The last two weeks I have written about ways to spend money during the holidays that are going to take care of maintenance issues around your house and make your home safer. Although these gifts might not go over too well Christmas Morning, the long term affect will be awesome. A beautifully pruned tree letting in light and showing off its limb structure will bring much delight. Not breathing in that blue smoke from your mower when it is 100 degrees outside will make the summer much more enjoyable. Keeping rats, roaches, bedbugs, fleas, and spiders away from your loved ones is a requirement to keep your house safe.
Here are some ideas that are a little less practical. Plan a trip to a local public garden (Magnolia Plantation, Middleton, Drayton Hall, Boone Hall, Hampton Park, and Cypress Gardens just to name a few) and get ideas for your own landscape. This also makes for a wonderful day with the family. You can take a picnic lunch and make it a full day enjoying the beauty of the Lowcountry. You can purchase a yearly pass to many of these gardens for just a little more than the one time gate fee and enjoy the garden all the different seasons.
The Counties, Cities, Towns, State, and Federal parks are excellent as well. Many of these are free and some also have a park for dogs. Walking around the different college campuses in the area can inspire you with some good horticulture ideas.
If you would like to take a road trip, travel to Brookgreen Gardens by Myrtle Beach, or Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia. You can also give a gardener a trip out of the area for a long distance gardening adventure. Calloway Gardens in Atlanta, Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania, The National Arboretum outside of Washington, D.C., The Redwoods in California or any other garden throughout the United States…..or anywhere in the world!
Give a gardener a gift certificate for a future House and Garden Tour event. There are great tour events throughout the year in areas all over the Lowcountry. Kiawah, Seabrook, Daniel Island, City of Charleston, Summerville, Mount Pleasant all have different garden tours. If you want to go on a road trip, Savannah and Beaufort also have garden tours. If you are not the garden / house tour kind of guy, get two tickets (one for your wife and one for her friend) and send her off and you can enjoy the day as you like.
Give your gardener a membership to one of the many clubs or societies in the Charleston area. The Charleston Horticultural Society, The Native Plant Society, The Rose Society, The Camellia Society, The Koi Fish Club and Daylily Society just to name a few. I have attended many of these club lectures. They are all very informative and are passionate about their interests, willing to help newcomers, and provide different community projects to improve the Lowcountry. I have run into many old friends and have made many new friends at these meetings.
A gift certificate to any of the local garden centers or nurseries makes an excellent choice for the garden enthusiast! They are bound to find something they like.
