Bumblebee Blog

Bzzzz November 25th, 2007

In case your gift-giving taste doesn’t lean toward the absurd or the obscene, I managed to come up with what I think are some pretty nifty Christmas gift ideas for the gardeners on your list.

Some of these things I have. Some of them I want. (Anybody out there? Hint. Hint.)

In ascending order, from least expensive to most expensive, here are my seven favorite gift ideas for gardeners.

Recyclable%20Bottle%20Spouts.jpg 1) Watering Spouts – At six bucks each, how much more clever can you get? These stylish spouts are also functional and environmentally friendly. Just screw a spout onto a recyclable liter or other plastic bottle and—Voila! Instant watering can! Just think of all the places you can have little watering cans—next to the violets, next to the window boxes, all sorts of out-of-the-way places.

2) Insect Hat Net – I won’t call this stylish, but it IS functional. Have you ever suited up with long pants, long sleeves and boots, waded into the weeds to do some serious work and still been bothered by pesky flies and, even worse, stinging pests? insect%20hat%20net.jpg Just slip this insect net over any hat with a brim and you automatically look part of the bee keeping set. Like I said, you won’t win any fashion awards. But at least out here in the country, the fashion police don’t show up much anyway.

3) Stirrup Hoe – A while back I extolled the virtues of the simple stirrup hoe. I still think it’s the best weeding tool out there and that everyone with a yard should have one. Just wiggle the business end of the hoe under the weeds to dislodge them, roots and all. Then you can just rake up all the offending weeds. No more stooping and walking around on your knees!

4) Garden Tool Caddy – I hate to waste steps when I have important garden work to do. My guest blogger Sophie mentioned a while back that I fell in love with this handy cart I found at Bed Bath & Beyond. I can stuff all the tools I need in the garden into the rack and also have room for a stool, gloves and other garden paraphernalia. No more running back and forth to the garage to get what I need! Sadly, I couldn’t find the same cart online, but there is a nice one at Smith & Hawken.

5) Dog and Cat Topiary Forms – How about helping your gardener add a bit of classical whimsy to the garden with a dog or cat topiary form? Unfortunately, these folks haven’t figured out how fabulous Papillons are because don’t have a single Papillon topiary form. I think I’ll look for a bumblebee topiary form instead.

6) Stone Wall Lamp – I don’t know how those folks at Wisteria find the artifacts that they sell, but some of them are truly amazing. I adore these old wall lamps in heavy stone. These lamps definitely won’t blow away. And they will add some architectural interest to the terrace, balcony or patio.

Chimney%20Pots.jpg 7) Chimney Pots – Re-purposed antiques such as these chimney pots from English Antique Imports have lots of uses in the garden, including as visual elements but also as table bases. In fact, I love just about everything they sell at this resourceful shop. I may need to make a pilgrimage with a truck before spring sets in.

Happy shopping!

–Robin at Bumblebee

Posted In: Gardening

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Bzzzz November 20th, 2007

I know y’all are probably scratching your heads trying to think up the best gift ideas for your loved ones this Christmas.

So to inspire you I thought I would share a few of the cherished gifts my little brother and I have given each other over the past two or three years.

First things first. Here’s my little brother Dale. I always think of him as my “little brother” although at 6’3 he’s not so little anymore.

In case you can’t see it, Dale’s t-shirt says “My Indian Name is Runs with Beer.” This says a lot about my brother. Dale cracks me up. Some days we’ll trade numerous emails (no IM for me—too intrusive), having little conversations about some news item, what’s happening in our lives, gossiping about a relative, as there is a LOT of material with our family fruit tree. The guys here in the house always know I’m trading emails with Dale when I start laughing hysterically while sitting at my desk. Not a lot funny usually happens in marketing research, so they know it’s not work related.

When we were kids, our family called my little brother “Dale Dale” cause the Kennedys called their favorite son “John John.” In return, my brother and dad called me “Ra.” Don’t ask me why. Aside from a brief stint as a “Cleo” in Girl Scouts because of an ill-advised hairdo and a Boyfriend-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named who called me Robbie, I haven’t had any other nicknames. I don’t think I am generally the kind of person who inspires nicknames. Someday I need to research the reasons for that.

Our whole gift-giving competition started a couple of years ago when something inspired Dale to send me this silver bowl of coal from that fancy schmancy, overpriced gift catalog Red Envelope.

bowl%20of%20coal.jpg

Dale doesn’t normally go for the type of marketing hype that catalog specializes in, but something about a bowl of coal packaged with a flowery explanation assuring the lucky recipient that it was air purifying, positive karma tradition of some far-off land that made him think “Wow, that’s just the thing for Robin!” The fact that it was a bowl of coal at Christmas was a subtle message. But, hey, I’m smart. I got it right away.

That made me think. What would a clever fellow like Dale really love (okay, deserve) for Christmas?

Then one day, after surfing the Internet for about, oh, about six hours I just happened to stumble across these embarrassingly gross taxidermy frogs. What says “I love you” more than a taxidermy frog? TWO taxidermy frogs!! See, he loved them so much he put them on display in his home office.

I figured I was on a roll, so for his birthday I decided to help him with his garden décor. This little troll picking his nose sure did remind me of my little snot-nosed brother!

Dale was pretty much feeling the heat by now. So one day, he gleefully emailed months in advance of Christmas that he had found the perfect gift for me. He made sure that I had Harry lined up to take a photo of me opening the package since he couldn’t be here to present the treasure in person.

Inside was “knife man.”

Very funny. Have you noticed that Dale’s gifts are a bit insulting? Coal. Knives. Humm. Is there a message here?

knife%20man.jpg

What should I do for Christmas this year?

I found a great t-shirt with an Amish guy on it that says “Don’t Drink OR Drive.” That seems too easy. I also found a gun that makes all sorts of body sounds—farts, belches and such, but I think he’s seen those.

I’m putting on my thinking cap. Let me know if you have any great ideas. I need to make this a memorable Christmas for my little bro. He deserves it.

Posted In: Lifestyle