Function over beauty is a clear-cut approach when looking for Christmas presents. What tools and equipment have worn out or what tools and equipment would assist in maintaining the garden?

The basic list includes Dutch hoe, common hoe, spade, garden fork, grass rake, metal headed rake, springbok rake, loppers, small chain saw, dare I say it … machete for quick and nasty jobs.

Also making great gifts are wheelbarrows, two knapsack sprayers — one for pesticides etc and one for herbicide application — a tarpaulin, secateurs, blower, strimmer, reel and rotary mowers.

From a personal protective clothing need, gloves, goggles, face mask, lightweight spray suit.

For a more interesting present, consider creating additions to the garden that are more of a unique feature and will add visual and practical interest.

Creating contained areas for a specific purpose adds interest whilst enhancing the totality of the garden.

Think of plant types that would not normally be grown in a ‘general’ garden design, such as an herb garden, a cutting garden, a rose Bermuda garden, a collection of fruit trees.

Constructing small, raised beds of brick or railway ties will create areas of interest on what would normally be a flat plain.

Rail ties are a quick, easy to construct, long-lasting and low maintenance; contingent on what you wish to grow one tier or two at the most should be ideal

Herbs can make a visually attractive display as well as being tactile and aromatic.

Contingent on the size of the structure choice can be enlarged or reduced based on the plant type used, including but not limited to, thyme, basil, parsley curly and Italian, dill, cilantro, mint, rosemary, oregano, marjoram, sage, peppers, cumin, tarrag and marjoram.

In a contained area an herb garden is easy to maintain and productive in supplying interest to the meal table.

An area for a rose garden should be of a larger scale to accommodate the size of the variety, which should include longer flowering types with scented types and of course a range of colour.

Weed control in a rose garden can be assisted by the underplanting of spreading ground cover plants such as creeping rosemary, ground hugging lantanas, especially the purple and white forms and the dwarf lily grass.

A cutting garden can deliver a flowering succession for most of the year, by using bulbs, herbaceous and annuals, based on seasonality.

These can include but not limited to, agapanthus – Lily of the Nile; Hemerocallis – Day Lily; Antholyza – Bermuda Gladiola

For those who would like a small veg garden using a limiting selection of veg type, use, carrot, beetroot, lettuce, radish, onions, spring onions, beans.

Garden ornaments, statuary, terra cotta containers, seating (benches and chairs), small table – wood, and antique features – if obtainable – old mild churns, watering cans, old mailboxes inserted into pillars at driveway entrance.

For properties with small gardens, a mix of garden and hard surface may be preferable.

By reducing or eliminating a lawn, reduces the maintenance of the garden considerably; patios make an interesting feature and are an all-year-round feature.

Construction can be with brick, setts, pavers or timber and can be of any size and shape contingent of the need.

For entertaining the size should accommodate a BBQ, tables and chairs.

Many Bermuda houses have large patios, some open to the elements whilst others not, in the case of the latter, introducing plants in containers will enhance the area by adding interest and colour.

Large patios with high ceilings can easily accommodate larger containers and thus larger type plantings, which bring the garden closer to the living area, whilst smaller areas can play host to smaller containers of greenery and flowering subjects.

• Malcolm Griffiths is a trained horticulturalist and fellow of the Chartered Institute of Horticulture in Britain. He is also past president of the Bermuda Horticultural Society, the Bermuda Orchid Society and the Bermuda Botanical Society