The American essayist and editor, Charles Dudley Warner wrote: "What a man needs in gardening is a cast-iron back, with a hinge in it". And scientists are probably working on it, but in the meantime, some really good gardening tools will help take the strain off the lumbar region. It's always satisfying to give Irish gifts at Christmas, and Cork-made True Temper tools include backfriendly, long-handled spades, rakes and forks (widely available, £17 £24). Meanwhile, some models of Swiss-made Felco secateurs (good garden centres, £20 £50) are fitted with shock absorbers and swivel handles to take the pain out of pruning. If your loved one already has one of the coveted red-handled instruments (they last for years), a Felco sharpening stone (Murphy and Wood, Cabinteely, £9.60) will keep it in good shape. Hand-tools which don't bend and buckle are an essential part of the batterie de jardin. Draper's stainless steel fork and trowel (good garden centres, about £16) are dependable items. More snazzy is a wooden-handled, stainless steel trio of trowel, fork and cultivator, hand-made in France and available by mail order (Grimes & Co. Tel 016675627, £52 plus p. and p.). Novice gardeners will be well-served by a five-part kit: trowel, fork, secateurs, loppers and pair of lightweight gloves (Powerscourt, Enniskerry and Avoca Handweavers, Kilmacanogue, £14.90). The trowel and fork have padded handles, so virgin fingers suffer minimal blistering.
Further protection for horticultural hands will be gained by ensconcing them in a pair of gardening gloves from the large selection at Woodies (£1.79 £9.99). And a one-two-three treatment of Oxford Gardener eucalyptus barrier cream, tea tree cleanser and lavender moisturiser (Formality, Dun Laoghaire, £10) will keep them supple. The Weary Gardener's Moisturising Handcream (Powerscourt, Enniskerry, £7.75), despite the twee name, smells good and spicy, while L'Occitane Shea Butter Handcream (Grimes & Co., £9.50 plus p. and p.) is really rich and concentrated.
Weird gear and gardening go hand-in-hand. Apparel that most sane people wouldn't be seen dead in will draw gasps of appreciation from the plantsperson in your life. Starting from the toes, tog them out in battery-operated heated socks (mail order from Windrush Mill. Tel: 0044-1993-770456, Stg£29.95 plus p. and p.), green wellies (Woodies, £10.99), foam knee-pads (Mackey's, Sandycove, £7.85), microwaveable gel-pack back warmer (Windrush Mill, £17.95 sterling plus p. and p.), a good bum-covering fleece jacket (outdoor shops, from £40), leather secateurs holster (good garden centres, about £12) and waxed cap or hat (Powerscourt, Enniskerry and Avoca Handweavers, £10.50 £29.95). In such an attire, the best place for your gardening darling is out of sight behind the hedge where Santa just happened to drop (oh so gently) a brand new greenhouse (Lenehans, Capel Street, Dublin, £219 £6,995). And if Mr Claus was thinking straight, he'll also have supplied a mercury maximum-minimum thermometer (Woodies, £10.99), a Hilite greenhouse heater (Mackey's, £29.99 and £49.99), an electronic propagator (Mackey's, £91.99) and a crystal clear digital cordless telephone (Telecom shops £139 £169) for on-site consultations with gardening friends.
And speaking of consultations, why not give the gift of a session with a professional garden designer? (Contact the Garden and Landscape Designers Association Tel 01-2781824 for information.) Or if there is a budding designer in your midst, book them a place at the association's seminar, Dynamic Styles for Future Gardens, on February 13th (£60 including lunch and refreshments) at Belfield where the speakers will include international bright sparks Allain Provost, Charles Jencks, Cornelia Hahn Oberlander and our own, stimulating Angela Jupe.
Or maybe you should send your favourite person-of-the-soil even further afield on a garden trip with Harry Cahill Quality Tours (Tel: 01-6705123). Choose the villas and gardens of the Italian lakes and Switzerland (£795), the Jersey Floral Festival (£739), the chateaux and gardens of the Loire valley (£650) or the gardens of the Riviera (£795). Or forget about going to the Mediterranean and help recreate it right here by giving a skyscraping 3.5-metre Italian cypress (Formality, £250), box balls (£25 £56), box spirals (£150 and £220) or an elegantly-trained 10-year-old "poodle pine", its branches carefully trimmed into dark-green cushions of needles like a grown-up bonsai (£760). A Burgon & Ball topiary shears (Formality, £22 and £24) will keep all this barbered greenery shipshape.
And of course, you can't give geometric, show-off plants without a decent pot, Irish-made preferably. Most magnificent are the 20-inch high, 26-inch diameter orange pots from Kiltrea Bridge Pottery (Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford. Tel: 054-35107, £181.50). Or counterbalance a topiary sphere with a square, hardwood Versailles box (Mackey's, Murphy and Wood, £36.70 £50). Or brighten up a blank wall by decorating it with pots held in rustproof, ornamental wall brackets (The Egg Depot, 34a Wexford Street, Dublin, £10 and £12.)
Staying with garden hardware, the gift of a steel obelisk frame for climbing plants (Mackey's, £75) will add instant height to the flattest of gardens, while glass bell cloches (Egg Depot, £24.95 and £29.95) not only look pretty, but they'll protect tender plants from winter weather. And glass globe lanterns that hang from a simple shepherd's crook (Formality, £20) come alive when a night-light is placed in them.
And although gardeners rarely rest in the garden, any spare moments will feel even better if spent in a massive, cotton rope, Hatteras hammock (Grimes & Co., £145 plus p. and p.). A heavy gauge green enamel stand (£155 plus p. and p.) means it can be moved in minutes.
But what of plants? There's no accounting for people's tastes, but few gardeners would say no to a Meyer's lemon tree, a bird of paradise plant, or a self-pollinating kiwi (all from Murphy and Wood, £15, £24 and £10.50). Camellias (widely available, from £7.65) are laden with buds this year, while poinsettias from Warrenstown College (from £8.50 in selected shops) are beautifully grown, vibrant specimens.
And when keen gardeners finally lay down their tools for the day, a meticulously-executed botanical painting by Deborah Lambkin (Tel: 01-6608785, from £200 £1,000 framed) will delight the eye and stimulate the mind. Choose from her carefully-observed studies of wildflowers of Ireland, including bluebells, ragged robin and yellow rattle (£200 each), or go for a funky gerbera (£240). Or the ultimate gift: commission her to paint a portrait of your loved one's favourite plant.