What a wonderful and thoughtful gift. A potted snowberry plant (Symphoricapos albus) can go into the garden anytime the ground is not frozen. This adaptable shrub will thrive in poor soil and very wet soil but it can spread from underground rhizomes so keep an eye on those roots if you don't want a thicket. Now every winter you and the birds can enjoy the white berries that cling to the branches. Keep growing, Marianne Binetti