by Wendy Mackrell

Created on: December 19, 2007   Last Updated: July 09, 2008

gardening is as much about the mind as it is about the physical aspects. Before you have a garden looking fabulous, you imagine a garden looking fabulous in that spot. Knowledge about gardening is something I can never get enough of no matter how much I garden.

My most prized assets for gardening are my books, and I always love to receive another gardening book as a gift. Not only do I read them continually for reference but rainy days can be spent curled up on the sofa planning my next attack. So in my mind I'm still gardening.

Buy your gardener a good book on gardening. It doesn't have to be a huge reference book. A handy little pocket guide with pictures and explanations on annuals or bulbs can set a gardener on fire with ideas. There is always something new to learn or a plant to covet.

Magazines are great too, as long as you are getting one that pertains to your areas. If you are going to buy a book for someone, have a good look around. There are thousands of possibilities. I suggest one that has great pictures and descriptions that perhaps deals with one area, like gardening in shady spots, gardening in small spaces, low water gardens, that type of thing.

Every garden has it's own micro-climate so you can bet your gardener has a tight space, shady corner or sandy soil spot they want to fix up. If your gardener already has a load of books, my next favorite gift to get is a packet of flower or herb seeds. Growing from seed becomes addictive and is a very inexpensive way to build up a garden. Herbs are fabulous for usability and flowers give a lot of joy when you have raised it from a seed.

My third suggestion is simple, and may seem like a bit of a cop out in some areas but to a gardener it is a gift of gold. A gift voucher for a gardening store practically make my mouth water. Even a $5.00 voucher from the kids can get me 2-3 packets of seed or a couple of punnets of seedlings. The more the merrier, if I get enough I might be able to get that big water vase I've had my eye on!

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