Q. My father-in-law retired just before the pandemic began to alter the way we all live. As the plans he had made to celebrate the early days of his retirement evaporated, he turned his attention to his garden. To honour this new life interest, I’d like to find some sort of appropriate gift that would add to his pleasure in it. I’d appreciate any ideas you could offer.
A. The first thing would be to note or find out what aspect(s) of gardening are occupying your father-in-law initially. There so many. Some people are drawn most strongly to growing food, or herbs, or roses, perennials, cut flowers and so on. Others are attracted to the process of creating a harmonious landscape.
This spring has seen significant acceleration of interest in food gardening. Garden centres have been hard-pressed to keep seeds and plants in stock, and Canadian mail-order seed companies were swamped with orders.
Determining your father-in-law’s current gardening passion will lead you to the most suitable gift possible. Once that is clear, perhaps a book on the topic of his interest, accompanied by an appropriate plant, would be perfect.
There are excellent books available on gardening in small spaces and in containers, on roses, perennials, and just about any other topic, you can think of. For an up-to-date book on food gardening in our area, Linda Gilkeson’s Backyard Bounty is superb. Linda is an entomologist and gardening teacher based on Salt Spring Island.
People starting out gardening may be lacking an essential tool. Depending on what sort of gardening he’s embarked on, your father-in-law may need a good pair of secateurs or a long-handled digging shovel. Short-handled digging tools are murder on the back.
For his immediate pleasure on Sunday, consider a hanging basket or patio tub filled with flowers placed at his favourite summer sitting-out spot. A gift certificate from a local garden centre, or a card pledging help with one of his projects, are further options.
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