Winter holidays are always on the horizon, yet so too are birthdays and anniversaries. Gardeners that enjoy plants and flowers will be glad to receive gifts related to their hobby. Picking out a gift will take some research on the person and his or her specific interest in gardening subjects.

Even an expert in gardening techniques has room to expand his or her knowledge. New techniques and information comes out every year, as well as products and advice columns. Likewise, it would be a thoughtful gift to give a gardener a publication subscription to a magazine, or to buy a book. You will find that you will rarely spend over $30, even for a magazine subscription that lasts 12 months from the point of subscription.

For friends who live far away, it could be easier to just mail a gift certificate. Since distance can also hinder your ability to find a gift that the recipient would like, a gift certificate is a solid choice. Score more points by finding a retailer that specializes in gardening products so you add more personality to the gift. Even then, gift certificates can be lackluster in creativity.

The problem with food and plants these days is that they are all too expensive with the economy as it is. A garden is a good alternative, but the start up costs of getting your garden going can be too much at once for you. Following some simple tips, you can lower the costs and have it running in no time.

The first step is to design your garden. If you are completely new to the world of gardening, be prepared to take in a lot of information at once! You can get free books and audio discs regarding the subject at your library if you have a pass. Otherwise you can use the Internet to find free websites or magazines that will give you the help you need during the planning stage.

Going to a nursery is expensive- it’s probably the last place you want to look. That is, unless you have knowledge of how to buy plants and flowers off season. The only real problem here is that when buying like this, the plants or flowers will not bloom until the next growing period. Since they are in less demand, the price associated with them will drop.

Usually the peppers grown for paprika production are medium-sized and quite fleshy. They are selectively bred for colour and pungency and these properties can be further controlled by the methods of harvesting, drying and processing the fruits.

The factors mentioned above which affect the quality 0.chillies and capsicums generally apply as well to paprika varieties. The major influence on the pungency level, initial colour and colour-retention properties of ground paprika is the cultivar grown, and improvements can be achieved by sowing selected cultivars possessing the optimal combination of these quality factors and yield of pods per plant.

When harvesting, generally only fully coloured, mature fruits are picked. In many European countries, the harvested fruits are ‘cured’ for from 3 days to 6 weeks before final drying. During the ‘curing’ or ‘after-ripening’ process, the colour intensity of the pods increases and this phenomenon has been extensively studied by Hungarian chemists.

In the case of the special paprika grade, the ribs of the pericarps are also removed by means of special knives. In the preparation of all 5 grades, the seeds are placed in small bags and washed to remove the adhering matter, which is specially rich in capsaicin. After being dried they are mixed with dried pericarps, and the product is ground and sieved several times.

Choosing a day when the soil is dry or hard frozen enough not to be damaged, the planting ideas which have been worked out in detail on paper can be pegged out on the site. To avoid referring repeatedly to a plan I print the name of each shrub in large capitals on a postcard and then pin this on a plant stake or cane.

Try to get all the rough digging done in the autumn so that the frost can break down the heavy Where the planting is being done into individual holes without digging the whole area, the same procedure is adopted only the organic matter used must be well rotted.

In winter my gardening continues with unabated vigour, but conversationally rather than physically. Each week there are meetings to attend, and always the talk is ofgrown shrubs was reviewed in some detail with the professionals, a minority group on this occasion, firm in their conviction that these have proved of benefit to both nurseryman and amateur gardener.

Chamaecyparis lawsonilina, Lawson’s Cypress, makes a tall tree and is useful as a windbreak or screen to hide some ugly part of the view beyond the garden. I would use a selected forth like Green Hedger for often seedlings show a wide variation in ultimate height. Selected forms include allumii which is often used in tubs or on terraced walks for the growth is upright and the colour glaucous blue, and ellwoodii which is very slow growing, with feathery graceful leaves and an ultimate height of between 8 and 10 ft.

The various forms of the species show the same adaptability. Compressa, a cone-shaped midget, makes an ideal plant for a trough or small rock garden, taking about 18 years to reach a height of 12 in. A wide-spreading, ground-hugging bush, depressa is excellent for clothing steep slopes in the rock garden. Prostrata is of a similar habit.

I hesitate to introduce the thought that on occasions birds or animals can be a nuisance, and even then usually manufacture an excuse for their behaviour. Rabbits can be fenced out, although with enough dogs and cats about the garden only the most foolhardy rodent dare show its teeth. Moles will seek less aromatic pastures if moth balls or creosote are inserted into the runs at intervals.

Voles and woodmice can be evicted in a similar fashion but a resident kestrel employed full time is more effective I have discovered! Bullfinches are the worst pest in this garden, their depredations have killed several full grown cherries and we rarely get any flowers on the others. Short of shooting, the gardener must resort to foul-tasting sprays, or netting the trees.

A sharp saw, well-maintained pair of secateurs, and a razor-edged knife are prime essentials. I also include as supplementary equipment a tin of Stockholm tar and a brush for treating cut surfaces if any very large branches have to be cut away.

A cold frame need not be elaborate or very big and there are times when an orange box has served the purpose extremely well. To maintain the general appearance of the garden I prefer something neater made in wood, brick. breeze block, or cement. I use a two light frame, too big for cuttings really but it fills in for .seedlings as well.

To each bushel of the mixture add 11 oz. of superphosphate together with I oz. of chalk. All the John Innes composts may be purchased ready for use from any garden shop or horticultural sundriesman.

For shading the cuttings during the first few critical weeks I use laths on nylon string, spaced 1 in. apart by pieces of polythene hosepipe. This frame is used mainly for soft, or semi-hardwood cuttings which need shading for the first fortnight. After this they can be fully exposed provided they are watered carefully. In hot weather this may ,be necessary three or four times a day.

Depth of sowing depends very much on the type of seed. A good general rule is to cover them with soil to twice their own depth, but always wait until the soil is in a fine friable condition.

Leave the seedlings undisturbed till they are several inches high and then transplant them at the normal planting season for the species, giving them ample room for further development. They can then be grown on for at least another year by which time they should be big enough to go out into their permanent quarters.

As interest grows the urge to try growing the less common, rather specialist shrubs from seed will make the purchase of a heated frame or greenhouse essential. I have never regretted purchasing my own small greenhouse ; a pleasant retreat on cold or wet days with the initial price repaid in both plants and pleasure. A greenhouse will also be a valuable aid to rooting cuttings.

I have always had a great admiration for Taxus baccata both as a hedge and specimen tree. Unfortunately, even using large transplants. Many years must pass before we can sit in the shade of a yew planted by our own hands.

Under no circumstances should yew be planted where grazing animals can reach it or there could be tragic ,repercussions for the whole tree is poisonous – wood, leaves and berries. People who already possess a yew hedge should clip. feed, and cherish it, lavishing on it the care usually reserved for the family heirloom. Individual’s should be spaced at to 2 ft. apart although in times of financial embarrassment I have stretched this to 2-1- ft.

The former has purple leaves, the latter green and the contrast is exceptionally fine. Planted at 11 ft. apart, I was content to sit and watch them grow but two years later the gentleman who gave them to me descended on the garden with heavy pruners and cut the lot down to grbund level. There is now a superb hedge, thick, strong and some 5 ft. high. Clipped once or sometimes twice a year it gives no trouble.

As the rash of tarmacadam and concrete spreads to hide the soft green contours of rural Britain, so will an increasingly office-bound community turn to their gardens for a place in which to relax. Gardening is a healthy, creative hobby with many rewards and a well-planned and tended garden can provide its owner with a peaceful setting in which he can spend many happy hours.

I was very much a novice, depending on annuals for a quick return for my labours. A beautiful clipped yew planted when the house was built and a golden chamaecyparis were central features of the house frontage. Anything which took up space capable of supporting a marigold or godetia was anathema to me so one day when father was away I uprooted both these patriarchs on to the bonfire. No one in that quiet Dales village spoke to me for a week. They were all too busy sympathising with my parents for having produced such a wayward son. The many hundred trees I have planted since have not erased the feeling of guilt this piece of vandalism burdened me with.