Taken from Lynne’s weekly column ‘Green Scene’ for the Western Mail
14th December 2024
Present Moments
As I mentioned in last week’s column, I will be speaking for the Hardy Plant Society at Little Mill Village Hall today (Saturday) at 2.30pm and talking about ‘A few of my favourite things‘. Unsurprisingly most of them are also suitable for Christmas presents, so I’m going to share them here now too. If you are coming along later and don’t want any ‘spoilers’, please stop reading now.
Asking me to pick my favourite gardening tool is hard, but if pushed it would probably be my Okatsune secateurs. They are small, (mine are No.101’s), incredibly sharp, have red and white handles which has enabled them to be found in a wheelbarrow of cuttings or even a compost heap more than once, and they make the most satisfying ‘clunk’ sound every time you cut something. They have taken over from the traditional Felcos (which were a cherished Christmas present from my dad forty years ago, and now have pride of place hanging above my woodburner) by a country mile.
Keen gardeners could do most of their Christmas shopping on the niwaki.com website and several more of my fiercely guarded gardening tools are from there – and one I don’t have. I remain quite fascinated by the Tobisho Hiryu secateurs which are £299.00 and popular for pruning cherry trees in Japan. They must be good!
Possibly one of the most used tool I have from Niwaki is my little hand weeding hoe, sharp enough to cut weeds off, small enough to get in between plants and light enough to use all day. The Hori Hori knife is also a fabulous all-rounder – and best bought with it’s own holster to save you putting it down in a flowerbed and losing it.
All the Japanese cutting tools are just sublime. Light, sharp and perfectly balanced to be able to use all day, they are designed predominantly for topiary and they are definitely ‘on the cutting edge’ of all that.
A bigger ‘present’ and something I definitely couldn’t do without now is my tripod ladder from henchman.co.uk – as a bonus they also offer the best customer service. The ladder is another Japanese design – choose the one with three adjustable legs and you will be able to use it on the most testing of terrains – safely. And it’s lovely and light to carry too.
Another thing that make my life easier in work is my suede Gardener’s Apron, which is more of a ‘tool-belt pouch’. I’m not known for my fashion sense but I love wearing this ‘pouch’ everywhere, as I can put my phone, wallet and numerous lists in it comfortably. It’s beautifully made from connellofsheffield.com and I love it.
My brother bought me a Stihl pair of loppers for last Christmas, which are light and sharp and great for branches sized in between secateurs and saw. And my trusted ‘folding saw’ has earned it’s keep several times over, not only in work but on walks, especially after the likes of Darragh has wreaked havoc.
Gardening gloves are always welcomed by gardeners. You can’t have too many as there is always a pair that are drying out, a pair that the dog has run off with one ‘hand’ and a pair that you can’t quite remember what you did with. I love the Wonder Grip Thermo Plus ones for this time of year – as they really are warmer – available from most garden centres, builders merchants and DIY stores.
I have bought Mum a bird feeder to stick on the window this year (it’s OK, she doesn’t read my columns) and I think she’ll love having feathered visitors. It’s an award winning design and I was so touched to see the little sticker on the box saying ‘I hope this has arrived with you safely. Please let me know. josh@homebirdshop.com’
At Christmas time especially, it’s worth remembering that little things can make ‘big smiles’.
For those last minute ‘crafty’ presents choose something creative from craftcourses.com – I am already looking forward to my stained glass making one next year. There are over 6,000 experiences to choose from so definitely something suitable for everyone. And you can also buy vouchers and cards so the recipient can choose their own course. I think it’s absolutely perfect, for Christmas presents and also as a great start to a new year … and maybe even a new career.
Christmas Containers
Having just spent a week rebuilding a ‘stream wall’ that Darragh washed away and being ‘on the mixer’ and spending all day standing in freezing water to do so, it will be lovely next week to spend a bit of time creating Christmas pots for clients.
Each year I cut evergreen branches and berries from their gardens and just stick them into planters and pots that have been cleared of summer bedding. Some dried seed heads, like teasels also work well and often encourage goldfinches closer to the house.
The displays are really effective – and can include solar lights – and will last a couple of weeks, covering the festive period easily.
Stupid Toys Were Us
There really is a ‘day’ for everything these days, and Monday (16th) is Stupid Toy Day. When someone mentioned it to me initially I dismissed it quickly as ‘ridiculous’ but then spent the next half an hour reminiscing with them about our childhood toys – stupid or not. So hopefully, you’ll do the same.
One of my and my brother’s favourite things to do was to put those little ‘exploding caps’ in the end of my father’s cigarettes. It was quite a faff knocking out a bit of tobacco, pushing in a little exploding cap and then putting the tobacco back. But well worth the effort as it never failed to make him jump out of his skin and us laugh until we cried.
Other ‘stupid toys’ we recalled included the Space Hopper – great fun on the flat but not so great on our steeply sloped garden – and Mr Potato Head which kept us quiet for ages, probably as we had to dig up our own potatoes to use. To be honest we didn’t have much in the way of toys as Dad preferred to give us ‘tools’ as presents, even as kids. Far from feeling hard done by, it has stood us both in good stead.
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