaimed British garden designer, Dan Pearson (Conran Octopus, £28). Finally, very young gardeners will love Lob, by Linda Newbery (David Fickling Books, paperback, £5.99), the story of Lucy, Grandpa Will and the mysterious green man who lives in his garden.

Gardening books aside, a visit to the treasure trove that is The Blue Door (thebluedoordirect.ie), is always worthwhile. Both its Naas and Monkstown branches stock a very chichi, Swedish-made range of birdhouses/feeders and bird nest boxes (prices start at €49), as well as ceramic wasp catchers (€8.50), classic tin seed boxes (€13.50), ultra-sturdy doormats that really get the dirt off mucky boots (€58), and a traditionally turned, oakwood twine stand with cutters (€24.50) that comes with its own giant ball of jute twine (€6.50) – always very useful. Meanwhile Birdwatch Ireland (birdwatchireland.ie) sells an extensive range of bird nesters and feeders, lovely bird mugs by British potter Emma Bridgewater (€17 each) and a camera nestbox (€129, and selling out fast).

In Cork, independent Irish seed-producer Madeline McKeever’s Brown Envelope Seeds business (brownenvelopeseeds.com) stocks a lovely range of gift boxes, including a heritage gift box of seeds (€20 plus pp). The gardens of Brown Envelope Seeds were also the inspiration for the watercolour artist Sonia Caldwell’s exhibition of paintings, on display at the Riverside Café in Skibbereen until the end of December. Some of the paintings have been reproduced as a very beautiful wall calendar (€12.50-€14.50, depending on postage) available from Brown Envelope Seeds or from the artist (contact Sonia Caldwell at soniacaldwell@eircom.net). Another lovely, Irish-produced garden calendar is The Irish Kitchen Garden Calendar (€9.50 plus pp), produced by horticulturist Lynn O’Keefe-Lascar of Kinvara Sustainable Living, see kinvarasustainableliving.com for details of stockists.

For further beautiful garden illustrations to hang on the wall, visit the Graphic Studio in Dublin (graphicstudiodublin.com) which sells surprisingly affordable, limited edition prints by some of the country’s most talented botanical artists, or consider buying one of Wendy Walsh’s very lovely, limited edition hellebore prints (€100, unframed, from wendyfwalsh.com).

Yearly membership subscription to any of the following is always a very welcome garden gift – The Royal Horticultural Society (rhsi.ie), GIY Ireland (giyireland.ie), Garden Organic (gardenorganic.org.uk) and the Irish Garden Plants Society (habitas.org.uk/igps) – as is a yearly subscription to The Irish Garden magazine (garden.ie, €46 for 10 issues). Those with deep pockets might also consider giving tickets to the 2012 Chelsea Flower Show (May 22nd-26th, £16-£55 depending on the date and time.)

A gift voucher from any of the country’s specialist nurseries is an especially wonderful Christmas present for any serious plant-lover (see isna.ie for a full list of members). And don’t forget to visit your local garden centre for lots of useful gift ideas, including tools, plants (look out for the Irish-produced Christmas Berry Tree) and garden accessories – the best, including dyg.ie, mrmiddleton.com, powerscourt.ie, johnstowngardencentre.ie, and thesecretgardener.com, have brilliant online shops and will deliver nationwide.

Finally, for a slightly eccentric but charming gift, consider adopting a vegetable variety (€15 per variety) from Garden Organic (see above). Varieties waiting for a loving home include the ‘Londonderry’ Broad Bean, ‘Paddy’ cabbage and ‘Irish Preans’ pea.