Some of my best gifts ever have been Mother’s Day gifts. Some husbands don’t think it’s their responsibility to get their wives a Mother’s Day gift – she’s not my mother, they might think. But The Fixer has always honored Mother’s Day as a hallowed holiday. He modeled to our children that mothers should be cherished.
One year, when the kids were too old for classroom Mother’s Day art and not old enough yet to pretend not to care, they bought me a garden scooter that I still use to this day. They chose the gift together, used their own money, and completed it with some gardening gloves, a pack of seeds, and a homemade card. Best gift ever!
And so, I was torn as I contemplated its replacement.
The old scooter’s lid is sagging and warped and doesn’t quite sit properly so I get sudden, jarring shifts while working. For years, the height was good for my knees and back. In fact, I had a scooter previous to this one that I never even used because, even for my young knees, it was too hard to get up and down. But now that my range of motion is much more limited, I am feeling the need to replace the scooter with something more appropriate.
I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with the old one. In fact, it has far outperformed my expectations. I’ve used it for nearly twenty years! The lid doubles as a convenient handle and it has a deep storage area with a pull-out tray. The surface is nice and wide to make for comfortable seating and has two drink holder spots, which I found impossible to use as drink holders, but they were useful as an indentation to hold my cell phone. It was a fine scooter!
But now I’m ready for the scooter upgrade. The Coupe de Ville.
After several Google searches, I have settled on the Deluxe Garden Scooter from Gardener’s Supply Company. If you’re not familiar with Gardener’s Supply, you’re in for a treat. They have everything for the garden from the basics to high-tech. And I love that they still send me a print catalog, so I can dream of all the latest innovative and beautiful products all winter. The Deluxe Garden Scooter is the gold standard of scooters.
It has a handle, a storage tray, and like a little trailer on the back, you can put the flexible garden trug (or a 5-gallon bucket) in the back for extra supplies or trimmings. The handle locks so you can use it for extra support when getting up and down. The seat swivels and is height adjustable. This is great news because, on your more “unable” days, you can easily adjust the seat to meet your needs.
It also has one thing that none of my previous scooters have had: steering. It has a front axle so you can steer the wheels in the direction you want to go rather than awkwardly hop and lift the front to point it where you’re going. The large pneumatic tires make for a comfier ride and cross uneven terrain easily.
There are cheaper versions of this scooter available in some big box stores, but when you compare what they do, the Gardener’s Supply version is far superior and worth the extra bucks.
My old scooter will stay around and still get used. The Fixer, who inexplicably to me has knees that still squat, sometimes uses it when working on Sunday car detailing or car repair. It still has plenty of use as a grandkid gardening helper. It’s not going anywhere. But it’s time for me to upgrade.
If you have a mother in need of a gardening Mother’s Day gift, check out the Deluxe Garden Scooter. It will help keep her in the garden for years to come and she will appreciate how attentive you are to her needs.
And if you’re running late on ordering as I was, do what my dad used to do – cut out the picture from the catalog – ok you might have to print it out online – and roll it up in a paper towel tube and wrap it in tissue paper with ribbons on each end. Let her know it’s ordered and on its way. Add a packet of seeds and some gardening gloves and she’ll be overwhelmed by your thoughtfulness! She will be so excited with the anticipation of its arrival. Maybe she’ll send you her very own unboxing video!
Next week, a post especially for mothers! Until then, happy gardening!
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