It is not too late to think about the gardener on your list. Most gardeners need gloves, pruners, hand trowel, straight shovel, hoe, digging fork and a sharpening tool.

Gardeners especially need gloves. Good leather gloves protect the hands and finger nails from cuts and blisters. They should have a closure at the wrist. Gloves with open wrists can funnel dirt into the fingers. Cloth gloves with rubber palms are great for lightweight summer work, such as planting in containers. Waterproof gloves are great for water gardens, and they also good for picking up wet leaves in the fall.

Every gardener also uses hand pruners. There are two basic designs. One has a single blade that pushes down on to an anvil. The better design has two blades that bypass each other like a pair of scissors — they cause less damage to the remaining stem. The best pruners have replaceable blades.

Small hand shovels are useful for digging and weeding in the garden, as well as planting in containers. Hand tools by Radius are great for people with wrist problems, as the handle forces the wrist into the proper alignment. They also make shovels and digging forks with round tops that are less tiresome to use than standard shovel handles. If you can only get one shovel, get a straight-bladed shovel. It is often better at digging a hole than a pointed tip and the straight blade can be used to create clean bed edges.

For vegetable gardens, a digging fork can be used to turn over the soil and to harvest root crops like potatoes. The digging fork has shorter and much stronger tines than a pitchfork designed to move hay and straw. The digging fork can also be used to move mulch and piles of leaves.

A good hoe is very helpful in vegetable and perennial gardens. Get a lightweight one if there are lots of weeds. Big, heavy hoes will quickly wear you out. A pointed tip will help get small weeds tucked into hard to reach places under larger plants.

Strong hand tools can be made of aluminum or stainless steel. Don't bother with plastic tools. Stronger tools are one piece with a handle that is coated in rubber or plastic for comfort. If the small tool handle is wood, the blade of the tool should have a tang that runs the length of the wooden handle and is riveted into place. Inexpensive tools have wooden handles just glued onto the tang.

The strongest shovels, rakes, hoes and forks have metal handles that are one piece with the blade. They are also heavier and may be a problem if used near buried cables. Wooden handles on large tools should be attached to the blade with a pin or rivet, not just clamped in place by the metal at the end of the blade. The strongest woods for handles are ash and hickory. Handles that have a coating of plastic or rubber protect the hands and create less fatigue.

Keeping pruners, shovels, hoes and other cutting tools sharp has several benefits. Contrary to what you might think, a sharp tool is safer than a dull tool. It requires less effort to do its job correctly. Struggling to get a tool to do its job leads to dangerous conditions. Sharp tools get the job done in less time and energy leading to less fatigue.

Speaking of less fatigue, men and women have different shapes when it comes to gardening. Women's gloves are narrower and fit better than a one size fits all glove. Hand tools for women will have narrower handles while shovels and other garden tools will have shorter handles.

Lastly, look at the warranty. Good garden tools have lifetime warranties and can get passed down to the next generation of gardeners.

Email questions to Jeff Rugg at info@greenerview.com. To find out more about Jeff Rugg and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.