Gifting Part 3

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Are you headed to the garden center this weekend to do a bit of shopping? Well, if a shovel is on your favorite gardener's with list, then read on...I invited Jim to share some tips on selecting a well made shovel that's designed for the job at hand:

Serious diggers and gardeners need good tools to do a good job. My expertise is in purchasing, using, and repairing digging implements [nearly 40 years in the nursery/landscape/garden business]. I look for solid shanks, forged steel, and flexible wooden handles. In addition, I use the right shape for a particular job


A square point shovel (above) is used for scooping loose soil, sand, or gravel off of a flat surface. A round point shovel is good for digging if the blade is relatively straight (below), but use one with a more angled blade for excavating, lifting, or moving soil.
A tile spade (below) has a long, flat, narrow blade for digging straight down.
Trenching shovels and scoop shovels are used less often but are labor saving when needed.

Snoop around or ask your gift recipient what they really want. Avoid purchasing stainless steel or brightly painted shovels, they are basically for show not work. Also avoid purchasing too large a shovel. Size the tool to the operator. A well made shovel is a joy for a lifetime.

This short handled English garden spade (and a matching fork) were gifts from Jim one Christmas about 25 years ago. The shorter handle and blade makes it ideal for using in raised beds or in tight quarters (ie. lets see if I can shoehorn just one more plant in this bed!)
In this photo Jim is holding our favorite shovels. Can you tell which one is mine? I had to paint the handle pink because it kept "wandering off" to Jim's job sites. Another gift from my favorite gardener, this one was for my 23rd birthday (you do the math!.)

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Happy Holidays

As you wind down for the upcoming holiday season the idea of building an organic food garden might be far from your thoughts. Not here at SPEC!

Our School Gardens Coordinator, Catriona Gordon and our School Gardens Facilitator, Marnie Newell, have been busy attending meetings, doing research and gathering resources to help 4 Vancouver Elementary Schools start their gardens in the spring.

It’s amazing what can go into the process when you’re trying to do things right!

We’ve been discussing garden plans/dreams with incredible teams of passionate people at all of our participating schools. But our goal is to start building the physical infrastructure for our garden as soon as the ground has thawed. This means deciding on the design and materials for garden boxes and raised beds, which are the best options for school gardens (the little guys don’t compact the soil by walking on the beds).

Our teams are learning more and more about what needs to go into a garden to make it successful. Perhaps the most important words here are “teamwork” and “staying power”. Many gardens have been built on school grounds only to be torn down soon after because they fell apart or their creators left them and no one kept them up. This is what we’re working to avoid right now. Schools interested in building a garden should establish a Garden Committee with teachers, parents, students, administrators and the community involved. The more individuals who are ready to commit to the garden’s continued success the better. When the project is a whole school and even a whole community initiative more people become invested in its success and ready to offer their expertise or even supplies to help it thrive and grow.

What has been absolutely inspiring in our experience so far is how many people believe in this work and are ready to donate their time and skills to make it the best it can be. The wealth of resources provided by the internet and other agriculture-related organizations is also astounding.

Keep an eye on this blog to learn more about this work. Updates, insights on school garden design and links to resources are on their way shortly.

posted by Marnie

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Gifting Part 2

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Two words, folks: gift certificate! This is another easy out as far as shopping goes. Click on a web site, make a phone call, or write up your own special card. Here are a few ideas to ponder:

  1. A gift certificate to a nursery or garden center. Need plants, gloves, pots, soil amendments, books, hats, sprinklers, mulch, stepping stones…..? You get the picture. Whether you know someone who loves to garden, or is just starting out, they will enjoy picking out exactly what they need (or maybe just fancy) from a large array of products.
  2. A gift certificate for a gardening class. Pick up a course catalog from your local community college, rec center, or botanic garden and wrap it up with a “you choose, I pay” card. If you can include an offer to watch the kids or get dinner on class days you will earn big, big bonus points!
  3. A gift certificate for professional services. Consider things like a design consultation (yes, I have done this several times for people, and it’s great fun), delivery and tilling of compost, pruning services by a certified arborist, having a stone patio or deck installed, an irrigation system upgrade, lawn service for a year, etc.
  4. A gift certificate for your own time. A book of 10 (or more!) I.O.U. tickets for an hour of weeding. How about a promissory note to spread a load of mulch, till the veggie garden, or fertilize the water lilies (on schedule, all summer!), etc. You get the picture.
  5. A gift certificate for a garden vacation. Feeling really flush? Perhaps your favorite gardener would love to take a tour of the gardens of Italy or France (these things exist!). Who wouldn’t want to go to the Chelsea Flower Show in England, or see the springtime tulip displays in the Netherlands? Closer to home, a visit to the Northwest Flower &Garden Show in Seattle is a real treat.


Have fun dreaming up the perfect gift certificate for your gardener!





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