2018 Holiday Gift Guide

Matching gifts with people can be lots of fun. This year, we have your back and a dependable shopping list to match. 

This shopping list takes care of everyone’s needs. Each product is high quality, easy-to-use, or easy-to-grow. They will fit the needs of a beginner- gardener friend or master-gardener mother. No one will be left out.

So, cross a few people off your list with gifts that encourage outdoor activity and inspire time spent in nature.

Here is our curated a list of sustainable, useful, and thoughtful gifts:

Environmentally Friendly Tumbler

Why send kitchen leftovers to the landfill when they can be recycled directly in the garden? Accomplish two goals with one effort: get a gift and help the environment. Mantis’ Back Porch ComposTumbler is compact and mighty, turning kitchen and yard waste into high quality compost. Fruit and veggies will grow like never before.

Garden Strong and Confident

Centurion knows tools. Whether gifting these tools to a new gardener or giving them to a master gardener, Centurion tools are up for any task. 

The Centurion Garden and Outdoor Living Cutting Set ($30), a handy cutting tools set, includes a lopper, pruner, and hedge shears. Your loved one will be able to tackle any garden cutting project.

Berry Delightful

Delicious, nutritious, and stunning to look at, Bushel and Berry’s raspberries, blackberries, or blueberries provide fresh berries at your fingertips. 

They are a source of education for kids and a nutritious snack all in one. These berry bushes are suited for everyone, kids and adults, starter or expert. With nine varieties available, you will be spoiled for choice.

Cultivate Quality

Weed the garden at 6:00 AM with the quiet Mantis 58V Cordless Tiller/Cultivator. This battery-powered tiller does an excellent job weeding, reviving existing beds, and making new ones. It is a convenient 26 pounds, making it easy to move around and transport. Small, efficient, and easy to use, this tiller/cultivator makes an excellent gift for anyone who loves to garden.

Happy shopping!

GMG's Friday Find: Epsom for Everything!

Wow, is there anything you can't use Epsom Salt for?  Not even an actual salt but a pure mineral compound of magnesium and sulfate, Epsom Salt has many health benefits. I'm sure most people know that Epsom Salt can help with aching muscles and bruises, either as a bath or an applied paste. It helps ease stress, relax the body and relieve pain and muscle cramps. It even helps eliminate toxins from the body. And as a beauty product use to exfoliate skin, remove foot odor or even volumize your hair. But Epsom Salt -- it does so much more!

Gardeners have been enamored with Epsom Salt for generations. Used as a foolproof fertilizer for roses, tomatoes, peppers and houseplants, it will even make your grass greener.  It also helps get rid of garden varmints like raccoons and slugs.  And now that we're entering the holiday season, Epsom Salt can come in handy for decorating and Christmas tree care.

Crafts by Amanda

Use Epsom Salt to decorate ornaments for that snowy, old-fashioned feel.

Frost pine cones, votives, candles, window panes, just about anything! This can be a fun family DIY craft project that kids will love. Find out how here.

There is always concern over fires during the holidays with live trees and decorative greens and wreaths. We once went to a holiday party and arrived at the same time as the firetruck, called for smoke and flames from a wall sconce decorated with fresh greens and candles. Thankfully, there was minimal damage and here's how you can safeguard yourself from possible disaster by using this flame retardant solution on your tree and fresh greens.

Method 1:  5 tablespoons Borax (20 Mule Team cleaner), 1/4 Epsom Salt, 2 quarts water.  Apply the mixture with a misting spray bottle on tree branches, decorative greens and wreaths.

Method 2:  2 cups Karo syrup, 2 pinches Epsom Salt, 2 teaspoons chelate iron, 2 ounces bleach, 1/2 teaspoon Borax and 2 gallons water.  Mix the ingredients and either spray directly on the tree's branches and needles or soak your tree's base in the mixture.

Now you have all the ingredients for a healthy, fun and safe holiday season.  We'd love to see your Epsom Salt creations or any other uses you may have for this amazing Salt of the Earth!  

~Peggy

Garden Media Group