Gardening Sweet Spots
By Donna Hessel
Gift a Terrarium
You can make a terrarium from a clear glass container planted to look like an enclosed miniature garden or forest. When choosing a container, remember that closed containers (with a lid) hold more humidity and create a jungle-like atmosphere which would be best for ferns, ivies, and begonias that like it humid. Open containers are ideal for cactus and succulent gardens. The wider the opening of the container, the easier it will be to place the plants. Make sure the container is clean.
Tips for selecting plants: Foliage plants and plants that grow slowly work best. Group “like” plants together; i.e., don’t put ferns with cacti. Include small plants of different colors, shapes and textures. Try to find miniature plants that aren’t going to grow too big for the container. Two or three plants are all that may be needed in smaller containers.
Start with a layer of rocks, an inch or so, at the bottom of the container. Add a 1/2-inch-thick layer of charcoal (available from garden centers). Fill half of the container with potting or cactus soil. Arrange the plants in the soil. Leave some space for the plants to breathe and grow. Pat down the soil so plants don’t get uprooted easily. Add ornaments or decorations. Personalize your gift by adding a favorite plant or an ornament that has special meaning for the recipient.
Give the Gift of Seeds
If you have saved vegetable or flower seeds from your garden, share extras with your gardening friends. You can find small drawstring bags at local craft stores or on Amazon. I’ve found them at Dollar Tree in the wedding favors aisle. The bags are transparent, so it’s easy to see which type of seed is in each one. You can dress them up with a homemade tag that identifies the seed type and perhaps some growing instructions.
Make a Kokedama
A kokedama, translated “moss ball,” is a Japanese form of garden art. Simple but elegant, a kokedama will enhance the home of anyone you give it to. It can be used as a focal point or set on trays, plant stands or even hung from the ceiling. A kokedama is made by wrapping a plant’s roots with soil, sphagnum sheet moss and string rather than planting in the ground or a container. This draws attention to the shape of flowers and foliage, especially in contrast to the smooth, round moss-covered ball. There are multiple videos on YouTube with instructions for making a kokedama.
Gifts for Bird-Watching Friends
Birdseed Ornaments
These birdseed ornaments attract birds to a yard and dress up trees. The birds will thank you! You probably have most of the ingredients on hand. Personalize each ornament or make it festive by choosing holiday-patterned ribbon. Neutral-colored raffia will also work and will last all winter. To make these ornaments, you will need the following materials and ingredients:
Materials:
Microwave safe bowl
Wooden spoon
Ribbon or raffia
Muffin tin
Ingredients (makes 6 birdseed ornaments)
- ¾ cup white or wheat flour
- 3 cups birdseed mix
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ½ cup raw peanuts
- ½ cup water (boiling)
- ¼ ounce unflavored gelatin
- 3 Tbsp. light corn syrup
Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Next, microwave the water until boiling in a glass measuring cup or bowl. Dump in the gelatin and stir it until it dissolves. Stir in the corn syrup; then pour the liquids over the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Form the ornaments, poke a hole in each ornament and insert a ribbon or raffia hanger.
Make a Birdfeeder Wreath
You might like this idea so much that you will make a wreath for yourself as well as for a friend! You can start with a wire wreath form and wire various types of conifer branches to it to form the basic wreath. Or, you can take a shortcut and buy a wreath already made and add ingredients to it to make it a delightful treat for the birds. To help the wreath last the whole winter season, spray it with a nontoxic anti-transpirant, such as Wilt Stop®, to keep the greenery from losing moisture. Lay the finished wreath in the grass and spray the back side of the wreath first, then flip it over to treat the front. Spray to the point of runoff, then let it dry for 24 hours before you start to decorate.
You will need to add things birds like, such as dried sunflower heads, millet sprays and coneflower seedheads that you may have saved from your garden. Add fruit that birds will especially enjoy when fruit is hard for them to find. Favorites include oranges, cranberries, apples, blueberries and grapes.
Glue in seed pods. Craft stores have all sorts of pods, including lotus pods that make great mini feeders. Drop a handful of loose birdseed or a few cranberries in the holes of lotus pods. Wire-on seedheads and sprays. Green florist wire can be used to attach almost anything, but be sure to tuck the ends into the wreath so a bird won’t get poked by a sharp wire. Bend wire into a u-shape and pierce through a seed-packed sunflower head. Simply wrap the ends around the wreath and twist them together to anchor it. Short pieces of wire (2 to 3 in. long) can be used to fasten stem clusters to the branches in several spots. Make a bundle of millet by wiring the stems tightly together first, then attaching it to the branches of the wreath.
Skewer fruit. Use a wood floral pick to make it easy to replace fruit when needed. Pierce a small apple with a wooden floral pick and hot glue the pick in place. The apple can be replaced by pulling it off the skewer and adding back a new piece of fruit. Plastic cable ties make attaching oranges quick and easy. Pierce the orange rind with a plastic cable tie and fasten to the wreath. It can be replaced as fruit is eaten.
Hot glue works great to attach decorations, but be sure to remove any “glue webs,” the strings left behind so they won’t catch on birds’ feathers. Clean webs off any edible parts, too. Hot glue will hold lotus and other seedpods to wreath branches as well.
Spend just a few hours making DIY garden gifts that will make your friends’ holidays shine brighter. Your kids might like to help make these. Everyone will experience a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment for providing special home-made gifts.
Note: Specific directions and helpful photos for making these gifts from the garden can be found at https://www.gardengatemagazine.com/newsletter/2020/11/19/diy-garden-gift-ideas/ in the newsletter article posted November 19, 2020, by Sherri Ribbey and Garden Gate staff members.
Birdfeeder wreath and ornament photos By Donna Hessel
Terrarium photo credit: Pinterest
Kokedmama photo credit: Garden Gate
