WHAT A GARDENER 
WOULD LIKE FOR CHRISTMAS 
GRACE TABOR 
IHINGS to be given away at Christmas time are so often 
rather haphazardly acquired instead of being selected 
with the pleasure of the individual recipient definitely 
in mind — to the hurried this seems an easy way to shop. 
But if there happens to be a gardener on one’s list of “friends- 
to-be-remembered,” the selective way is really the easier; for 
there is probably no one in the world who wants anything more 
fiercely than a gardener wants some coveted convenience, or 
garden accessory. It may be the merest trifle, or it may be a 
whole greenhouse or other feature not by any means so mere! 
Such is the nature of the gardener that once his mind is set upon 
an object, its value, for him, is fixed by the keenness of his desire 
and not at all by its intrinsic worth. The costliest of fountains 
does not interest him if just then he lacks a packet of some par- 
ticular seed. Take a gardener’s word for it, if you do not 
garden yourself! 
Of the many things that may be given to a gardener, however, 
there are usually many kinds; and the layman is rarely discrim- 
inating enough to choose wisely, since he does not know the 
particular necessity under which they find their use. It is my 
purpose therefore to go through the list of possible gifts and offer 
suggestions as to the best selections, holding in mind continually 
the practical garden requirements as well as the garden possi- 
bilities of all kinds. 
And first of all let us recognize that there are three distinct 
kinds of garden gift: first the kind that is preeminently utilitar- 
ian and practical, second the kind that is wholly ornamental, 
and third the kind that actually makes a garden — otherwise the 
horticultural kind, or plants themselves. In the first class come 
This fanciful flower holder in bronze, designed by Edith 
Barrett Parsons, transforms a pottery dish into a sump- 
tuous affair worthy of the gardener’s choicest blossoms 
all of the garden implements 
and tools — the things to gar- 
den with; in the second there 
are arbors, seats, fountains, 
bird houses and bird basins, 
fish bowls, statues, dials and 
everything of this character; 
and in the third are plants 
themselves and seeds, bulbs 
and books. ^ 
Suppose we consider these 
things in the order named. The 
spade, spading fork, rake, and 
hoe will be in every gardener’s 
equipment of course; but the 
best in design and style and 
quality of these primitive ne- 
cessities is not always acquired 
in the early days of one’s gar- 
dening, at any rate. So even 
one of these or a set of the 
four may be a very welcome 
remembrance. Choose with 
this in mind: — that on all tools 
intended to be used with a pry- 
ing motion in the soil, the 
union of the metal with the 
wood of the handle, as well as 
the quality of the steel at this 
point, is of the greatest im- 
portance. Yet this is the part 
most likely to be weak and 
unsound in such articles, es- 
pecially in the so-called ladies’ 
sets. 
Be very sure that sex differ- 
entiation in garden tools is a 
mistake, save possibly in the 
size of things. For a woman 
who wants really to garden 
will of necessity put as much 
strength against the handle 
of a trowel in performing an operation as a man would 
use; otherwise the operation cannot be accomplished. Accept 
only well cast steel implements, whoever they may be for, 
with the metal of the handles carried well up in a widening, 
cone-shaped socket into which the wood handle extends, fitting 
closely. This insures the full diameter of the wood handle where 
the metal stops, and at the same time binds the wood fibres 
together so that it is practically impossible to split the metal 
away from the wood. On the larger tools like spades or shovels 
the metal is still farther advanced along the handle in the form 
of a strap-piece back and front. 
A complete gardening outfit will consist of the four tools men- 
tioned and a hand cultivator, a trowel, a dibble, pruning shears, 
clipping scissors, pruning saw — with teeth on one side only, 
preferably — an edging knife, a good jack-knife, a hammer, a 
fifty foot tape-line, at least fifty feet of garden line on a reel, and 
one of the long handled weeders or cultivators which 
have been developed to meet the modern demand for something 
better than the hoe in any of its forms, as well as lighter and 
easier to operate. 
Further extremely practical helps that make gardening a de- 
This ingenious no-drip hanging 
basket solves the indoor watering 
problem for thegardener who cher- 
ishes carpets as well as greenery 
H5 
