Ten Gift Ideas For the Gardener on Your Shopping List
One of the most popular hobbies around is gardening and there’s nothing a true gardener loves more than to receive gardening related gifts. There are hundreds of gardening gift ideas for both the beginner and expert gardener. The fun thing about gardening gifts is that they are easy to find and can be purchased just about anywhere including online.
1- If buying a gardening gift for a beginner, an instructional or informational book is always a good idea. There are many books available on organic gardening, themed gardens and general purpose books that cover a little bit of everything.
2- If your gardening friend is also computer literate, a garden and landscape planning program could also be much appreciated, there are some very realistic ones available now.
3- Whether giving to a novice or experienced gardener, a plant, seeds or bulbs is always a great gardening gift if you have an idea of what they like or want. A beginner is probably more open to trying different kinds of plants whereas an experienced gardener probably has specific ideas about what they want in their flower beds. A vegetable gardener would surely appreciate seeds for their preferred vegetables or even seedlings. A gardener who loves to cook is sure to appreciate a gift of herb plants.
4- Theme gardening gifts using plants can also be loads of fun. An herb can come with an attached card including a recipe using that herb. A plant that produces nectar and will attract butterflies can be coupled with a book on butterflies (or hummingbirds).
5- Possibly the best and most common, gardening gift is gardening tools. This can be anything as simple as a hoe or rake to something more expensive like a tiller or compost bin. Some favourites are gloves, hedge trimmers, and sprinklers. If you are buying for someone with arthritis who just can’t bring themselves to give up their favourite past time and excellent give would be one of any number of the ergonomic gardening tools available now. There are many that have been approved by the Arthritis Society.
6- There are gardening journals available to keep track of flowers planted, care and pockets to keep seed packets and plant information sticks organized.
7- A more personal gift that requires a little more effort and is rarely though of is a calendar. You can create a beautiful one yourself using sites such as Cafe press, Kodak or Shutterfly, using photos of the recipients own garden and flowers.
8- A farmer’s almanac is also a good idea, it is full of information regarding the weather, moon phase, when to plant, when to prune; it is the best guidebook to gardening there is. A magazine subscription is a gift that gives all year long, something that is appreciated during the long winter months when it isn’t possible to indulge your passion. Many hours can be spent flipping pages and dreaming about all the things we are going to do as soon as the weather allows.
9- The ultimate gardening gift is for any gardener is a gift certificate to a nursery or store where gardening tools or plants are available. This way, your friend can get any tool they do not have in their collection, or any kind of plant their heart desires.
10- Additional gardening gift ideas include stepping stones, plant markers, decorative pots and hangers, garden art or even the simple gift of dirt, mulch or fertilizer (any real gardener would find this to be an excellent gift. One of my mother’s favourite gifts was bags and bags of dirt and sheep manure)
Coming up with the perfect gift idea can be a chore when you have no idea what to give. If you have gardeners for friends, a gardening gift will be a sure hit and it will make your gift buying simple and appreciated.
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