Men's gifts under $20

So what do you give a man who’s got everything? Small things count so get him small but make it personal and I’m sure you can get all kinds of men's gift ideas under $20 or around there. It is not the price of the gifts that matters, it’s the thought and how personal you make the gifts to be. So don’t tell me you don’t have any idea what to get, there’s always something you can think of that will be appropriate.

Carnivorous plants

The world is full of weird and bizarre plants, but the most strange and bizarre would have to be the carnivorous plants. It's amazing to think of plants trapping living creatures, and slowly digesting them. If you saw the movie "The Day of the Triffids" you probably thought the idea of plants eating all the humans and taking over the world was a bit far fetched. Well, think again - maybe it wasn't all that far from reality.

Age spots

My face is starting to show my age; I’m seeing age spots all over my face where a few years ago I could find none. How disappointing but such is life, we can’t stay young forever and sooner or later old age will catch up with you. But there are ways to slow down the ageing process and that’s with good nutrition, healthy living and a little makeup never hurt anybody!

Cyclamen

Most gardeners think of cyclamen as delicate indoor plants. However they can be grown outside, and in fact occur naturally in harsh, rocky areas in the Mediterranean and Europe. The miniature wild Italian cyclamen (Cyclamen hederifolium), will thrive and multiply in a shady position in the garden. It is a very long-flowering, hardy species, which grows in both frosty and hot areas. The flowers are usually pink or white, and the leaves are patterned and marbled in white and silver.

Conference calls

Even though I don’t run a multi-million business I sure do a lot of conference calls all across the globe. But most of these are personal calls to friends and family scattered all over the world. Therefore I am always constantly looking for free or cheap calls overseas. Apart from audio calls I also do a lot of video calls as well. Nothing beats seeing the other person.

Crepe myrtles

Crepe myrtles are among the world's best flowering trees. They are native to eastern Asia and are hardy in most parts of Australia. They are also resistant to powdery mildew, a fungal disease that is difficult to control with fungicides.

A deciduous, vase-shaped tree about 6-8m (18-25') tall. It is often severely pruned and grown as a shrub 3-4m (10-12') tall. Trusses of white, pink, mauve or purple blooms appear in late summer. The petals are ruffled, with a crepe-like texture. In autumn the mid-green leaves turn yellow, orange or red (depending on the variety) before falling. Unpruned crepe myrtles develop beautifully coloured, smooth, mottled trunks. There is an Australian native crepe myrtle (Lagerstroemia archeriana), which grows to around 7m (20') tall and has pinkish mauve flowers.

Trampolines connecticut

There’s nothing better than having a trampoline in your backyard for the kids to play in. I think I still love jumping around in the trampoline even at my age! It’s better than getting a pool that you only get to use in the warmer months but for the rest of the year sitting there gathering dirt. Not to mention dangerous for toddlers too. Therefore we’ve decided to get our trampoline from trampolines connecticut so the whole family can have fun all year round.

Clivias

Clivias are wonderful, almost unkillable plants, which brighten the garden during late winter and early spring with clusters of vibrant yellow throated, orange or salmon trumpet flowers. The flowers are held on stalks above the clump of dark green strap-like leaves.

Native to Natal, South Africa, clivias were named after Lady Charlotte Florentina Clive, Duchess of Northumberland, who was the granddaughter of Robert Clive, better known as Clive of India. The name Clivia can be pronounced as the name Clive to rhyme with 'hive' (Clive+ia) or with a hard sound as in 'liver' (Cliv+ia). Many of the clivia enthusiasts pronounce it the latter way.

Disability insurance

Life is unpredictable; you never know what’s around the corner. One day you’re on top of the world and the next you may loose them all due to accidents. That is why disability insurance is so important to us especially the sole breadwinner of the household. This way you can rest assured your family is going to be looked after should anything bad happened to you and you can’t work anymore.

Citrus Tips

Citrus trees do best in a full sun position. Before planting, dig plenty of chook, cow or horse manure into the ground. Ideally, citrus should be fertilised in August and February. It is good to alternate fertilisers - say Dynamic Lifter in August/September and Complete Citrus Food in February. For potted citrus use a slow release fertiliser, such as Osmocote Plus. Keep citrus trees well watered when fruit is developing (water restrictions permitting). This is particularly important during a drought. If the tree does not receive enough water the quality of the fruit will suffer, or if it rains and the plant is very dry the fruit will split. Grass and citrus don't mix. Keep the area beneath your citrus free of grass and weeds, which compete with the tree for nutrients. Cover with a mulch such as lucerne, composted leaf litter or compost, but keep the mulch away from the tree trunk to avoid collar rot.

Office supplies

I usually get my office supplies from my local stationery store. Even though it is close by I usually have to spend at least an hour if my busy time going there and coming back. I think I should start using online shopping and have them delivered to me instead saving me time. I just need to order in advance so I don’t run out of stationeries before they arrive.

Bamboos

Bamboos are wonderful plants and there are over a thousand different species and dozens of garden varieties. In eastern Asia they are used for almost everything from building homes, to making furniture and their shoots are even used in cooking. There are two distinct types of bamboo - clumping and running. If growing bamboo in your garden, it is important to understand the differences which were noted more than 700 years ago in drawings.

Running bamboos can cause awful trouble in the garden where they can grow from one property to another. These bamboos are classified as noxious weeds in some areas of Sydney. So if you're growing running bamboo such as the Golden Bamboo (Phyllostachys aurea), Green Onion bamboo (Pseudosasa japonica 'Tsutsuminia') or Black bamboo (Phyllostachys nigra) confine them in pots or in garden beds lined with concrete, special rubber or other impervious barriers. The depth of the barrier needed varies among species but to be safe it should be at least 1m (3') deep.