Gillian Vine suggests Christmas gifts for gardeners.
Instead of a fir, opt for a potted variegated holly (Ilex aquifolium argentea variegata) tree. It comes undecorated except for the unripe berries, which will change to scarlet in autumn; $194.90 from Blueskin Nurseries, Waitati.
• What about an Omni scarecrow doll?
Keep them indoors or under shelter in the garden. Made in New Zealand, each has a different name.
Available from Breens Nursery, Oamaru, from $3.99 to $27.50 each, depending on size.
• Bring the garden indoors with Fair Trade cushions from Guatemala ($75 each) or wear an Indian silk scarf with floral motif ($34.99 each).
From a selection at Trade Aid, Dunedin.
• A Timaru artist makes ceramic watering cans like this (foreground), while the Pole People (rear) come from a Geraldine company.
Cans $169.90 each; Pole People from $179; available at Blueskin Nurseries, Waitati.
• You can't go past a rose.
Standard roses, like this one, Remember Me, are great for those with limited space and many can be grown in containers.
From a selection at Wal's Plant Land, Mosgiel.
• Keep the rain off the gardener with a floral umbrella ($54.90) or install a water feature ($769) as a garden feature.
From Blueskin Nurseries, Waitati.
• An indoor plant whose blooms last for a month or more, a potted moth orchid (Phalaenopsis) will last years if grown out of strong light, kept moist and fed weekly.
White with a coloured centre is the most common but magenta-spotted forms are also available.
From a selection at Nichol's, $59.99 each.
• Children and adults will fall for pitcher plants (Nepenthes).
Grown in hanging baskets, they come with a useful information sheet.
Available at Nichol's, $29.99 each.
• Boys love the carnivore Venus fly trap (Dionaea) and will watch for hours to see it catch and digest small insects or spiders.
Available at Nichol's, $14.99 each.
• Stumped for ideas?
You will be hard-pushed to find any gardener on your list who won't be satisfied with a Go Gardening Gift Card.
Available from most garden centres, they are preloaded by the purchaser (minimum amount $20).
• A variation on a Christmas wreath is this evergreen Lonicera spiral.
Trained around wire, the plant will need occasional clipping to retain its shape.
From Wal's Plant Land, Mosgiel, $148.
• Heavy jute Fair Trade bags from Bangladesh ($11.99 each) could be used to carry small items around the garden or kept in the car for supermarket shopping trips.
From a selection at Trade Aid, Dunedin.
• For the gardener who has everything ... Including a sugar daddy (or mummy), a three-tier water feature, $4999, from Nichol's Dunedin.
