ROOTS

GIFTING GARDENERS FROM ADVENTUROUS TO BOOKWORMISH

When there is a gardener at the top of your gift list, holiday shopping becomes infinitely easier and much more pleasurable—after all, the possibilities are endless. We gardeners require so many things to accomplish even our humblest goals that we lose sight of our loftier ideals: some tangible, some intellectual and some filled with enough promise to get us through the dreariest of winters.

HOW DOTH MY GARDENER GLOBETROT...
It seems to me that the best of everything, gardens and otherwise, always seems to be concentrated in the same gorgeous parts of the world. Send the gardener on a fabulous trip and you, too, will enjoy the fruits of your largesse. There is no gardening inspiration quite so powerful as experiencing some of the world's most fantastic gardens firsthand. Savvy gifters will turn the gift of a gardening excursion into a cultural holiday that not only includes garden-gorging, but also art-looking, wine-tasting and food-binging, as well. The only problem, really, with garden-centric traveling is that you invariably can't bring home the plants and trees you find enchanting.

If you are gifting a gardener who has not seen the English countryside (particularly Sissinghurst and the Cotswolds) or the Chelsea Flower Show, you need look no further. If the English gardens have already been traipsed and trampled, don't hesitate to stretch the botanical brain a bit more with some farther-flung destinations.

If your gardener craves something a bit more distant, get thee to La Mortella on the island of Ischia in the Bay of Naples to view mysterious gardens, designed by Russell Page in all his over-the-top glory. From spring to autumn, this destination's 400-seat outdoor Greek theater, carved into rock and overlooking the bay, comes alive with music and concerts of many kinds. How about a trip to Japan, especially Kyoto and its surrounds, to introduce a new rigor into the inquiring mind of a true gardener?

Of course, if you choose to send your gardener somewhere within the confines of America, LotusLand, near Santa Barbara, is a fabulous place to start. Closer to home, there's always the legendary Longwood Gardens in the idyllic Brandywine Valley that sprawls between the southeastern tip of Pennsylvania to northern Delaware. The Christmas spectacle draws thousands of people each year. The gardens, as well as the indoor conservatories, are astonishing. Extraordinary topiaries and giant Amazonian water lilies are only a few of Longwood Gardens' marvels. Also in that neighborhood is the Winterthur Museum & Country Estate, the extravagant former home of Francis Henry du Pont. Consider this a romantic long-weekend trip and relax into what is an especially beautiful American gem.

HOITY-TOITY HORTICULTURIST
Wow the more particular—or "snobbish," if you will—gardener with a gift membership into one or several of the totally esoteric, often obscure, plant societies. This is a gift with lots of impact and not much investment. Each society or organization invites various gatherings of obsessed people with a continuing thirst for companionship in the minutiae of and devotion to their preferred plants How about the North American Rock Garden Society, which has its very own chapter—one of the 35 spread throughout the United States and Canada—on Long Island, and one in Manhattan? The society is very busy with trips and lectures. Of course, there is also the Connecticut Rose Society. The American Conifer Society is for the serious seekers of specialty trees, cone collectors and hunters-down of all things rare. It hosts all sorts of exciting get-togethers throughout the country that culminate in exhilarating tree auctions that put the art world to shame. And, of course, there are our local treasures; a membership to LongHouse Reserve or the Connecticut Horticultural Society is a gift that never quits, as is a membership to Weir Farm Art Center, the New Canaan Nature Center and the Garden Education Center of Greenwich, Inc.

TOILING AWAY IN THE TOMES
Seasoned gardeners love books, and novice gardeners need them. Well, not necessarily one book: How about a shelf full of interrelated books that are either a great beginning or an elegant complement to a gardening library? Literature is an essential must-have for every gardener, old and new. Somehow the Internet just does not cut it (except for plant and bulb ordering, where it is a godsend) when you are dreaming of mosses, let's say, and want to compare all the different kinds, or when you have decided you want to create an all-white garden.

Literary gifts on gardening are bountiful. Only recently, and largely thanks to Timber Press, books devoted to one genre of plants have become readily available. A most exciting sort of library is one alphabetized and devoted to each sort of plant; instead of art libraries with books on Mapplethorpe, Matisse and Michelangelo, you have Allium, Arisaema and Aroid. Books make a statement and can be a trustworthy companion when your gift recipient is frantically mail-ordering from their preferred specialist to track down that elusive fern-leaf peony.

GROW YOUR OWN
If you are up against a totally implacable gardener—could there be a greenhouse in their future? Might it be tiny or lavish, made of glass and iron or timbers and polyurethane? It can be used for growing plants and hosting inspired luncheons. You can call it a palm house, an orangerie, a conservatory or a grow house. The key is providing a place where things that would not ordinarily thrive can flourish. Try ordering supplies online at Charleys Greenhouse and Garden Supply—with this 33-year-old business, you'll be all set.

THE CHOICE IS THEIRS
If all of these choices seem too overwhelming, there always beckons a nice gift certificate. After all, what gardener doesn't enjoy thumbing through specialty catalogues; and who doesn't wonder how they might pay for that most exotic variety they cover?

Wishing you peaceful and joyous holiday season. Treasure your family, spend time with your friends and, of course, coddle your garden.