Great gifts for gardeners

December 18, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

By Kathy Van Mullekom

Daily Press (Newport News, Va.)

Surely, there’s a gardener on your holiday shopping list.

Someone who would rather be outdoors than indoors — feeding the birds, cutting fresh flowers or pruning to give a gorgeous tree a special shape.

If so, there’s no shortage of gifts for that person. Hand pruners are always needed. Birdseed is welcome, especially some of the fancier mixes that can be indulging.

If you’re not sure what to get that gardener, a gift card to a favorite garden center is certainly appreciated. Tuck the card inside a pair of gardening gloves and tie them with a festive ribbon.

And, please, remember to cultivate the love of gardening and nature with any children in your life.

Here are some favorite picks for holiday gifts.

Help the environment

Birds Choice makes bird feeders from recycled plastic and milk jugs, meaning they don’t have to be repainted and last forever. The colors don’t fade, and the stainless steel screws don’t rust; an extended roof protects birds while they feed and keeps seed dry. Some models come with attached suet feeders. Each feeder easily mounts on a 4-by-4-inch post or on a metal pole; install a baffle to deter nuisance wildlife. Bluebird houses, suet feeders and bat houses are also available in recycled material. USA-made recycled double deck hopper platform, $133; http://birdschoice.com or 800-817-8833.

Welcome feathered friends

The time-honored symbol of hospitality, the pineapple, appears in the form of a metal and glass bird feeder in gold and dark bronze with a durable plastic hanging cable. The easy-fill, easy-clean feeder from Colonial Williamsburg holds more than 2 pounds of seed, has drainage holes to keep seed dry. USA-made, the feeder is $35; www.williamsburgmarketplace.com or 800-446-9240.

Grow backyard bouquets

All you need is a sunny 3-by-10-foot flower bed and you will have fresh-cut flowers from your own back yard all summer long — a perfect project for beginner and seasoned gardeners. The “Easy Cut-Flower Garden Book” and No-Fail Seed Collection Set helps you achieve success with minimum effort. $37.90 and free shipping; www.shoptgw.com or 877-7159.

Plant a gift

Take advantage of the discounts on spring-flowering bulbs at garden centers, in catalogs and on websites and plant them in a pot to give to someone, suggests Becky Heath of Brent and Becky’s Bulbs. Or, plant bulbs directly in a full-sun garden for someone on your gift list. “It will be a long-lasting gift that they’ll enjoy for many years,” she says. You can also purchase paperwhites or amaryllis bulbs, pot them up and they will bloom soon afterward; www.brentandbeckysbulbs.com or 877-661-2852.

Meet happy birds

There’s the angry birds app, now there’s the happy birds app called “My Bird World,” courtesy of Birdcage Press and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology for use on the iPad. The app is a collection of four interactive bird games that teach kids about 24 species of North American birds, including their songs, food choices and habitats. The game is filled with fascinating facts, real bird calls and great photos. Players “earn” birds to place in virtual woodland, marsh, forest and other habitats by playing “match facts” or “infestation predation.” Winning points help “feed” birds; the games test memory, reading, sound and visual pattern recognition and, of course, bird ID. $4.99 through iTunes at www.apple.com.

Help make memories

Your favorite gardener will appreciate the thoughtful Moleskine gardening gift box set that includes a gardening journal, memo pocket with six pockets and 12 seed envelopes to collect and exchange seeds, leaves and memories. $59.95 at www.barnesandNoble.com, www.amazon.com, moleskineus.com or 866-882-8812.

Prune like an artist

Inventive ideas for training and shaping trees and shrubs are the focus of the new book, “The Art of Creative Pruning.” Author Jake Hobson approaches the subject like an artist, depicting photos of how shrubs can be shaped like arches, tunnels, flowing lines, letters that spell words or art-inspired designs that catch the eye and bear no real meaning. It’s a book that needs to stay out, on a coffee table if you have one, because it’s as entertaining as it is helpful. $35; bookstores, garden centers, www.barnesandnoble.com, www.amazon.com, www.timberpress.com or 800-327-5680.

Design a new look

Landscape designer Julie Moir Messervy helps create a new look for any yard or outdoor space/room with the Home Outside Design app, $2.99 through iTunes at www.apple.com, or with the book, “Home Outside: Creating the Landscape You Love,” $30, from Taunton Press. She shows how it’s all done in an easy six-step process. www.jmmds.com.

Get wise

A family owned business uses Georgia granite to handcraft Stone Age Creations, including cute little Boulder Owls for the yard. The owls are priced according to their heights in 2-inch increments — the smallest is $5.95 while the largest 18-inch one is $195; www.lewisginter.org or 804-262-9887.