Whether a gardener, a black thumb or a houseplant dabbler, it’s time to think about holiday gift ideas for the gardeners in your life. To get started, I suggest making a list of things you’d like to have yourself (and subtly make sure your family sees it).

If you are like most of us, you love to give as well as to receive. Look for imaginative gifts that fit what you know about the person you wish to favor. For example, I enjoy gifting my teenaged plant-loving niece and my tree-loving husband.

My niece, whose interest in houseplants has grown over the past couple of years, is especially fun to buy for. Last year, I gave her a gift certificate from Mountain Crest Gardens, a specialist in succulents. She’s also showing an interest in their propagation. I found an e-book that’s spot-on. It’s called, “The Secrets to Propagating Succulents.” In fact, I think I’ll download it for myself.

According to ebooks.com, 62% of e-book purchases are by people 18 and 45 year old. Perhaps that explains why my niece isn’t interested in borrowing any of my hard copy gardening books.

My husband, the tree-lover, always has a need to prune. For him, I’m thinking of a safe tool or two, and perhaps a good tree book.

Here are some more holiday gift ideas for the gardeners in your life.

HOLIDAY GIFT IDEAS FOR HARVEST GARDENERS

This list is for gardeners who enjoy putting their harvest to use — whether it’s vegetables, herbs, or flowers:

1. Veggie Gardeners Gift Basket includes:
   • Garden Hod
   • Organic, non-GMO vegetable seeds
   • Ratchet Pruner
   • Gardener’s Lifetime Potting Trowel
   • Biodegradable Pots
   • Gardener’s Best® All-Purpose Organic Fertilizer
   • Eco-co® Coir Seed Starting Mix
   • Intervale Garden Row Marking Line
   • Re-Usable Plant Ties, 75’: VELCRO® self-gripping tape
2. Raised Bed Gardening for Beginners. Everything You Need to Know to Start and Sustain a Thriving Garden (Paperback)
3. Flower press kits:. For both children and adults, flower press kits are fun for preserving the beauty of summer. Inexpensive kits provide the perfect introduction to the art of pressing flowers and leaves.
4. Mason Jar Fermentation Kit. Naturally fermented foods contribute to a healthy digestive tract. Try an inexpensive kit to give the fermentation process a try.
5. Tubtrugs and Accessories. I have several sizes and use them as wash basins, weed collectors, and storage containers, but you do even more with the addition of the strainer and lid.

HOLIDAY GIFT IDEAS FOR OUTDOOR GARDENERS

Gardeners who favor the outdoors encounter their own set of challenges. For them, it’s especially important to have the right tool for the job. I have arthritis, and need some leverage when it comes to my limited hand strength. Several of these holiday gift ideas for the gardeners in you life are products that make gardening easier. Who doesn’t want that?

1. Centurion Multi-gear 2x Telescopic By-pass Lopper. Is it wrong to be in love with a lopper? I thought my garden helper was going to “accidentally” take it home after spending the afternoon singing its praises. The lopper is on the weighty side, but I don’t mind because it can cut branches up to 1 3/4” in diameter!
2. Fiskars 36 Inch Long-Handle Swivel Grass Shears make light work of trimming ground-level plants. This tool can be used one-handed. It’s great for small jobs and edging.
3. Root Slayer Shovel by Radius Garden, a great brand for a set of very good tools, I have all three members of the “slayer” family and find the shovel especially helpful in getting through dry, hard ground.
4. Aerocart 8-in-1 Wheelbarrow / Yard Cart / Dolly. I bought this for my husband to help him move large pots indoors for the winter. I also use it to move heavy bags of soil around the garden. It’s handy for gathering garden debris, and then wheeling it to the curb for pick up.

Aerocart-Environment-Flower-Mover (photo courtesy of WORX)

5. Fiskars 30 Gallon Kangaroo Gardening Bag. This is another go-to item for filling with lightweight debris, including leaves that can be   carried to the curb for organic waste pickup.

6. Mobile Tool Storage Caddy is a wonderful back and time saver, with room for a 5-gallon bucket for holding tools. I use it to reduce clutter on my patio, which is where my shovels, trowels, and everything else end up.

Mobile Tool Storage Caddy (photo courtesy of Gardener’s Supply Company)

7. Ginkgo: The Tree That Time Forgot. Easily one of my husband’s favorite books, it tells the fascinating story of this ancient tree, and how arboretums and public gardens work to save this and other nearly-extinct trees.

HOLIDAY GIFT IDEAS FOR INDOOR LIFESTYLE GARDENERS

Plants have become a way of life for indoor gardeners. They don’t just want to grow plants, they want them to enhance their surroundings. Here are some holiday gift ideas for the gardeners in you life that will add a hint of green to any household.

1. Gardening Under Lights: The Complete Guide for Indoor Growers, by Leslie F. Halleck, is a much-needed, and very comprehensive look at indoor lighting.
2. Bamboo Grow Light Garden is the all-in-one, foolproof system for growing everything from medium-sized succulents and other houseplants. It can be installed anywhere you want to grow plants because it comes with its own lights.

Bamboo Grolight Garden (photo courtesy of Gardener’s Supply Company)

3. The Secrets to Propagating Succulents. (ebook).

4. Fiskars Softouch Micro-Tip Pruning Snips are great for houseplants.

5. Josh’s Frogs and Plants gift cards for all kinds of plants and even invertebrates like frogs, toads, geckos, and more.

6. 50 Simple Indoor Miniature Gardens by Catherine Delvaux isn’t the typical how-to book on growing houseplants. This book is packed with ideas for how to best display them in your home and plenty of photos make it all the more inspiring.

HOLIDAY GIFT IDEAS FOR HABITAT GARDENERS

This gardener understands that it’s about much more than plants, and that each level of the ecosystem is both important and fun to watch.

1. Eastern Bluebird nest box. We had a pair of bluebirds after we put up this box.

Bluebird Net Box 6165 (photo by Jean Starr)

2. Songbird Tweets® Cupcakes are attractively packaged and make the perfect gift for anyone who likes to watch the wild birds in their gardens.

3. Arundale 360 Sky Cafe Wild Bird Feeder. I really like this bird feeder for its wide ‘veranda’, because it prevents the seeds from getting wet in a rainstorm. It has plenty of feeding stations and also deters squirrels.

4. Beekeeping kit from Dadant and Sons. A few years ago I met a couple of local people who kept bees and harvested their own honey. Dadant is one of the companies that provide everything you need to begin the hobby. Check out the Old Farmer’s Almanac to find out where you can buy the bees.

5. The Monarch Butterfly Shop. Butterfly kits are great holiday gifts for anyone interested in butterflies. My friend, Dolly Foster, who has been raising Monarchs for decades. She recommends kits and supplies from this source. Dolly never buys eggs or caterpillars online, however, saying it’s much better to collect from your own garden for the healthiest stock.

While making your list of gifts to buy, don’t forget to give yourself a gift as well. Some of these are what I’d consider “starter gifts,” meant to inspire someone who needs a little nudge. Others will become tools that are so indispensable the recipient will always remember you for giving it. Many of these items are available online, while others can be found at your local garden center. Happy holidays!