August 1996
When looking through a new gift catalog, I am excited by all the great ideas that I can adapt to my home projects. For example, bat houses are a fun way to try to attract free insect control and are easy to build with VCE directions (contact your local Extension office for information on bat houses).
A harvest gathering pouch that attaches to a tool apron should not be difficult for a good seamstress to make. For me, all I need is to add a few buttons or clips to the long shirts I like to wear to the garden. Then before the ripe fruit that I didn't plan on harvesting this trip fills my hands, I can convert my shirt to a harvesting pouch and leave both hands free for gathering.
The trellis crafted from alder branches is delightful -- perfect for the country look. If you make one yourself, you recycle a few more branches as well as ensure that the trellis is the right size for your spot.
The ability to place your outside faucet where you want it is appealing. You won't have to get over in the barberry or juniper ever again. This solution can be purchased for under $30. However, with a drill, a screwdriver, and a few recyclables, you can build a similar set-up for about $6. Attach an old garden hose to the faucet you wish to "relocate," and cut it off to the desired length. Mount the new faucet (about $4) on a scrap piece of wood (a 2 x 4 is good), and attach the hose with a clamp. Point the end of the wood, and drive it into place.
There are many great ideas that you can glean from gardening gift catalogs, just be cautious when something sounds too good to be true .... it probably is!
(From "Gardener's Gift Catalogs," by Diane Relf, Extension Specialist, Consumer Horticulture, Virginia Tech, in The Virginia Gardener Newsletter, Volume 12, Number 11.)