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The Deep Middle


Gardening & writing in the prairie echo

2020 Garden Gift Guide (the Practical and Thinky)

11/30/2020

4 Comments

 
Here are the practical and the dreamy for the garden lover in your life. Or, what works well for me after much trowel and error. And NB -- these are Amazon links, but I encourage you to get them from local shops when you can.

Fireman's Hose Nozzle
Tired of sprinkler nozzle handles breaking off? Or ones with odd water pressure? Try a fireman's nozzle, especially this one which I've had for years with no problem at all. Takes a licking and keeps on watering.

Expandable Hose
Gardens hose are a necessary evil, which is one reason I try to design drought tolerant gardens. The coil, kink, are heavy, and take up lots of space. Not an expandable hose. While it might rip if dragged too much over sharp stones or metal, and shouldn't be left out over winter, I'm smitten. It shrinks to half its size when drained and is as light as a feather -- and seldom if ever kinks. Bam.


Soil Knife
I don't need to try any other soil knife, or any other hand tool. This one saws through roots, cuts twine, treats clay soil like butter, and opens bags and boxes and more. #1 tool in the garden.

Gloves
I've spent decades trying to find the perfect garden glove -- one I can use while planting, watering, cutting, or hauling stone. There is no perfect glove, but this one gets close. You'll find others that will probably work just as well from different brands, but what I like about this design is a complete coating on the back of the hand (think abrasion and water resistance). There's a cooler summer work glove option, as well as an insulated autumn / winter option.

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Books
These are garden design books that changed my perspective and helped me grow (I'd suggest my book but it's not a design book -- however, the next one will be, in 2022).

Planting in a Post-Wild World -- Thomas Rainer and Claudia West
The Know Maintenance Perennial Garden -- Roy Diblik
Field Guide to Wildflowers of Nebraska and the Great Plains -- Jon Farrar (ok, not a design book per se)
Attracting Beneficial Bugs to Your Garden -- Jessica Walliser
Pollinators of Native Plants -- Heather Holm

4 Comments
Cindy Goodson link
12/1/2020 02:18:04 pm

I recently bought Heather Holm's book, and it is excellent.

Reply
Diana
12/2/2020 06:27:44 am

Finding good resources to merge ecological design with aesthetics and post-planting maintenance have been hard for me to find. I do like the design ideas and discussion about designing plant communities that work in "Planting in a Post-Wild World". I don't personally care much for some of their combinations of native/non-native plants, though I understand the reasoning. One book I have found very informative is "Garden Revolution: How our Landscapes can be a Source of Environmental Change", by Larry Weaner and Thomas Christopher. It has given me ideas and tools for weaving together the ecological, aesthetic, and practical maintenance aspects for my home landscape. Looking forward to seeing how your new book approaches this!

Reply
benjamin
12/2/2020 08:56:06 am

Diana -- Yes, Tom and Larry's book is a good one, for sure. I think in concert with Thomas and Claudia's book you can't go wrong. I'm taking a very introductory tone in my book, so I hope that will be helpful to getting people adjusted to a new (old) way to garden with and for nature.

Reply
northshorelandscapingnz.kiwi/ link
4/28/2021 11:15:06 pm

If I would be given this kind off gift, I would really be glad. I love gardening and landscaping, so this means a lot to me. By the way, where can we get these? - Karen

Reply



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    Benjamin Vogt's thoughts on prairie gardening in Nebraska. With a healthy dose of landscape ethics, ecophilosophy, climate change,  and social justice.

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