'Project' an ideal gift for gardeners

Green-fingered relatives are never hard to buy for at Christmas and the list of ideas is long, including plants, tools, books, packets of seed, art large and small, decorative pots, tickets to a garden show, a voucher for a tree to be bought in winter ...
One keen gardener says she always asks for a trailer of compost and is delighted when that's exactly what she gets.
The longer days mean more time is spent enjoying the garden, so it might be fun to gift a 'project', whether it be installing a dreamed-of water feature, digging some new beds or preparing a site for a piece of art.
Waitakaruru Arboretum and Sculpture Park (between Hamilton and Cambridge) is a 17 ha former quarry that hosts sculpture exhibitions throughout the year - with all the pieces available for purchase. Learn more at www.sculpturepark.co.nz.  
Art for the garden doesn't need to be expensive - one keen collector is just as proud of the mass-produced fish she found in a bargain bin for $5 (it doesn't spout water as it's supposed to) as she is of her one-off pieces.
There was plenty of art on show at last month's Tauranga Garden and Artfest, ranging from the obviously home-made (tea cups and saucers nailed to the top of stakes) to large pieces by professional artists.
Those with limited budgets may be cheered to know that among the art in the show gardens at the Chelsea Flower Show in London last year was an "ace of spades" made out of shovel heads, while at this year's Ellerslie Flower Show in Christchurch was a decorative wall made using wine bottles.
Quirky pieces individualise a garden and there's always a sense of satisfaction when something that might otherwise have been dumped gets a new lease of life. Recycling objects into "art" is a good project for children.
Many rural gardens feature old farm implements but if pumps, ploughs and wagon wheels aren't available try attaching old tools, such as pitchforks and saws, to a wall, or use an old wooden stepladder as a frame for climbing plants.
Visit a building recycler's yard for inspiration - shutters, a door or old windows hung on a wall can trick the mind into adding space and are also a bit of fun.
You're limited only by your imagination.