Gardeners are easy to gift, even at the last minute. You don’t need to search for a parking space in a crowded mall, log onto Amazon or bother UPS and pay for shipping.
Visit a nursery, garden center or go online for these thoughtful green and reasonably priced gifts – with the exception of the final gift suggestion which is a luxury splurge: A trip to visit sunny Portugal next November.
Tickets to the Northwest Flower and Garden Show (www.gardenshow.com)
The show runs Feb. 11-14 this year so tickets could double as a gift for Valentine’s Day. When you buy early, you save money; and if you don’t want to go online to the website at www.gardenshow.com you may be able to buy tickets from your local nursery.
If you haven’t been to this spectacular show, make this the year you enjoy the fragrance of flowers and inspiration of beauty even if you are not a gardener.
Turn your visit into a mini vacation by booking a hotel room in Seattle and visiting the show for two or more days. You’ll want plenty of time to hear the speakers (I’ll be on stage Wednesday of opening night – speaking on “Renovation of the Garden and the Rejuvenation of the Gardener”. )
If you want to really enjoy an impressive gift, you can purchase preview tickets to the premiere on Tuesday evening, Feb. 10 to dine, sip and enjoy the show gardens without the crowds. The show website offers tickets to preview night with all proceeds going to support the Washington Park Arboretum – now how green is that?
Experience Northwest Trek (www.nwtrek.org)
Every family needs to visit this wild-animal park at least once just to appreciate our local wildlife but adrenaline junkies will love the zip lines while garden lovers will appreciate the well-marked names on the native plants.
Northwest Trek is open all year long and this huge park near Eatonville offers tram rides to take you up close to free roaming bison, deer and elk. There are also enclosed areas that showcase bear, eagles and other mammals that share our home state of Washington. Lots to see and do with a café
Before you think about showering a kid with more toys or video games, consider a walk on the wild side instead. You can purchase a membership for $50 or upgrade to a special experience with the animal keepers or an active adventure package.
Weeders and Readers
Gift subscription to GreenPrints magazine: The Weeders Digest. www.greenprints.com
This is not a glossy garden magazine with photos. Instead, it is a collection of bimonthly essays on the soul of gardening that will make you laugh, cry or often just think about gardening from a fresh perspective.
If you know of someone who can no longer garden or suffers gardening withdrawal during the winter months, this will be the read that fills the void. Gift subscriptions are $19.95 with some holiday options on the website.
Sunshine in November 2015 – join us on a trip to Portugal
We experience more than just gardens on our group tours and our trip to sunny Portugal will be Nov. 8-17, 2015. We’ll enjoy a cooking demonstration, Fado dinner show, winery tour and more.
The early booking price of $3,204 includes the airfare. Visit my website at www.binettigarden.com for more trip details and a link to sign up.
