December 2012 - Costa Calida Chronicle

In association with Costa Cálida International Radio and www.angloINFO.com
T h i n k -
ing About
Gardening
Christmas
Presents?
By Clodagh
and Dick
Handscombe,
practical holistic
gardeners
and authors living and writing in Spain
for 25 years
If so here are some practical ideas for the
gardening members of the family or friends:
1. A new pair of sharp easy to use pruners
are always welcome, ready for
the winter cutback in the New Year.
For our money Fiskars are worth the
extra price.
2. Wearing out old shoes or walking
boots is not really the best thing for
one’s feet, ankles and knees, so how
about a pair of comfortable shoes or
boots with reinforced toes?
3. Thinking about knees, how about a
new pair of knee pads for all those
kneeling jobs?
4. Gardening gloves are welcome, especially
waterproof ones at this time of
year.
5. In some households, gardening is not
a shared activity, so a promise to
help out next year, especially in getting
a vegetable plot going, may go
down well.
6. How about a miniature gardening kit
for young children to get them involved
young? Perhaps give them a
few square metres of soil or a collection
of containers for their own garden.
7. Sorry for including them, but our six
gardening books are good Christmas
presents, especially as they are
designed
to be used
throughout
the year and
not just a few
hours read in
front of the
Boxing Day
log fire. As a
reminder, the
large ones
are: ‘Your
G a r d e n
In Spain
– From
Planning
to Planting
and Maintenance’, ‘Growing
Healthy Vegetables in Spain’ and
‘Apartment Gardening Mediterranean
Style’. We had a great early
Christmas present the other day. We
walked past a five storey apartment
building where only one apartment
terrace had plants. Today, all ten had
fantastic gardens in the sky which together
now created an attractive vertical
garden.
8. We have two smaller books, or booklets
that make good stocking fillers.
They are: ‘Living Well From Our
Mediterranean
Garden’
which
is most easily
available
from www.
gardeninginspain.
com and
a new one
‘Making
Waterless
Gardens
a Practical
Reality
World
Wide’ which
is available from the website and is
also published on an Amazon Kindle
ebook.
9. If the intended recipient is new to gardening
on Spanish soils, how about a
set of three sizes of mattocks that are
easier to use than a British fork and
spade?
10. Every ten years a new wheel barrow
might be an idea, but do buy one with
a wide bouncy solid or blow up tyre.
11. Winter days are often sunny, but they
can be windy and cold, so a snug
gardener’s green sweater or padded
waistcoat could be appreciated.
12. It not too late to plant deciduous fruit
trees and bushes, so add to the existing
collection of fruits for healthy
living.
13. To ensure a chemical-free garden
next year, a present of bottles of
neem oil insecticide and propolis fungicide.
If you can’t find them, order
from www.trabe.net
14. Cutting hedges gets no easier as one
grows older, so perhaps arrange for
someone to come and cut the hedges
and prune tall trees in January.
15. A small grape press could help the
family press next year’s grape harvest
rather than using the bath and feet!
16. If the garage is getting cluttered with
garden tools and products, how about
a garden shed?
17. If you enjoy, or would like to try growing
sprouting seeds, buy yourself an
automatic sprouting machine.
18. Several times during the year we
have mentioned drying fruit, herbs
and seeds on our tray drier. They
are very handy. We use ours several
times a week. We are currently using
it for drying slices of tangerines for
dipping in chocolate to eat after dinner,
or when needing a boost on winter
walks. Raisins and sultanas were
dried for the Christmas cake!
19. Gardening socks wear out every few
years. Perhaps this is the year for a
couple of new pairs.
20. If you see a stylish straw hat in the
local agricultural cooperative, buy one
ready for the first hot sunny days next
year.
21. To attract wild birds, how about bird
boxes, feeders and a bird bath. We
notice that the Wiggly Wigglers catalogue
includes a bird box with a builtin
internal video camera to connect
at the end of a 30 metre lead to the
television.
22. What about a good bottle of Spanish
brandy to warm up after a long cold
winter day in the garden?
Happy Christmas Shopping!
Clodagh and Dick Handscombe
www.gardeninginspain.com
Page 50
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