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STUMPED FOR A GIFT?

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 7, 2008

Whether you're looking to give something extra special or to stay within a budget - or both! - look no further for holiday gifts than your garden. It's brimming with ideas that can be nurtured with a little creativity.

If you have your own brilliant ideas to share, e-mail them to pcarnathan@tampatrib.com. I'll post them on our garden blog, The Dirt, at TBO.com, Keyword: Dirt. Photos welcome!

Penny Carnathan

PAINT A POT

A pretty planter can be pricey, but not if you decorate it yourself. And if the recipient isn't into plants - gasp! - fill it with something else. (Magazines, candy, body lotions and powders - the possibilities are endless.)

On a budget: Tiny terracotta pots cost only about $1 at craft stores; get larger ones for just a few dollars at big box discount stores. Josie Black, a South Tampa artist, painted the pot shown. She uses acrylic paints, sold for as little as 70 cents at crafts stores. Prime the surface first with a coat of white acrylic, she suggests. If you want a border, mask it off with painter's tape before priming. Buy brushes designated for use with acrylics and finish with three coats of polyurethane, inside and out. Spray is fine for small pots; bigger pots may need brushing.

The splurge: Use other materials to decorate. Create a tile mosaic, rim the top with sea glass, or decorate with themed items, like starfish and sand dollars. Or call Josie by Dec. 15 and get her to do it for you. An 8-inch pot runs $15 to $20, depending on what you want, if you supply the pot. Reach her at (813) 837-3059.

PACK A FLORAL POSTAL KIT

Even the most ardent e-mailers still have to use snail mail occasionally. And they're the ones least likely to have a card and stamp on hand. (Trust me, I know.) Take pictures of your blooms, your recipient's blooms, or other nature moments in your garden and create note cards from them. Print them on your computer and add a catchy caption (I would have written under the one pictured, "Little Herb On Basil"), or attach processed photos to purchased cards, which is what this one is, using double-stick tape. Don't forget the envelopes!

Hint: If you have a digital camera and haven't ever used it for something like this, be sure to set it to the highest resolution so you'll have sharp prints. Shoot in morning or late afternoon (depending on plant location), when the sun's slanting rays give blooms a glow. Use the "macro" button for beautiful, focused close-ups.

On a budget: Add a pack of 20 42-cent sunflower stamps, available at the post office for $8.40. And throw in a couple of inexpensive, garden-themed pens. Put it all together in a little terracotta planter or a small decorative watering can.

The splurge: Upload your favorite bloom photo to www.pictureitpostage.com to create custom stamps. A pack of 20 42-cent stamps costs $18.95. Other Web sites offer this service as well, so shop around to find the ones you like best.

PLANT A POT OF POSIES

I love the peppy colors of annuals, but I don't often buy them. Though they're inexpensive, they're a personal splurge because annuals are, well, doomed. A poor investment. That said, I wouldn't turn up my nose at the gift of an artfully arranged container garden of mixed flowers. (A basic tenet of gift-giving: Give something they want but wouldn't buy for themselves.)

Hint: A large, bowl-style container works best. If your planter is deep, fill the bottom third to half with empty soda cans or packing peanuts, then add the potting soil. Annuals' roots don't need 18 inches of pricey potting mix, and the pot will be lighter and easier to move.

Play around with color combinations at the nursery. Look for a tall centerpiece and a couple of plants that will cascade over the side.

On a budget: Do it yourself and stick with annuals, usually less than $1 each. The container pictured, a ready-made, sells for about $10 at Lowe's.

The splurge: Go with cactus and succulents, pricier but apt to live longer than your dog, and with much less maintenance. The one pictured sells for $19.95 at Parkesdale Farm Market in Plant City.

FOR THE FOODIE

It's too late to start herbs from seed, though that's a great economical alternative for next year. Still, you can buy young herbs - and some veggie plants - now at nurseries for less than $5. Put one in a nice pot and add the ingredients and recipe for a snack or meal.

On a budget: Basil, mozzarella, tomatoes, olive oil, cracked pepper, maybe some capers, and you have Insalata Caprese. Yum!

The splurge: Put together a mini herb garden with the most popular flavors: basil, parsley, cilantro, lemon balm. Include "care and usage" cards for each pot, and decorative markers to identify what's what. And, of course, ingredients for a dish involving the herbs you're giving.

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