Embracing fall: Ideas for gardeners both indoors and out

Embracing the warmth of fall colours begins in the garden but there’s no reason we can’t celebrate the season indoors too.

Fall by far is my favourite time of year. The garden takes on its tapestries of colour, and cool misty mornings make the coffee in hand so much more appreciated.

It’s also a time of transition – from shorts and T-shirts to sweaters; from flowers to grasses and bright berries.

In the home and on the patio there are changes happening too. It’s a good time to put away the bright colours and adopt the earthy, warm colours of fall. It’s also the time to begin thinking about gift giving and get a head start on the holidays.

We’ve put together some helpful suggestions to assist you in the transition and offer some great gift-giving ideas.

This fun door mat from Anthropologie is a fun and very seasonal way to welcome visitors to your home.

Let’s start at the front door. Nothing says welcome to our homes like a fun door mat, especially one that celebrates fall. This Oh My Gourd coconut fiber doormat can welcome visitors at the front or back door. It’s exclusive to Anthropologie, and is a great starting point in the transition from summer to fall.

These lovely brass numbers will add a touch of class to your front entry. Also from Anthropologie.

Anthropologie also features these elegant brass and black house numbers that are a welcome addition to any front entryway. These are only available online but can be picked up at a nearby store to reduce shipping costs. They are sold individually and come with their own mounting hardware.

There is nothing more synonymous with fall than the captivating smell of pumpkin spice and these candles bring it indoors or out. Check out a wide selection from Anthropologie.

Staying on the Gourd theme, Anthropologie also offers a number of pumkin themed candles in exquisite containers that will warm up any room – indoor or outdoor – that you place them in.

Fall, with its cooler temperatures, is the time we enjoy being outside enjoying the migrating birds, the butterflies and the evolving warmth and texture that begins taking over the woodland.

A barbecue with family and friends is the perfect weekend activity.

Fall is the time to get out and do some entertaining in the backyard. These colourful acrylic glasses are the perfect companion.

These Lucia Acrylic Goblet Wine Glasses are perfect for the deck, patio or under a pergola as the rain falls all around us. They come in a variety of colours from mint to cobalt, turquoise and a lovely hot pink.

If you are lucky enough to have a sheltered outdoor space, extending the entertaining season well into fall offers numerous possibilities.

A small woodburning firepit or gas fire table can bring us outside through fall and even well into winter.

The Sedona fire bowl from Woodland Direct adds warmth and a touch of class to your outdoor space.

WoodlandDirect specializes in fire pits, fire bowls, outdoor fireplaces and the like and offer an incredible variety of choices and styles to suit even the most picky of buyers.

The Sedona Copper Fire Bowl, above is a good example of the exquisite detail available from WoodlandDirect.

The popular Solo Stoves are available at Walmart.

Less expensive options are also available from less specialized stores. Walmart even carry the popular, contemporary styled Solo Stoves (above) that are small enough to take with you to the cottage or even camping, but still have a place in your backyard.

For a full look at the firepits Walmart offers, including many that are on sale click here.

Of course fall is the time to get into the garden and muck about digging out, transplanting and clearing areas in preparation for next year. Muck boots make a variety of garden boots and shoes to tackle even the dirtiest of jobs with a little style. Check out their full line of women-, men- and kid-approved boots for the garden or everyday use.

For those lucky enough to have a covered garden area, fall is the perfect time to transition from summer colours into the warm tones associated with autumn. This scene from Anthropologie focuses on just that with an assortment of warm colours and textures. One of the highlights is the Abstract Pillar Compote planters featured on the table and below.

Decorating this space is always fun and adding a modern touch seems to work well in these spaces. These Abstract Pillar Compote planters are the perfect size to act as a focal point a gathering place. Use them for plants, but don’t be afraid to use your imagination. A bird bath, even a contemporary bird feeder to welcome the chickadees into your more personal space.

Imagine them full of large pine cones or simply covered in a rich layer of exquisite moss or planted with the simple elegance of a maindenhair fern.

The Boston fern is from Macy’s outstanding collection of natural looking plants.

Finally, if you need plants around you all winter, but can’t seem to keep them alive indoors, Macy’s offers an outstanding collection of extremely natural looking plants. These are not your craft store collections that neither look natural, nor stand the test of time.

Macy’s Department Store collection is both extensive and exquisite in their realism. The above Boston fern is just one example of the detail of these plants. Place them on your enclosed patio or porch (recommending for indoor use only) and bring them indoors to enjoy them throughout the winter. No muss, no fuss.

The Boston fern, for example features deep green fern leaves extending outwards and created from the finest materials. The natural looking stone planter is included.

Great Garden Gift Ideas

I thought I’d do some serious leg work to find some gifts to save readers the trouble. Let me suggest a few for those looking to get a little something for the garden.

There are plenty to choose from, but here are some great gift ideas from some of the finest garden retailers. They start at below $25 that I think might be among the best gifts out there. (All prices in U.S. unless otherwise stated.) These are specific gift ideas, but I’m sure in many cases similar gifts can be found at a local store or through mail order.

How about a Window Watch Hummingbird Feeder for under $25 U.S. It’s a window-mounted feeder with a suction cup that attaches to the outside of a glass window. The handcrafted design with copper leaf accents holds about 3 oz. of nectar and allows you to enjoy the hummingbirds up close, real close. Plow & Hearth with a 4.7 out of 5-star rating after 43 reviews.

Audubon Bat Shelter is a not only a great gift for the gardener, it’s also great for the environment in so many ways.

Sticking with the bird theme, one of the best gifts you could to help the environment is the Audubon Bat Shelter. Bats are extremely important to our environment. Not only do they eat a host of insects including mosquitoes, wasps, flies and gnats, in doing so, hopefully they will help reduce neighbours from using pesticides. The Audubon cedar bat shelter gives bats a warm place to roost, protected from the elements and predators.It holds between 15-20 bats and requires virtually no maintenance once installed. Also from Plow & Hearth with an almost perfect 4.9 star rating after 16 reviews. But what would you expect from an Audubon protduct?

It’s no fun getting old. The knees, the back, the hips all start aching after a day of gardening. A garden kneeler may be just the ticket to make the job a lot easier. This Folding Garden Kneeler/Seat with foam pad not only makes kneeling a little easier, its handles also help the gardener get up from the kneeling position. Flip it over and it works as a small seat. The Garden Kneeler has a weight limit of about 250 pounds. The whole thing folds up for portability and storage. Again Plow & Hearth with an almost perfect score of 4.9 stars after 62 reviews.

Garden cleanup made easy…. a dustpan for your leaves.

Ok, I know there are a lot of men and some women obsessed about keeping the yard perfectly manicured and leaf-free. That’s not my game, just ask my wife. But even I can appreciate the EZ Leaf Hauler. When it is spread out on the lawn if looks like a giant dustpan, but it’s for cleaning up the leaves in the fall. The Hauler holds about five times as many leaves as a wheelbarrow and has the added benefit that it sits at ground level so all you have to do is rake the fallen leaves directly into the Leaf Hauler. It’s not unlike the giant tarps you see the landscapers use when they are doing a fall cleaning-up accept it has sides and convenient handles to help drag the load to your composter or garden bed. Remember, we don’t throw out our leaves folks. We keep them to create perfect soil. This thing folds flat for storage and is made of rugged woven polyester stretched on fiberglass rods. Scores a 4.5 out of 5 stars with 68 reviews and it too is from Plow & Hearth.

I could not pass this one up. I happen to love Japanese-influenced gardens and I know I’m not alone. If you are looking for a nice fountain to complement your Asian-influenced garden this Buddha Head Fountain with LED Lights might just do the trick. Includes the recirculating pump that sends water cascading over the Buddha’s head creating a trickling sound. The head also lights up at night. Wind & Weather, 4.8 star rating after 4 reviews.

This Professional Rain, Snow and Hail Gauge might be the ideal gift for the gardener or weather enthusiast. The rugged, long-lasting clear plastic instrument comes with its own mounting hardware. Scores a 4.8 star rating after 54 reviews. Wind & Weather.

A garden weather vane can add a nice touch to any garden acting both as a piece of garden art and an indication of the way the wind is blowing. This Running Horse Garden Vane can be mounted on a stake for the garden or on a deck. Created by an artisan in Michigan, the 14-gauge steel; zinc plated with a copper-tone and clear powder coat finish, measures in at 23 inches high and 21 inches wide. The garden stake is more than 4-feet high. Wind & Weather with a 5-star rating after 4 reviews.

Another on-line store United Kingdom visitors might want to check out is Coopers of Stortford, who offer a similar selection of garden art and accessories. They deliver globally for any North American readers interested in exploring their offerings.

If Dad is into pruning this Everyday Complete Pruning Set is simply the perfect gift. Even if pruning isn’t his favourite thing, this set may be just the thing that sets him down the road to exquisitely pruned trees. Who knows, maybe he’ll become the neighbourhood topiary master. Three hand pruning shears all in cast aluminum with rubber grips. These will easily cover smaller pruning tasks like flowers and small branches. For larger limbs or small trees, the 24-inch long Forged-Steel Bypass Loppers are built to last and won’t flex when cuting branches up to 1.5 inches. For more serious pruning, a Japanese tooth-pattern folding saw with a full 10-inch blade is included. Garrett Wade.

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Garden gift ideas you’ll love

Gardening gifts For bird lovers, garden art collectors and just plain old gardeners

Gardeners ask for little more than sunshine, some warm weather and a little rain a few times a week.

That’s not to say we don’t like to receive gifts every once in a while, especially when they are garden or wildlife related.

Thankfully, there are a host of tools, trinkets and useful items most gardeners would be thrilled to receive.

Ferns & Feathers will strive to bring readers unique gift ideas from both large and small garden supply type outlets as well as home-made items from Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and around the world.

I’ll try to update these items on a regular basis, so check back regularly for the latest items.

• Just a few items I’ve come across this month that may be of interest. This combination garden statue and bird bath would be perfect to tuck along a garden pathway or in a Japanese-style garden.

If you are looking for a little more colour in the garden, these stacking glass orbs will do the trick. Both the garden statuary bird bath and stacking orbs are from on-line home and garden retailer Vivaterra. If you have never checked out their on-line site, they offer a beautiful selection of higher-end home and garden items you will not easily find anywhere else.

• Gardening boots and shoes are a must, especially if you are in tick country. Muck Boot Company offers a huge range of gardening boots and shoes that will fit everyone’s needs. The women’s wide calf boot keeps both the dirt and ticks away, while the women’s stylish plaid boots are good for everyday use.

There are boots for kids as well as men in too many styles to mention.

Garret Wade, the fine American garden and woodworking store much like Lee Valley in Canada, offers high-end gardening tools and goodies like Grandpa’s Weeder, The ultimate green weeder that goes a long way in saving your back. It’s even currently on sale.

If you are looking for a real heavy duty bird feeder this giant 6-liter Bird Feeder from Garret Wade might be the perfect gift.

If you are like me, it’s getting harder to keep up with all the up-and-downs of gardening. This Portable Bench and Kneeler from Garret Wade can make a big difference. As described on the site: “Right-side up, it is a comfortable, extra-wide, portable seat. Flip it over, and it becomes a kneeler, particularly useful when you are doing gardening, yard work, or other jobs around the house, like painting baseboards. When used as a kneeler the handles offer support to make easy work of getting up from the ground. You can also take it along and be comfortable when watching fireworks or the kid’s soccer game. Use it as a camp stool or for tailgating.”

Could there be a more perfect gift for the woodland gardener than this Sherwood Fern Fairy Statuary with Bird Feeder. It’s time to Think Spring! at MyEvergreen on-line retailers for $165, regular $275. Evergreen is part of the Rakuten family of retailers. The beautiful bird feeder stands a full 2.5 feet tall and is made of durable, all-weather polystone to help give it a natural, carved wood look.

If you have never checked out the website Wind & Weather you owe it to yourself to wander over and take a look. They say they have a passion for the weather and it shows in many of the high-end weather instruments that are available at the California-based store. They also offer distinctive garden decor and artistic objects for the home. They are proud to say they “shop the globe” to provide customers with unique items.

• Still on the bird theme, another elegant addition to the garden is this polished Copper Hanging Birdbath measuring just over 12 inches in diameter. It can be purchased with a holder and chain that is made of black wrought iron. The whole thing is sure to age nicely in the garden. Although anything copper is obviously an expensive purchase, the inherent beauty of the metal and the fact it ages gracefully with the garden means it’s always a great investment. The wrought iron holder will rust and age the way wrought iron tends to do, so if this is not your style you may want to look at something different. Or, just purchase a copper bowl and use it as an on-ground water resource.

This on-ground bird bath is ideal for not only birds but other backyard critters that can’t jump or climb into a regular bird bath. A couple of these spread throughout the garden will give a hand to many wildlife species from toads, chipmunks, snakes and, of course, birds.

My post, Bringing water into the garden points out how important it is to have an on-ground water source in your garden for small mammals and reptiles as well as birds. This is an opportunity to add an on-ground feature that would make an elegant addition to any garden tucked into a low-growing ground cover, maybe thyme, moss or stone crop. We have our two on-ground water features tucked among the stone crop sedum that has grown around the water features and make them look like they have always been there.

Both bird baths are available through Amazon. A search on the Amazon site shows many hanging bird baths, some brightly coloured and at various price categories. Giving a bird lover or garden enthusiast a bird bath rather than a feeder requires them to do nothing but hang it up and add a little water every day or two.

This page contains affiliate links. If you purchase a product through one of them, I will receive a commission (at no additional cost to you) I try to only endorse products I have either used, have complete confidence in, or have experience with the manufacturer. Thank you for your support. This blog would not be possible without your continued support.

Unique gift ideas for gardeners

This exquisite feeder of copper and cedar created and handmade by local artisans is just an example of the unique gift ideas to consider this holiday season.

Unique garden gifts are never easy to find around the holiday season.

By then, most of the interesting garden material is either sold out from the previous summer or stored away in the back waiting to be brought out in the spring.

Fortunately, over the past couple of years, I have come across, and wrote about, some of the finest and unique garden gift ideas possible.

Some are for the birds, some are for the bees, and some are just plain works of art that any gardener and nature lover would love to have in their gardens.

These gift ideas are not available at Big Box stores and few specialty stores even carry them. These unique garden gifts are purchased directly from the outstanding artisans and craftspeople toiling away in their workshops.

All of them ship to customers in the United States, Canada and around the world.

Here are three unique garden gift ideas that I use in my garden and consider to be not only exquisite pieces of craftmanship, but outstanding pieces of art. Two of the gift ideas – the bird houses and the native beehouses – are also hard-working utilitarian pieces for the garden.

The copper and cedar handmade bird feeder

It’s hard to put a price on great design and high quality craftmanship, but if you could the Q&A Ultimate bird feeders would fall under the priceless category.

These are not the heavy duty feeders you fill to the brim with sunflower seed and let the birds and squirrels have their way. We can pick up those feeders anywhere.

These are exquisite little teardrop, fly-through feeders meant to hang by your patio or deck where they’ll likely steal the show whether there is a cardinal or chickadee sitting on the perch or not.

The copper roof is the first indication of their fine craftmanship, but upon closer inspection, it doesn’t take long to recognize the attention to detail in the two perches at both ends of the fly through and how the seed is fed into the inside chamber of the bird feeder.

It’s all the work of French (from France) architects Coraline Allard and Pierre Quesnel, who came to Canada and eventually set up their design business in Toronto. The bird feeders were one of their first ventures and, since that successful launch, the couple have gone on to design a number of exciting creations, including an aluminum beer box – another perfect gift for the “beer drinking” woodland gardener.

In addition, Ferns & Feathers readers (by using the code provided here) will get a 15 per cent discount at the Q&A Etsy website when they make a purchase.

You can visit the Q&A website here.

The couple was featured earlier in this full-length Ferns&Feathers story that you can read here.

Joe Prytula with one of his WeeBee houses is his backyard workshop.

A native bee house that works

You can run out to your local store and pick up a bee house, complete with bamboo straws and holes drilled into wood. Some are okay, others were never meant to really be used more than one season and still other designs are likely more dangerous to our native bees than helpful.

That’s not the case with Joe Prytula’s WeeBee Houses. These things are seriously well-thought out, well made and fun to put up and watch as the native bees find the perfect spot to go to work.

The mason bees, the leaf cutters all finding a safe and happy home in these outstanding works of craftmanship. Joe doesn’t just sell you a native bee house. Included in every WeeBee house is a thorough explanation of how to use the bee house properly to ensure the bees hatch the following spring. Also included are tools to remove the larvae from their homes and store them until their spring release.

Talk about the perfect educational gift for children, especially those with a particular interest in nature.

Joe hails from the Niagara region in Canada but ships his Weebee houses to the United States and worldwide.

If you are interested in purchasing one of Joe’s WeebeeHouses, you can either contact him through his instagram account @weebeehouse or by email at [email protected].

Joe offers a discount to Ferns & Feathers readers. Be sure to give him the discount code FernsFeathers10 to receive a 10 per cent discount.

Check out my full story on the Joe’s WeeBee houses here.

To complement Joe’s Weebee house, consider adding Our Native Bees book by Paige Embry. The two would be the perfect combination for gardeners discovering the joy of native plant gardening and attracting native pollinators.

For my compete story on Our Native Bees, take a moment to check out my full story here.

Fish In The Garden work their way through our garden and around a moss-covered boulder.

These ceramic Fish are at home in any garden

Brilliant works of art are often described as beautiful, moving … inspirational. Tyson Weiss’s ceramic Fish In The Garden are all of these things and more.

The “more” is the unique ability to take these works of art and use them to design your own art installations in the garden by moving them around and finding new inspiration in different areas of your garden, even inside your home.

By creating schools of three… five … seven fish swimming through your flower beds, fern garden or around a moss-covered rock in the Japanese garden, for example, you not only experience the art but have the opportunity to create your own installation.

The ceramic fish are made to stay out in extreme weather conditions (either extreme heat or cold) and can add a pop of colour to gardens when colour is at a premium – either in shade gardens or in today’s urban contemporary gardens where the focus is more on textural greens than colourful flowers.

I use two main schools of fish in our garden and a couple of smaller ones for our window boxes and patio container pond.

No other garden art comes close to providing a sense of movement in the garden while at the same time providing me with the opportunity to move the installations around to take advantage of the changing seasons, and highlight particular areas of the garden throughout the seasons.

Tyson works out of his impressive studio in Maine but regularly ships to clients around the world even as far away as Australia.

If you are interested in more information on Tyson’s outstanding work, check out my full article here.

To go to Tyson’s informative Fish In The Garden website go here.

In conclusion

Ferns & Feathers makes a real effort to find artisans that offer unique garden gifts that are of the highest quality. These three suggestions are guaranteed to impress anyone lucky enough to receive them as gifts.

They are not just garden items that are thrown away in a few years. All of them are made to last and age gracefully in your garden. As a result, they are priced to reflect their high quality and unique attributes.

They are the type of garden items that can be enjoyed for years and then passed on to children or friends.

They are at home in the woodland garden, the urban garden and even small, balcony-style gardens or backyard patio gardens.

Supporting small artisans is critically important during these difficult times and what better time to tap into their incredible talent than this holiday season.