Tooled up for Christmas

My garden gift wish-list doesn't change much from year to year.

At the top is a sizeable Lotto win, thanks, so I can bulk buy plants and rent a bloke in little shorts to plant them so The Partner can be put to work on more creative pursuits.

Second is a pair of really fabulous, high quality, top of the line secateurs that cost about $50, not $5, and that have a device attached which makes a high-pitched screaming noise when they are imprinted with any fingerprints but mine. If you have a friend or rellie who's a real gardener, even a pair without the screaming device will be hugely appreciated, I bet.

A six-pack of really girly garden gloves that a blokey landscaper would be ashamed to be seen in.

Garden belt. My former mother-in-law wore hers like other people wear watches, and she was, therefore, never caught short when something needed a quick cutback or a flower simply begged to be cut and brought inside.

A really good torch. You may have to force yourself to remember to do this, but prowling about the garden in the pitch dark with a torch is fascinating. Not only can you catch the criminals who are eating your basil and violating your strawberries, but you'll see everything else in (literally) a new light.

Temperature and rain gauge. These make great gifts for anyone who is interested in the weather.

And in the same gift box, a compass, thanks. It's always useful when you're about to plant something in a secluded corner and you're not quite sure exactly where north is, and if you're ever looking at a new property, you can't go past it.

It's always difficult buying decorative gifts for other people's gardens because tastes vary, but a posh copper garden light is hard to mess up. If the recipient doesn't absolutely love it he or she can camouflage it under a fatsia, say.

Pots and containers are easier. Surely everyone loves beautifully shaped urns and terracotta olive jars, whether empty or planted. If you are planting them, bear in mind that anything with a narrower neck than body will be reluctant to let go of its inhabitant when the time comes and one or the other may have to be sacrificed.

If you're on a shoestring budget and you want to make something for friends, try these ideas - dead simple, cheap as chips, and fun to make.

A container for garden string is a godsend. Get off to the supermarket to find a really attractive tin - golden syrup and treacle tins are examples, but it's totally a matter of personal taste. Eat (or decant) the contents, make a hole in the lid and hammer the edges to make sure there are no sharp bits. Put a ball of string inside, thread the end through the hole in the lid, put it on, and you're done.

Something with a slightly more creative bent is a shell garden. You need a terracotta plant saucer which you can either leave natural or paint a colour of your choice.

Buy one spectacular shell from a decor shop or bazaar and a string of shell beads. Collect other shells and pieces of driftwood from your nearest beach and arrange in your saucer. It makes a lovely, summery decoration for an outdoor dining table or to sit on a terrace or porch step.

No time for crafty stuff? Buy a vibrant ceramic tile and a gorgeous matching candle.

A tin watering can. I hate those bulbous plastic watering cans and they stick out like sore thumbs wherever you leave them in the garden. A tin model, though, looks lovely whether you're watering something with it or stuffing it full of flowers or foliage. You can also buy tiny little ones to make gifts with tiny little plants in them.

The same applies to a tin bucket. Lovely for the garden, and doubles as a suitable vessel for carting out hot ashes - this from someone who once used a plastic bucket, the bottom of which melted before I even got out of the living room and spilt hot ashes all over the rug. Oh, and a fire extinguisher, thanks.