Tag: holiday gift ideas

2019 Stephi Gardens Holiday Gift Ideas

This has been a very hectic December at my house. Are you as behind in Christmas shopping and preparations as I am? Here’s some (slightly late) holiday gift giving ideas from things I love!

Friends: Some of the links below are affiliate links, which means I earn a small commission for each sale. All reviews are my own and are not influenced by any compensation I may receive.

Gardening:

Titan A-Frame Trellis: I’ve always grown cucumbers on trellises, but this year I tried it for my summer squash and zucchini. It didn’t look like the Pinterest squash trellises, but it saved space and was super convenient. The trellis was pretty easy to put together, and Gardener’s Supply Company has a nice video to show how to assemble it. It’s made of plastic, so won’t rust but is plenty strong enough to hold zucchini and squash. It’d work great for any climbing vegetables!

Mini Greenhouse: I start a number of my vegetables inside the house in the spring, and before they can go in the ground they need to spend some time outdoors to harden off. With our unpredictable Midwestern weather, that can be tricky to do. I don’t know what I’d do without my Gardman 4-Tier Mini Greenhouse. It’s super handy to keep the most tender of vegetables and annuals safe from cool spring nights until it’s planting time. As a bonus, it’s a handy place to grow microgreens.

Gardman Mini greenhouse

Grow Bags: In addition to raised bed gardening, another way to add space and grow really healthy vegetables is in grow bags. I’ve had mine from Gardeners Supply Company for years and have grown carrots, tomatoes, peppers and potatoes in them. Their BPA-free fabric is really strong, yet allows for breathing and “root pruning”. No root bound plants in these bags! I’m adding more to my garden this year!

My grow bags full of carrots

Stratus Rain Gauge: I was forever trying to figure out how much rain we got during a storm, or how little during a drought. And not in general, like somewhere in the greater Chicago area, or at one of the airports, but in my backyard. It’s a huge help to know how much to water the garden, and to satisfy my curiosity. You can read more about my rain measuring adventures in a previous post, “How Much Rain Did We Get?“. If you want to get super nerdy, I actually found a handy plastic ruler for measuring snow in tenths of inches. Much easier than converting all the time 🙂

Stratus rain gauge

Of course, gift cards to any local garden center or catalog seed company are always appreciated! Some to consider are Burpee, Botanical Interests, and Territorial Seeds.

Reading

I love to read! This year so far I’ve read 41 books. On the right sidebar of my blog you can see the latest books I’ve read and would recommend. I do read “bad” books, but don’t worry, I leave them off.

You can also find me on Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/stephigardens. Friend me, I love to see what everyone else is reading!

What were some of my favorites this year? Top spot would be Dan Egan’s The Death and Life of the Great Lakes. Anyone who grew up near the Great Lakes will appreciate this journalists very readable history of man’s influence on the Great Lakes. I spent most of the book shaking my head in disbelief over the things that we’ve done to the lakes, but remain hopeful about the amazing resiliency of the Lakes to remain viable. From the building of the canals, St. Lawrence Seaway, lampreys, salmon, zebra mussels, asian carp, water levels, it’s all there. Much food for thought!

I also throughly enjoyed reading:

What were your favorite books of the year?

Cooking

FoodSaver Vacuum Sealer: I have no idea what took me so long to get one of these amazing kitchen gadgets. My friend was telling me about hers and I knew I needed one. I’ve been vacuum sealing meat, fresh vegetables, soups, and even banana bread (ok, that took a little practice). I’m so excited to have frozen food that still tastes fresh and be freezer-burn free. Plus, everything fits better in the freezer! I bought the FoodSaver FM2435 Vacuum Sealing System & Starter Kit and I’m thrilled with it.

Souper Cubes: I make a lot of soup and broth and have all kinds of containers for the freezer. I came across these amazing silicone freezing trays that are perfect for freezing soups and broths in perfect portions. No more messy freezer bags full of broth. They also have a clear fitting lid to keep the soups fresh in the freezer and make for easy stacking. Need a new healthy soup cookbook? My latest favorite is Clean Soups: Simple, Nourishing Recipes for Health and Vitality by Rebecca Katz.

I’m really a sucker for kitchen gadgets. Who doesn’t need a…

Be sure to check out my Holiday gift ideas from 2018 for more suggestions, and my Favorite Things page.

Happy Shopping and Happy Holidays!

2018 Stephi Gardens Holiday Gift Ideas

Struggling with what to get that special someone for Christmas? Here’s some ideas from the things that I love!

Birding:

Do you enjoy feeding the birds, but dislike feeding the squirrels? I tested out a number of squirrel-proof feeders and can report that they actually all work as advertised. The squirrels don’t even waste their time anymore trying to get at the seeds. See my reviews at Who Won The Squirrels vs Feeder Contest? and New Squirrel Proof Bird Feeders.

Here’s some of my favorites:

If you want to know what you are seeing at your feeders, my favorite ID guides are:

Gardening:

I love my plastic Tubtrubs. I’ve had mine for years and use them to use them to move things all over the yard. I’ve found the 7 gal (26 l) and 3.6 gal (14 l )particularly useful.clematis wilt

My Felco #8 Pruning Shears are pretty much with me all over the yard as well. Oftentimes in my Tubtrub, which is a safer place for them than setting them down in the grass. They may be a bit pricier than other shears, but these really will last you a lifetime. I have #8, which have an ergonometric handle, but I’d also recommend #11, same as the original #2 but with a replaceable blade, or #6 for smaller hands.  I’d also recommend a leather holster to keep your investment safe and convenient to carry around with you.

A nice set of garden tools is always appreciated. There’s nothing worse than a cheap shovel that literally bends in your hand trying to transplant something in my awful midwestern clay soil. I’ve had a set of stainless tools for over 20 years, but I do like the cushioning on the Fiskars tools I’ve bought more recently. So far, I haven’t had any issues with breakage like some have reported in the reviews.

Growing seedlings indoors? The 2 ft Hydrofarm T5 Grow Light Systems have worked great for me. Spacious, energy efficient and adjustable. It’s made all the difference in growing healthy seedlings indoors.

What to wear in the garden? I think nothing is better than my Slogger garden shoes and rain boots.  I have both styles and they are comfortable, easy to get on and waterproof!

Garden cocktail cookbooks are a fun (and tasty) gift. Two favorites on my bookshelf are The Cocktail Garden and Summer Cocktails.

Not sure what they might already have? A gift certificate to a local garden shop would always be appreciated!

Cooking

I have a couple of go-to pans that I just love:

My Calphalon hard-anodized 13″ stir fry pan is excellent for sautéing my garden fresh vegetables as a side- or main dish.

One of my first pieces of Le Creuset enameled cast iron cookware was a 3.5 quart Chef’s Oven in flame. I love this pan for sauces, soups, risotto, sautéing, pretty much anything. I thought it such a perfect pan I got one for my daughter when she moved into her own apartment. It is on the smallish side but there are larger versions available (and other colors).

I invested in a spiralizer and love spiralizing all kinds of vegetables. The spirals can be used as a base for a sauce, part of a stir-fry or just as a sautéed side dish. So many options for a starch alternative! I wrote about my experience with the Paderno World Cuisine Spiralizer Pro in “A Fun Garden to Table Kitchen Gadget-A Countertop Spiralizer”.

I also love kitchen gadgets. Probably have far too many single purpose things, but they are just so handy! What are some of the things I use all the time?

Reading

I love to read. Always have since I was a little girl taking out a stack of books from the library. I think books always make a great gift and you can follow what I’m reading by the list on the right side bar. Don’t worry, if I wouldn’t recommend a book I’ve read I won’t put it on the list!

Happy Shopping and Happy Holidays!

Christmas Tree

(Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. I may receive a commission from purchases you make through the links in this post. All reviews are my own and are not influenced by any compensation I may receive.)