Gifts for gardeners

Gifts for small gardeners

My favourite Swiss garden tools company, Felco, have created a range of tools for children. The range is called Felco kids and it’s available on line via their e-shop and in some stores. You’ll find mini secateurs, at 49.90, gloves at 9;90, hand tools including a mini shovel and fork, a very cute apron, identical to the adult green aprons with leather pockets at 28CHF

Felco have also published a very cute book , called “Little Green Fingers, 12 nature activities through the seasons - plant, harvest, make, marvel as a family” it’s written by the well-known Swiss gardener, Jean-Luc Pasquier, so the content is up to date, practical and accessible. Each season has a kid-friendly title, like “the garden in party mood” for summer, and each activity is easy to follow and adaptable to the age of the child. It’s available on line and in selected stores. FELCO Switzerland | Swiss Precision. Made to Last. | Official Store

For larger tools, have a look at the little kit from the Austrian company, Windhager - it includes 2 spades, 2 rakes and a brush,  which you can buy from Bloomling.ch for a very reasonable 32 CHF. If you think your small gardener would prefer something more robust, then Kent and Stowe, the British company that have been making tools since the 17th century, might fit the bill. They have a beautiful child-size border fork, with a plain metal blade and a very robust wooden handle. It’s exactly the same as the adult tool, just smaller. They also make border forks and hand tools, and Bloomling sell the border spade for 22 CHF, which is surprisingly cheap for such a well made tool. Bloomling will ship anywhere in Switzerland for free for orders over 79CHF and it’s just 7.90 for anything shipped under that.

Garden kits

If you don’t have any outdoor space, then an indoor kit, for a counter top or table, is a great solution for green-fingered kids, and adults! I really like Click and Grow, they are easy to install, clean and refresh, and everything comes in the box ready to go. The kits come with different numbers of pockets, with 3 as the smallest, up to 9 pockets. The water reservoir is under the pockets and lasts for a couple of weeks, and the lights let you grow in the depths of winter as if it was summer outside! You choose the seed kits separately, they’re about 3 euros, which is OK for seed kits that come ready prepared including fertiliser. The PRO versions come equipped with bluetooth so you can check in and change lighting or anything else at a distance.

Click and Grow ship to Switzerland, the UK, the US and pretty much everywhere else!

www.clickandgrow.com