My neighbors and friends have nailed the perfect gift for me that’s good for any occasion year-round: a gift certificate to the local garden center. I’m an adult who knows what I want, and a gift certificate means I get to go on a shopping spree at the place all my money goes anyways. If you’re shopping for a gardener and want to really dazzle them, let me, a lifelong gardener, give you some guidance.
Get them a garden hod
Vegetable gardeners, flower gardeners, everyone loves a hod—a fancy name for a type of basket—and if they already have one, they’d certainly love a second one. Better than the regular baskets, boxes, or bowls gardeners sometimes wander around the garden with to collect things, a hod is made specifically for that purpose. Sturdy, weather and water resistant, these garden carriers are always handy and beautiful.
Burpee’s Garden Hod ($69.95)
Large Modern Hod ($32.99)
Customizable Hod ($65)
Gorgeous gardening books
Every year, tons of new gardening books hit the shelves: Books on better ways to garden, how to make money at it, and more artistic books that focus on the color, intention, and the zen of gardening. Like eye candy for people who love to dig, these books are great this time of year to inspire us as we suffer through the cold, garden-less months. Here are some of the best from 2023. Also consider audiobooks for those gardeners who prefer to listen as they putter about the yard.
A Year Full of Veg: A Harvest for All Seasons by Sarah Raven ($15.13)
The Cut Flower Sourcebook: Exceptional Perennials and Woody Plants for Cutting by Rachel Siegfried ($42.90)
Resilient Garden: Sustainable Gardening for a Changing Climate by Tom Massey ($29.99)
Garden: Exploring the Horticultural World by Phaidon ($64.95)
Why Women Grow: Stories of Soil, Sisterhood and Survival by Alice Vincent ($24.23)
Get them a gift certificate
Don’t overthink this. If you know your recipient’s favorite seed house, bulb house, or local nursery, just get them the gift that lets them choose on their own. If you don’t know their favorite spots, consider these.
For the flower enthusiast, Floret Flower Farm gift card or
For the prolific vegetable gardener who wants the latest and greatest vegetables, Johnny’s Selected Seeds gift certificate or
Burpee Seeds gift card
For gardeners who love tulips and other spring flowers, Eden Brothers gift certificate or
Holland Bulb Farm gift card
Havens for pollinators
Not all gardeners are bird nuts, but every single gardener loves a pollinator, so the gift of mason bees is almost always going to be appreciated. These aren’t full bee hives; mason bees are an essential part of every single garden and don’t require much care from the gardener. Consider these gift sets from Crown Bees, my favorite outpost for responsible solitary bees. The actual gift you’ll give this time of year is the bee house itself, but that includes free mason bees that are delivered later, in the spring. Be sure to only buy bee houses from reputable places; there are tons of low end versions that can be harmful to solitary bees.
Bee chalet with bees ($89.95)
Bee cabana with bees ($59.95)
A pair of Felco pruners
Felco pruners are the Manolos of gardening. Expensive (for a pair of shears) and beautiful, they come in many models. Most gardeners know the number of their favorite model, likely after having tried it out at their local garden center. If you know your recipient’s model, this is a gorgeous gift idea. If not, consider a gift certificate so they can get the one they want—or choose one of these models, which are always welcome.
Left-handed pruners: Felco 9, Felco 10, Felco 16, Felco 17 ($64-84)
For wrist issues: Felco 7 ($89.12)
What I don’t recommend
In addition to all of the lovely gift ideas above, I think it’s important to flag a few potentially problematic gift ideas you might be considering. The intention is surely admirable, but let me explain why the following ideas are worth a skip.
Garden decor
You wouldn’t buy an interior decorator a roll of wallpaper, and gardeners similarly have very specific ideas about how their yard should look. Unless you know your recipient really well, skip the gnomes and funny garden ephemera. If, however, you know your recipient loves garden spheres or chimes, then your addition to their collection will likely be well-received.
Seeds
Wildflower seed mixes or packets of seeds might make sense as a gift giver, but unless your recipient is a very new gardener or one who has specifically noted they want seeds, this is not a great idea. If you save your own seeds from a plant you’ve grown or one you see out in the world and want to share those, however, that would be a very touching gift.
Birdhouses
Birdhouses can often attract squirrels and other garden creatures that can cause garden havoc. Unless you know the very specific kind your gardening friend likes, let them buy their own.
