Gift Ideas for the Gardener in Your Life

 It's that time of year again! I sincerely hope you are able to enjoy the holiday season and not get

My daughter holding a gift that sadly, isn't
garden related.

bogged down in obligations and stress. In writing a post on gift ideas, I realize I may be buying into the more materialistic side of Christmas but rest assured, I make no money whatsoever for writing this blog and there are no affiliate links. It is my belief that a thoughtful gift builds relationships and warms the heart. If you have a loved one who enjoys gardening, or even just has a yard to take care of, then this post is designed to get your creativity going. 

1. Gardening gloves. You can never have enough. They wear out and you need new ones. I find both the leather work gloves and the rubber tipped gloves handy for different tasks. 

2. Hand tools like a soil knife or hand pruners. Don't ever buy adults plastic tools. You can find good, steal hand tools at any hardware or home improvement store. 

3. Larger tools like a spade or leaf rake are harder to wrap but are just as necessary to anyone who has a yard. 

4. A gardening magazine subscription! I suggest going to a large bookstore and looking at their magazine section. Buy the one you like best and then fill out the subscription card to on behalf of your friend. 

5. In the same vein, we gardeners love books. There are gardening books on everything from preserving food to composting to growing wildflowers. I recommend anything by Monty Don. 

6. A good sun hat is very helpful for gardening. 

7. A lovely house plant can help us plant lovers get through the winter. 

8. Gift cards to local garden centers are fantastic. The last time someone gave me a gift card for that, I spent about half of it on mulch and soil and was happy to do so. 

9. There are a multitude of funny gardening t shirts out there from "Introverted but will talk about plants" to "Save the galaxy, plant a Groot." 

10. Interesting and rare seeds. Just be sure they will grow in the climate zone your friend lives in. I will say, I recommend Baker Creek Seeds for this. 

Contrary to what you might be thinking, this post is NOT to drop hints about what I want for Christmas. However, I hope it gives you some ideas. Are you into gardening? What do you want for Christmas?

Gift Ideas for Gardeners

 So, I thought when my master gardener classes started, I'd blog about all the stuff I was learning. I am learning a lot but I just got swamped and now it's been too long since my last post. However, I feel like I'm starting to get caught up on life and have time to help you all out with your Christmas shopping. 

Please note, I make no money for this blog so my recommendations are not biased, it's just what I honestly thing would be great gifts for anyone with a green thumb. Yes, I'm kinda dropping hints for what I'd like for Christmas too. ha ha ha

First, tools. Anyone with a lawn to take care of needs certain things like a spade, leaf rake, soil knife and pruners. My advice it to check with anyone the recipient lives with to see what they already have and what needs replacing. Fiskars is an affordable brand available at most hardware stores but I'm really excited about my new higher end pruners I got from my mom for my birthday. 

Second, gloves. All gardeners need gloves, both thick leather gloves and the finer, rubber tipped ones. Even if they already have gloves, they will eventually wear out and need replacing. Honestly, you could put gloves in my stocking every year and I'd be happy. 

Third, books and magazines. We gardeners really need reading material to keep us occupied in the winter while our gardens rest. Anything from insect and plant identification books, to how too manuals, to garden travel memoirs ( I read Monty Don's book on French Gardens last winter and it was great.) Magazine subscriptions are also a great idea. Who doesn't love looking at magazines about their favorite hobby?

Finally, gift cards to local garden centers. You really can't go wrong with this one. We gardeners will just hold onto them till Spring and then pick out the plants we want. Actually, someone gave me a $50 gift card to a garden center once and I spent over half of it on mulch and dirt. It was awesome. 

Well, I hope that got you thinking. If you're a gardener and have some gift ideas in addition, please comment about them below!