Grower News

From “Brexit” seeds to hanging pots – what to give the green-fingered person in your life Ceramic ‘Girl Power Vase’ by For All Womenkind (€35, aprilandthebear.com ) Badly in need of some inspiration when it comes to choosing the perfect gift for the special gardener in your life? Then this one’s for you: Under €30: Dublin-based Clover Rua’s lovely National Botanic Gardens Glasshouse Print (from €19 unframed, cloverrua.com and scoutdublin.com) celebrates the beauty of the Bots’ giant palm house, which was designed by the famous Victorian ironsmith Richard Turner (available in two sizes, A3 and A4, also available as framed A3 print from meadowsandbyrne.com). Every year the west Cork-based artist Sylvia Caldwell of Kilcoe Studios (kilcoestudios.com) produces a botanically-themed calendar and her 2020 edition is a beauty, taking its inspiration from Irish hedgerows and farmland (€15). So is the 2020 calendar of botanical artist Yanny Petters, which is based on her recent exhibition at the Oliver Sears Gallery (€20, yannypetters.net). Also based in west Cork, organic seed producer Brown Envelope Seeds’ witty, handsomely-packaged gift boxes make great gifts for kitchen gardeners. This year’s tongue-in-cheek political theme includes both Remainer and Brexit boxes while The Resilient Gardener Box contains a selection of vegetables introduced by the US-based independent plant-breeder Carol Deppe (€10 each), brownenvelopeseeds.com. 2020 Calendar from artist Sylvia Caldwell of Kilcoe Studios (€15 kilcoestudios.com) Gardeners who enjoy propagating their own plants will love the Irish-designed Cutting Globe, an ingeniously simple little device that makes use of the method known as air-layering (€10, mrmiddleton.ie). Help counter climate -change, fight air pollution and support biodiversity with a ‘Gift a Tree Card’ from Grown, who will send a charming gift card to the recipient letting them know that a native tree has been planted on their behalf ( from €12, grown.ie ). Available from most good garden centres, the Showa Floreo 370 range of hard-wearing, lightweight, waterproof gardening gloves are always a hit (howbertandmays.ie ) while Slane-based The Natural Spa Company does a great range of natural, plant-based hand creams perfect for keeping those green-fingered hands silky soft(€27.95 for gift-set, thehandmadesoapcompany.com ). […]

Source: www.irishtimes.com