CityLine.ca Holiday Gift Guide:

Frank Ferragine's Gifts For The Gardener

By Suzanne Ellis

For our first ever CityLine.ca Holiday Gift Guide, we asked some of our guests and guest experts for their suggestions on what to get that special someone based on their area of expertise.

Here, gardening expert Frank Ferragine shares five gift ideas for the gardener.

Digital camera: “One of the best purchases, because you can take pictures during the garden season. Then in the dead of winter you can look at these pictures and create your garden plans.”

Gardening journal: “A really nice idea. Almost like a bit of a gift bag (with the digital camera).”

A pair of bypass pruners: “Look for a good quality pruner. Felco or Corona, those are the two best pruners out there on the market. My favourite pair is the Felco – really great.”

A good pair of gardening gloves: “A lot of gardening gloves that are out there are very inexpensive. You can buy gardening gloves at Lee Valley Tools that are a little more of a step up. You want to get one that has the ability to breathe but also has [reinforcement] on the fingers so that when they’re grabbing roses they’re not going to get pricked. There’s a new Toronto company called Dig It for gloves, they have felted tips that are good if you’ve manicured your nails. I don’t really need those but if you have a female in your life.”

A bird feeder: “In the dead of winter, people like to look outdoors. A bird feeder to allow some wildlife to come in. Anybody in gardening would love to be into birding as well. There are several books that you can get, make sure you’re buying a book by a Canadian author.”

A pair of tickets for two to the Chelsea Garden Show in the U.K.: “My dream gift. If you have the budget. It’s always good to dream. It’s Christmas, it’s the season of dreaming. It’s the grand poobah of gardening (shows). If you do that remember Canada Blooms comes every March to Toronto -- tickets are available right now online at www.canadablooms.com. You can buy a pair of gardening tickets for that tour. Put it in a nice little envelope, maybe alongside a gardening book, and that to me is a Christmas present that would make me smile.”

Originally published on CityLine