Selecting holiday gifts for the gardener in your life can be stressful, especially out-of-season. Jean Starr, one of our top contributors, has organized several gift-giving lists for your consideration. You can find most of the ideas online. Of course, there’s overlap in the lists. For instance, a trowel can be used by any type of gardener, but there are specialized types that might appeal to, say, someone with arthritis. Personally, Jean owns many of these items, and can recommend them wholeheartedly.

Edibles

Jean starts with gifts for the Edible Gardener (who cooks!). Regardless of what your edibles gardener grows, the following items will be well-received.

• AeroGarden. Get your herbs and veggies growing out-of-season and indoors with one of these self-contained hydroponic growing systems from Scotts Miracle-Gro. AeroGarden has everything you’ll need such as the correct kind of light, water, plant food, and a nice variety of seed kits.
• The Heirloom Life Gardener is a book that contains an A-Z guide for organic growing. It also includes fascinating stories about edible plants from around the world. The authors, Jere and Emilee Gettle, even sell seeds through Baker Creek Seeds.
• Vacuum Food Sealer. This is a must-have item if your special gardener grows cartloads of produce. It makes preserving excess veggies easy.
• Clyde’s Garden Planner is a slide chart for vegetable planting time. It is now available for your iPhone as an iOS app ($2.99). The cost is nominal for a super useful tool.
• Territorial Seed Company is a great place for purchasing seeds and plants. You can either shop from a catalog or online. The Territorial Seed Company has a huge selection from which to choose, including heirlooms, organics and grafted plants for improved success and quicker growth. If you don’t know exactly what your gardener wants, consider purchasing a Territorial gift certificate.

Houseplants Galore

Jean’s next list is for the Indoor Gardener. Houseplant gardeners never seem to have enough plants, so adding to their menagerie is likely to be well received. All but one of the recommendations in this list are websites with online shopping capabilities.

• Almost Eden has a large selection of unusual Bonsai starter plants, fragrant plants and edibles.
• Glasshouse Works specializes in rare plants. Gift certificates are available starting at $25.
• Logee’s Plants for Home and Garden is a well-established source for rare and unusual plants, as well as the more common varieties. We recommend gift certificates.
• Telos Rare Bulbs is a bit pricey, but wonderful source for unusual plants. The minimum order is $25 plus a shipping fee of $20.
• The Indestructible Houseplant, by Tovah Martin, is a first-rate book with alternative ideas for growing indoor plants. The book also contains illustrations that show how to use plants to enliven a room. For more information about using plants for indoor décor, see Jean’s blog on the subject.

Pests & Nature

Jean’s next list is for the Warrior Gardener. This is the gardener who always seems to be waging a battle — deer, rabbits, mosquitoes or just the weather. Here are a few gift ideas that will support their ongoing war effort.

• Scarecrow Motion Activated Animal Deterrent. This is the best method I’ve found for training deer to stay away from plants. As a point of fact, it’s useful for driving away just about anything on legs. It works by shooting a burst of water when an intruder is detected. Note, Jean has a blog about dealing with deer. Click to read.
• Stoppestinfo.com, is one of the best informational websites I’ve found for deer deterrent information. It provides insights and tidbits about the dozens of liquid and granular products available for deer deterrence. Since many of the products either smell bad to humans, or are attractive to dogs, Jean suggests exercising care when placing these products as gifts under the Christmas tree.
• Thermacell mosquito repellent is great for the gardener who has trouble enjoying the outdoors in the evening or early morning. Jean reports using these for several years, and says they actually work! Patio varieties of the product are available at hardware, sporting goods, and the big box home centers.
• Technu Poison Ivy and Oak Scrub is a topical cream that may be invaluable to have around if your gardener friend comes in contact with noxious plants such as poison ivy. The brand’s website has ‘where to find it’ information.
• IvyX Pre-Contact Solution is skin solution lotion that’s used before working near poison ivy. It places a barrier between the gardener’s skin and the oils from the plant that carry the rash-inducing irritants. The website will tell you how to purchase.

Past Spring

You may have been anxiously awaiting this list from Jean, it’s for the Aching Gardener. You don’t have to be old to have aches and pains, especially on the first gardening days of spring. These tools can be used by anyone, but will be particularly welcome by those with limited strength, or arthritis.

• Radius Tools. You can’t go wrong with this brand’s tools with ergonomic handles. Originally, the company made small hand tools but they now offer a whole range of ‘gardener friendly’ spades, forks, and even sprinklers and nozzles. You can shop right on the website.
• This free publication, Arthritis and Gardening, is sponsored by the USDA, and offers ideas on how to garden, even with joint pain and limited strength.
• Ray Padula Hose Nozzles, especially the thumb control model, is one of the easiest to operate thumb-controlled hose-end nozzles. They are perfect for anyone with the arthritis in their hands. Like Jean! She found her hose-end nozzle at a local independent garden center.
• Green Heron Tools specializes in what they call “hergonomic” tools for women. They also sell a glove for arthritic hands. You can shop on their site.
• Dramm Color Point Hedge Shear. At half the weight of its closest competitor, this colorful and sturdy tool cuts without a hitch, and keeps its edge without frequent sharpening. Available at Amazon.
• VegTrug. Jean’s had her VegTrug for five years, and it’s become a fixture on her patio. It’s a sturdy, waist-high planter. Jean says it’s great for starting seeds in early spring. She likes to use it for starting lettuce and other veggies, but she’s also used it for starting cut flowers.
• Silky Zubat 270 is a professional style saw that cuts like butter. Really! It is perfect for gardeners with limited strength. It’s well-made with an excellent feel. It’s not inexpensive, but you’ll find its value every time your special gardener goes to cut a branch or saplings that may have gotten out of hand. Available from the manufacturer via Amazon.

Universal Needs

This is Jean’s Every Gardener Needs One List. No matter what your gardener grows, you’ll rack up some serious brownie points if you gift one of these items.

• Fiskars Kangaroo Gardening Bag is big, lightweight, perfect for leaves, and collapses for storage. It holds 30 gallons! It has either a soft or hard-shell bottom. Available directly from the manufacturer.
• Small snippers, either from Dramm Compact Pruners or Fiskars Softouch Micro-tip Pruning Snips. Jean has both kinds and reports that they have lasted several years. She uses them both indoors and out. Great for snipping small stems.
• Greenhouse Megastore is an online site with all kinds of gardener goodies from tools to pots and fertilizers, heck, there’s even outdoor lighting fixtures. Gift certificates are available.
• Felco is one of the best manufacturers of hand tools and makes an ergonomic pruner. Every gardener needs a pruner. These pruners are available in a number of sizes. Jean suggests it’s best to physically handle them before choosing a pair so a gift card may be a good idea.
• TubTrugs. These versatile tubs are lightweight and handy for harvesting, hauling, storing, mixing soil and so forth. They are available online.
• Nutscene Twine can be incredibly useful to a gardener. Nutscene Twine, made in Scotland, is available through Amazon in several colors.
• The American Horticultural Society Outdoor Living is a paperback guide. It is a wonderful read with a ton of detailed color photos for making all kinds of things such as a gazebo, a mosaic tabletop, a solar-powered fountain, and more.
• She Sheds is a book for the female gardener who dreams of a retreat of her own that’s located in the midst of the garden. You know the place, it’s the gardener’s equivalent of a ‘man cave’.
• And, if you’re timid about choosing a specific gardening product, go to Gardener’s Supply for a gift card.

Happy Holidays, everyone!