THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 4, 1994 TAG: 9412020083
SECTION: HOME PAGE: G1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ROBERT STIFFLER, GARDENING COLUMNIST
LENGTH: Long : 105 lines
So you don't know what to give your garden friends? Don't despair. There are hundreds of ideas and helpful gifts in garden centers and gift shops. Here are just a few.
Year-round green. If you want to give something green for Christmas that will stay green year-round, how about an ivy wreath? It will grow and stay healthy 12 months a year. You can decorate it with a Santa or an angel at Christmas, a heart at Valentine's or whatever fits your special occasion. Including the container, these wreaths cost $45 to $50, at Smithfield Gardens, Route 17, Suffolk. Call 238-2511.
For the gardener who has everything. You can bet they don't have a Calamondin Orange ($14.99). This small but spectacular ornamental houseplant bears hundreds of small, bright orange fruits. The fruit is acid, juicy and sour. White flowers are delightfully fragrant.
This is an easy houseplant to grow, requiring high light indoors and water when the soil is dry. The fruit is used in Japanese and Chinese cooking and in drinks, marmalade and jelly. It will grow to a shapely 5 feet tall and 3 feet wide. It's available at all four McDonald Garden Centers.
Something green, but a little unusual. Try a boxwood Christmas tree or topiary from the Garden Club of Norfolk. Boxwood trees sell for $15 and the topiaries range from $12 to $20. They'll only be available Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Christ and St. Lukes Church, Olney Road, Norfolk. The Garden Club also will sell roping, Christmas wreaths, bows, etc. Call 481-0596.
Top-of-the-line tools. ``The finest hoe I've ever used,'' said my son after trying the Slide and Glide hoe ($21), made in Florida by Doug Black, a former Hampton Roads resident. This instrument is made from surgical steel and cuts in all directions. It's so sharp, you keep it in a plastic case when not in use. It's a fine instrument for cutting off weeds and grass at their base. It's at Coleman's Nursery (484-3426) or Norfolk County Feed and Seed (397-2373), both in Portsmouth.
Feed the birds. Cold weather has arrived, which means a bird feeder is always a welcome gift. This one looks like it was cut from a white birch tree. With every bird feeder purchased for more than $25 at White's Old Mill Garden Center, you get 20 pounds of Gourmet Wild Bird Food free. The large birch feeder is about a foot tall and sells for $34; a smaller version is about 5 inches tall and costs $24 at White's, located at 3133 Old Mill Road in the Deep Creek section of Chesapeake. Call 487-2300.
Small gifts and more. If you still haven't made a choice, you can find stationery, watering cans, wall plants or garden signs at Foxglove, an unusual gift store in Ghent. One of the signs could accompany the bird feeder: ``Make my day, fill my bird feeder'' ($33). The garden stationary runs from $12 to $20. There's an irresistible small pewter-finish elephant that can be used as a watering can for houseplants or on a table as a decorative fixture ($25). Other decorative items include tiny rabbit and squirrel wall hangers that hold a small pot in their paws, ideal for trailing ivy ($21). All available at Foxglove, 525 W. 21st St., Norfolk. Call 625-5995. ILLUSTRATION: JIM WALKER/Staff color photos
RABBIT WALL HANGER
Use this to hold a small pot, ideal for trailing ivy. A squirrel
wall hanger is also available. At Foxglove in Norfolk, $21.
BIRD FEEDER
Buy this white birch feeder for $34 from White's Old Mill Garden
Center in Chesapeake and get 20 pounds of wild bird food free.
SLIDE AND GLIDE HOE
This surgical-steel tool is ideal for slicing off weeds and grass at
their base. $21 at Coleman's Nursery or Norfolk County Feed and
Seed, both in Portsmouth.
PEWTER ELEPHANT
Watering can for houseplants also makes a nice decorative fixture on
a table. At Foxglove in Norfolk. $25.
YEAR-ROUND WREATH
Decorate this ivy wreath according to the season. At Smithfield
Gardens in Suffolk, $45 to $50.
GARDEN SIGN
For the gardener with a sense of humor. Available at Foxglove in
Norfolk, $33.
CALAMONDIN ORANGE
This easy-to-grow houseplant bears hundreds of bright orange fruits.
At McDonald Garden Centers, $14.99
Langenbach Fine Garden Tools/Photo
JIM WALKER/Staff photo
A boxwood Christmas tree, left, for $15 will be sold Friday by the
Norfolk Garden Club at Christ and St. Lukes Church, Norfolk. The
Hawksbill turtle can be ordered from Langenbach Fine Garden Tools
for $42.
by CNB