• Tender & True Parsnip is delicious & canker resistant
• Sweetheart Cabbage have sweet, pointed hearts for coleslaw or cooking
• Sweet Baby Cordon Tomato has lots of cherry sized fruit
• Raspberry Valentina is a pretty early summer fruit resistant to disease
• Strawberry Sweetheart is one of the best garden strawberries

These well named fruit a veg would make a welcome valentine present for a gardener.

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The watering can should be:

well balanced, easy to handle, durable, long lasting, value for money, & decorative

A watering can needs:

* a handle in a balanced position – to hold when carrying the can without spillage
* a handle in a ‘backward’ position – to hold when pouring from the rose
* a removable rose so that the can may be used without a rose and so that the rose can be cleared when blocked (the rose is the perforated attachment at the end of the spout). Roses can be either round or oval. The shape and angle of the rose will determine the force of the stream of water from the rose.
* a spout which is slightly higher than the height of the body of the can to allow the watering can to be filled to the brim.

Watering cans may be made of:

• galvanized iron (heavy, more expensive, longer lasting, may rust)

• plastic – light, cheap and durable . Plastic has smoother edges & is therefore less likely to bruise your legs.

Specifications of watering cans

*1. Spouts-

• Long spouted ( long reach) cans are useful to reach to the back of the vegetable garden, or if you are going to be spraying seedlings with finer sprayheads.

• Shorter spouted cans are suitable for general watering jobs around the garden especially pot watering and spraying established plants. They are also easier to store.

• Curved spouts have been designed especially for accurate spot-on watering of individual plants & plant pots

*2. Size – Two smaller watering cans, instead of one big one, are easier to carry. Water is heavy. Carrying two smaller cans distributes the weight more evenly as there is a can in each hand.

*3. Colour – have different coloured cans to avoid the risk of contamination with weedkillers. Have one red plastic watering can for soluble fertilizers or weed killers; plastic because some chemicals should not be used in galvanised watering cans. A green watering can be kept for pure water

*4. Shape – Narrow-profile rectangular watering cans may be held closer to the body than round ones, allowing better posture and causing less strain for the gardener.

Click this link to buy a Hawes watering can from Thompson & Morgan.

Haws Watering Cans are generally accepted as being the best watering cans you can buy.

Watering cans make a perfect present for the gardener.

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mounted aluminium planter

The boat shaped planter in the photos is made by Matthew of  Aluminium Art. 

flowers in aluminium planter

The planters would make an ideal herb trough, similar to the one below which is growing mint, chives, thyme, oregano and borage.

herb-trough

The planters come with ready made drainage holes, so just need filling with compost before planting out.

There is great potential for growing fruit and veg, too.  Strawberries grow well in containers, and tumbling tomatoes look spectacular.  Click this link  for more ideas for which veg to grow in containers.

Matthew builds each aluminium planter himself from scratch so is able to alter the size to suit.  Free-standing aluminium planters look stunning and make an excellent present for a gardener.  Traditional 10th wedding anniversary gifts have a theme of aluminium, so the planter would be most appropriate.

For more information click  Aluminium Art; the aluminium planters make a welcome present which needs no aftercare!

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Nick has a number of ready implanted apple trees for sale: several varieties and rootstocks; all at Waddington in Lincolnshire.

Mistletoe really is for Christmas!

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Amazon say:
“Kids in the Garden is an easy and fun guide for children to use on their own or with adults, and encourages children to learn about gardening, healthy eating and caring for the environment. With easy to follow step-by-step instructions, with bright photography and fun illustrations. The book is aimed at children aged five upwards with adult supervision, then for older children up to 11 to complete on their own. The book features more than 50 projects, with full instructions on the materials needed, companion plants, saving resources, harvesting seasons, seeds, the water cycle and indoor gardens. There is also a section on wildlife, showing how to encourage animals into your garden, as well as how to make a mini pond, birdhouses, pest patrol, building a wormery, rescuing bees and ladybirds, and much more. The plants and vegetables featured include potatoes, tomatoes, pumpkins, peppers, herbs, strawberries, blueberries, sunflowers and many more. The recipes included are simple to make with the fresh produce and include; one pot jam, minty fizz and easy pizza sauce. ”

This book is a great present & deserves a place on every gardening family’s bookshelf.

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iGrowIt

The incredible new technology that is coming in late Mary/early June in the shape of the iPad may seem like an unlikely benefit to many green fingered wannabes, but with it comes an App that can help even the least experienced.

iGrowIt is already available on iPhone and iPod but it has been approved by Apple, the technology group behind this i-generation, as the only vegetable growing application from the UK that was ready ahead of the iPad launch.

iGrowIt

The App is seasonal, telling you immediately what to plant and when. It has an intuitive seed packet that goes one step further, providing recipe suggestions as well as preparation and planting tips – and even recipe ideas.

This guarantees an easy experience as the App “thinks” for you:

• the most inexperienced gardener can use it, including children.
• it provides an appreciation of vegetable growing across the year
• intuitively pick up the vegetable growing seasons anywhere in the world
• easy-to-use step-by-step visuals
• set to help many of those who could be short on time but big on enthusiasm

To download this App, which is perfect for gardeners, search for iGrowIt on your iPad or iPhone App store – it costs £0.59p

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Enviromesh Netting:

• guarantees gardeners quality vegetables
• assures return on effort
• gets rid of caterpillar infested, dirty, distorted crops which children dare not eat, for fear of finding a creepy crawly in their dinner.

Enviromesh prevents damage from:

• carrot fly
• aphids
• cabbage root fly
• cabbage white butterfly
• caterpillars
• birds
• rabbits
• deer
• win
• hail

enviromesh-over-brassica

The enviromesh netting works by acting as a barrier:

• The holes in netting are small enough to keep the carrot flies and other insects out
• Rain can pass though the netting
• Enviromesh can be watered through.

enviromesh-on-cabbage

Enviromesh netting is a form of biological pest control.

• No need to spray crops with chemicals as the netting keeps the pest out.

Click this link to buy Enviromesh Netting from Amazon, to give to a gardener as a gift or Christmas present.

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The ideal hoe is:

• sharp & shiny, so that the soil does not stick to it.
• good quality stainless steel hoe because this will keep shiny & sharp.

Most people do not have time to maintain tools – but a good quality stainless steel hoe will look after itself.
Click this link to buy a hoe hoe hoe for Christmas!

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Christmas-gift

It reminded me how important presentation is:

• the chunky raffia bow
• the guinea fowl label
• with a sprig of holly

The vegetable garden is a great source of homemade gifts:

• green tomatoes make good chutney
• runner beans make a delicious pickle
• green pea humus dip is ideal for Christmas parties
• apple butter, or apple & plum butter – recipes sent to us by Kevin’s wife
• pickled onions are a favourite

preserves

We will certainly enjoy the homemade present which we received as a Christmas gift – thank you neighbour!

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