Aluminum guides help protect plants
What’s more painful than dragging out the hose only to realize that you’ve snapped off a prized plant in the process? Smith & Hawken’s cast-aluminum butterfly guides, fixed to a durable cast-iron base, help keep the hose on the right side of the garden bed.
$25 each, and Smith & Hawken, 268 Detroit St., Denver
A TASTE OF N.M.
Read, and eat
Gas prices being as high as they are, it seems unlikely that most gardeners will be traveling as far and wide as they usually do. You can deal with some of the wanderlust with a trip through Richard Harris’ “Artisan Farming: Lessons, Lore and Recipes,” a mash-up of cookbook and travelogue that explores the farms, markets and cuisine of New Mexico in glorious detail. The gardener’s takeaway: There’s a recipe for everything that sprouts in your rows.
$24.95, Gibbs Smith
SWAT PATROL
Mosquito lantern
Communities are already beginning to test waterways for West Nile virus, so apparently, there’s no time like now to start thinking about how to keep mosquitos off you. ThermaCell has a new patio lantern version of its insect repelling system that emits a small amount of the insecticide allethrin to create a 15-by-15- foot “mosquito-free” zone. Battery powered and attractive, too.
$29.99, Wal-Mart, Bass Pro Shops, Dick’s Sporting Goods and other retailers.
