Mother's Day Gifts for Gardeners

I grew up on a family farm. It was more my father's hobby than anything else. But we still received the Burpee Company catalog (www.burpee.com) and a few others. I don't remember the others, but I remember the nights spent poring over the colorful photographs in the Burpee's catalog trying to decide which seeds to beg for. I wanted to plant everything.

We always had a few seeds that my parents would buy as an experiment. Some we bought from Burpee's. Some were from local seed stores. Corn and beans of all flavors were standbys, but it was the experiments that I remember so well. We loved Chinese food so we grew snowpeas. One year, we grew huckleberries out of curiosity over their namesake Huckleberry Finn.

I loved the rhythm of dropping the seeds into the ground at regular intervals. Eating the fruits of our labor was satisfying. There was pride in having produced an overflowing harvest.

Maybe your mother is as passionate about gardening as I was then. If so, give her a Mother's Day gift that reflects her interest in gardening. Whether she loves to garden indoors or out, you can be certain wonderful gifts that she will love abound.

Decide what kind of gift you want to give your mother. Do you want to give her a plant or some seeds? Is it too late or too early to plant this year? If it is too early, will the plant you want to give her survive long enough to be planted at the proper time? Maybe a gardening accessory would be safer. Does she like garden gnomes or other statuary in her garden? I have gathered a few suggestions that will hopefully inspire your choice.

Burpee (www.burpee.com) was my favorite growing up. They still have a great selection. If your mother likes ornamental grass, the Cortaderia Pink Pampas Grass ($10.50) is a pretty feminine plant that should grow in a large portion of the United States according to the map on the website. She can plant it right away since it should be planted in the spring.