Gardening Gifts for Fathers
By Ken Lain, The Garden Guy

Although Father’s Day isn’t until June 21st, for some unknown reason I got to thinking about what gift I would like to receive on that day. Like other dads I phantasize about being given a Corvette, a larger engine for the boat, or a HUGE flat screen TV. The reality is that I would be overwhelmed with a heart felt “thanks for being my dad”. Just as appreciated would be a kind note accompanied by a warm hug and playing ball with the kids on Sunday afternoon. I’m quite certain that other fathers probably share similar thoughts about Father’s Day gifts. This being a garden column I decided to share the gardening-related gifts that I and other gardening dads might like to receive. Happily, gifts abound for men that love their gardens.

I know that many guys dream of an afternoon slumber in a hammock in their back yards. If your dad’s yard doesn’t have two appropriately spaced trees, give him a pair of Autumn Blaze maples. The fastest growing of the red maples, it won’t be long before you’ll be choosing a hammock for another Father’s Day. These maples’ blazing red autumn leaves put on a striking show yet are easily raked up before winter. A gift requiring easier work is always good!

Berrinda Ash is another fast-growing tree so hardy that is requires far less water than most and stands up to the fiercest mountain winds. It is a superb shade tree for this area with undeniable hammock-supporting capability.

Whether lounging in their hammocks, soaking in a Jacuzzi, or asleep in deck chairs men welcome their privacy. For Father’s Day you can give Dad the gift of backyard privacy. Buy him a row of privacy-creating plants and have the garden center install them. All the privacy with none of the work is also good! For a fast-growing screen plant a row of hardy Arizona cypresses, pyracantha, red tipped photinia, or red cluster berry cotoneaster. At your garden center ask for the exact spacing that’s best for a dense privacy screen. Generally 5-8 foot spacing of plants creates a screen so thick none would be able to walk or peek through it. Privacy is good!

Men seem to like spiky, thorny, or other unusual plants, and many of these plants are coming into bloom around Father’s Day. Yuccas are unique mountain plants with tall erect flowers that bloom in rich colors that appeal to most men. The Golden Sword Yucca is just beginning to send up its tall flower spikes for summer-long bloom. Yuccas require very little maintenance and even less water. A cousin to this distinctive yucca is the equally unusual Joshua Tree, a native to Arizona. This hardy palm-like tree sends up stunning, tall white flower stalks. Every desert landscape should have at least one of these unique plants; they make dramatic centerpieces in almost any landscape. All of these plants require minimal maintenance, even less water, and are beginning to bloom at garden centers now. All gardening dads agree that any plant gift with minimal maintenance and a negligible need for water is good!

If you think Dad would like really good-looking plants in the yard that need virtually no water or care, you need to look over our area’s wide selection of cacti. Bunny ear cactus is all about Arizona, but it handles our mountain winters far better than most, and its tight pads actually resemble a bunny’s ears. Ocotillo cactus is surprisingly hardy when placed in the brighter, hotter parts of the yard. Purple prickly pear cacti are excellent companion plants to any of the cactus family.

Lastly, most men love new tools, and good tools make it easy to do gardening jobs quickly and efficiently. Every gardener needs a really good hose end sprayer and a good quality dependable pump-up tank sprayer; maybe your dad doesn’t have either of these or has one that needs replacing. If your dad has a shovel that is worn down, the digging bar bent in the shape of a banana, or if he is struggling with a pick ground down to a nub, you have a father who would love a shiny new hand tool. Gifting something that really is needed really is good!
When choosing a gift for your father, take a few minutes to think about what he needs or what he’d like but would never get for himself. If your dad’s a gardener you have a wide array of possibilities for just the right gift, and that’s good!

Until next week, I’ll see you in the garden center.

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