19 Gifts Gardeners Will Really Appreciate
My neighbors and friends have the perfect gift for me, perfect for any occasion all year round: a gift certificate to a local garden center. I’m an adult who knows what I want, and a gift certificate means I can go shopping where all my money goes anyway. If you’re looking for a gardener and want to really wow them, let me, a longtime gardener, give you some tips.
Buy them a gardening hat
Vegetable growers, flower gardeners, everyone loves a hod—a fancy name for a basket—and if they already have one, they’re sure to love a second one. Better than the usual baskets, boxes or bowls that gardeners sometimes wander around the garden with to collect things, a box is made especially for this purpose. Durable, weather- and water-resistant, these garden carriers are always convenient and beautiful.
-
Garden Move Burpee ($69.95)
-
Large Modern Move ( $32.99).
-
Custom stroke ($65)
Great books on gardening.
Every year there are tons of new gardening books hitting the shelves: books about how to be a better gardener, how to make money at it, and also more artistic books that focus on color, intention, and the zen of gardening. An eye candy for people who love to dig, these books are perfect for this time of year and provide inspiration as we suffer through the colder months without a garden. Here are some of the best books of 2023. Also consider audio books for those gardeners who prefer to listen while pottering around in the yard.
-
A Year Full of Vegetables: A Harvest for All Seasons by Sarah Raven ($15.13)
-
A Guide to Cut Flowers: Exceptional Perennials and Woody Cut Flowers by Rachel Siegfried ($42.90)
-
The Sustainable Garden: Sustainable Gardening in a Changing Climate by Tom Massey ($29.99)
-
The Garden: An Exploration of the Horticultural World by Phaidon ($64.95)
-
Why Women Grow: Stories of Soil, Sisterhood and Survival by Alice Vincent ($24.23)
Give them a gift certificate
Don’t get too hung up on it. If you know your recipient’s favorite seed, bulb or local nursery, simply give them a gift that allows them to choose for themselves. If you don’t know their favorite places, consider these.
-
For flower lovers , a Floret Flower Farm gift card or
-
For the prolific gardener who wants the latest and greatest vegetables, a Johnny’s Selected Seeds gift certificate or
-
Gift card for Burpee seeds
-
For gardeners who love tulips and other spring flowers, a gift certificate from Eden Brothers or
-
Holland Bulb Farm Gift Card
Pollinator refuges
Not all gardeners love birds, but every gardener loves pollinators, so a gift from mason bees will almost always be appreciated. These are not full bee hives; Mason bees are an integral part of every garden and do not require much care from the gardener. Consider these gift sets from Crown Bees , my favorite outpost of responsible solitary bees. The actual gift you’ll give this time of year is the bee house itself, but it also includes free mason bees that will be delivered later in the spring. Be sure to buy bee houses only from trusted places; There are many budget versions that can be harmful to solitary bees.
-
Bee Chalet with Bees ($89.95)
-
Bee House with Bees ($59.95)
Pair of Felco pruners
Felco pruners are the Manolo of gardening. Expensive (for a pair of scissors) and beautiful, they come in different models. Most gardeners know the number of their favorite model, probably after trying it out at the local garden center. If you know the recipient’s model, this is a great gift idea. If not, consider a gift certificate so they can get the one they want, or choose one of these styles, which are always welcome.
-
Left-handed pruners: Felco 9 , Felco 10 , Felco 16 , Felco 17 ($64-$84).
-
For wrist problems: Felco 7 ($89.12).
What I don’t recommend
In addition to all the great gift ideas above, I think it’s important to note a few potentially problematic gift ideas you may be considering. The idea is certainly admirable, but let me explain why the following ideas are worth skipping.
Garden decor
You wouldn’t buy a roll of wallpaper for an interior decorator, and gardeners also have very specific ideas about what their yard should look like. If you don’t know your recipient very well, skip the gnomes and fun garden ephemera. However, if you know the recipient loves garden spheres or wind chimes, then your addition to their collection is likely to be well received.
Seeds
A wildflower seed mix or packets of seeds may make sense as a gift, but unless your recipient is a completely new gardener or someone who specifically noted they want seeds, it’s not a good idea. However, if you save your own seeds from a plant you have grown or seen in the world and want to share, it will be a very touching gift.
Birdhouses
Birdhouses often attract squirrels and other garden creatures that can cause chaos in the garden. If you don’t know which variety your gardening friend likes, let him buy his own.