If you have a gardener on your gift list, you might want to get them gardening tools for Christmas or whatever holiday it is that you celebrate. Though you may think it an odd gift to give in the middle of the winter, you will find that they will love that you thought to get them something they might need. A gardener is always in need of new stuff, and there are always new things on the market that they may enjoy getting as a gift on any special occasion.

Gardening tools can range in price from a few dollars to a few thousand dollars. Since you probably aren’t going to buy something for a few thousand dollars, you might want to stick to the lower end of the totem pole. Those lower priced gardening tools are the ones they need to replace the most often, however, so they really are the way to go. Tools break, rust, or just plain bend sometimes, and they are things that get replaced often. These are items that are also easily lost, or may have been borrowed by neighbors and never returned.

An example of some of the most popular gardening tools might be hose. Though you may think they must surely have a hose already, do you know if they have one that they like? Are they having problems with it? Do you know that there are new kinds of hoses on the market? There are, and these gardening tools seem to be improving as they years go by. You can get flat hoses, and even accessories that make using and storing a hose much easier. Some help with storing the hose by rolling it up, and there are also guides that stop a hose from running over the flowers and veggies as you pull it through the garden.

Other gardening tools you may want to consider are kneeling pads or perhaps a storage unit. When someone has a lot of gardening tools, they need somewhere to hang them. You can find organizers rather easily, and they can work in almost any shed or garden. You may already know if they have one of these, and if they don’t, you have just thought of the perfect gift. Just make sure it fits into their storage space. If you aren’t sure, just look around and see what is going on. If you see a mess of tools and supplies scattered about, they need the gift of organization.

Hanging flower baskets really make a house stand out in the crowd. As I go for my daily walks I notice the homes that impress me the most and they don’t have to be mansions to impress me. A nice clean yard and plenty of plants and flowers is what catches my eye.

Have you ever noticed homes that stand out in the neighborhood? I mean the houses that you walk by or drive by and have to take a second look at. Have you stopped to consider why these homes attract attention? It usually has to do with the way they have landscaped the yard. I find that it does not matter if the home is valued at a modest price or high price, if the yard is well cared for it attracts attention.

We have hanging flower baskets around our property, not just on the house. Those pesky flies in hanging flower baskets can be a real killer if not taken care of early. We learned that lesson in the first couple of years we started with flowering hanging baskets. There are products that are safe and will take care of those pesky flies and save the flowers in your hanging baskets.

A well cared for and attention grabbing yard usually incorporates the use of flowers for color. Some people use flowering bushes or shrubs with varied foliage. Other people use containers of flowers on their steps or along a walk way. Other people will choose hanging flower baskets to bring color to the front of their home. The main thing to keep in mind when developing your landscape is that too much can make a yard look junky and too elaborate means that most of your summer is dedicated to lawn care.

I have found that hanging flower baskets are a great low maintenance way to bring color and focus to different areas by our home. We have a front yard light that looks like an old fashioned street light. It has a rod that runs through it and extends out the sides. This is a perfect place to have hanging flower baskets. They are suspended off the ground so we do not have to mow around them and they are low enough to easily water. I have found that I like to pot my own hanging flower baskets. The reason is that the already potted baskets often have very light soil in them so allow the plants to grow and mature quickly in the spring, however by mid to late summer they have lost their looks. By starting my own hanging flower baskets I can use a heavy soil that will mean a slower rate of early growth, but the planters will last a longer time.

When purchasing hanging flower baskets make sure that there are holes in the bottom of the baskets to allow rain and water to drain off so that the plants do not drowned. Also try not to buy the flowering baskets that are already in full bloom. They look beautiful in the nursery and when you first place them out in the yard, but they will not last very long if they are at full maturity when you buy them. Look for hanging flower baskets that are planted close together so that the flowers and foliage will drop down and provide a full look. Also if you do buy a basket that is already planted add some heavy potting soil to the soil already in the basket.

If you’re an avid gardener, like so many millions across the country, you’re probably already a ”regular” at the local nurseries and garden supply stores. In fact, if you’ve got a free afternoon on the weekend, that’s probably where you can be found.

On the other hand, if you’re a beginning or lukewarm gardener, you may be unaware of the fun and treasures to be had at garden supply houses. Some are big DIY type places, with everything under the sun pertaining to gardening. Other garden supply shops may be specialty nurseries with smaller but select “gourmet” garden supplies.

If you’re in the novice or ho-hum group of gardeners, read on to see how simply visiting garden supply houses can become a hobby all on its own! You’ll find that, sooner or later, your interest and enthusiasm will grow and you’ll find yourself spending more time at this enjoyable hobby of all things garden.

Let’s look first at the larger type of garden supply store. These are usually the backbone of a strip mall, dominating the scene in a can’t-miss-it sort of way. Once you step inside, you might not know where to begin. These are organized like department stores, with patio furniture and cute little bistro tables having their own section. You’ll find patio table umbrellas, hammocks, gazebos, potting benches and lounge furniture.

Hydroponic equipment will have its own area, with everything you’ll need to begin a soil free garden indoors or in a greenhouse. Hydroponics is still not exactly mainstream, so the big garden supply stores have racks of brochures on the how-to’s to familiarize you with this interesting method of gardening.

You’ll start to wish your wallet would accommodate more of these goodies as you browse through the selection of fountains, DIY fish ponds, statuary, gazing globes and sundials. If nothing else, it’s food for thought: “That would be perfect in my rose garden.”

Seasonal flower bulbs in their bins, with colorful pictures above each showing the resulting display next season is enough to make you grab a basket.

In the actual nursery area, the large garden supply store carries something for everyone, from herbs and cacti in little pots to fruit trees in 15-gallon containers.

Of course you’ll find every garden tool you could think of, with garden hoses, sprinklers and irrigation systems to suit every style and method of gardening.

Smaller garden supply stores tend to specialize in their plant selections and carry unique and hand made garden accessories. Their book selections are often hand picked by the owner to be useful in the context of their stock. For example,a small garden supply specializing in orchids and ferns would tend to have their bookshelves stocked with books you’d have trouble finding on the subject.

If you have any interest in gardens and gardening and a free afternoon, take yourself window shopping at a garden supply. I can almost guarantee you’ll be back again.