Gifts for the Gardener

Posted by Nick Niesen on November 1st, 2010

Is there a gardener you need to buy a gift for? Christmas is as great a reason as you can get to buy gifts for that special gardener. You don't have to look far to find great gifts for gardeners. Every year there seem to be new gadgets coming out and several on-line websites have wonderful gardening gifts. A couple of them are www.gardenscape.on.ca/ and www.behnkes.com. Both sites have an abundance of unique gifts for the gardener. Local hardware or home improvement stores will also have a good line of gifts for that special gardener in your life.

Practical gifts such as a shovel or trowel, garden hoses or other digging and planting tools are most always welcomed but then there are also the whimsical items to add that extra special touch to a garden.

A basket full of goodies for the gardener is also a great gift idea. Buy one already made or personalize one by adding your own special touches. A basket with the essentials is a good choice. It could include gloves, poison oak/ivy medication, fertilizer, twister ties, rain gauge, and disposable towels etc. You could include an Old Farmers Almanac if your favorite gardener would appreciate such "old school" methods for finding the best time to plant their vegetables and flowers.

Gardening books may need to be on your shopping list. Gardening books can be found anywhere and found on an endless variety of topics. Choose among specialty garden books, such as vegetable gardens, wild flower gardens, or formal gardens. Maybe a book on the subject of perennials and annuals, which flowers are best suited for your climate? How about buying plants that are best suited for your soil type? The local bookstore will have a whole section devoted to gardening books, it's big business.

Perhaps your gardener wants to attract butterflies or hummingbirds? Or maybe they will after reading a book you gave them for Christmas about the appropriate types of flowers to plant to draw them to the garden. You can also will different hummingbird feeders that will keep these beautiful birds coming back again and again.

Garden stones are another popular gift for gardeners. Garden stones can be unusual shapes, colorful, humorous and can be personalized. You can even get kits to make garden stones with a child's hand print and their name added to it, a wonderful way to span the generations and bring the little ones into the gardening world. What a wonderful memories that would make for the child and the gardener. Round garden stones can be bought and painted with the family name to make an extra special gift for a garden lover. You can put the year the marriage was established or maybe the year that the garden was started. Your personalization can make even an ordinary gift something very special, a real tribute.

On the more practical side, there are countless gifts to choose from such as special boxes to store your garden hoses and hose carts. Fertilizer sprinklers and water sprinklers are also good gifts. A really cute water sprinkler I found was in the shape of a John Deere Tractor.

A popular item for gardens is the gazing ball, to be honest I just don't get the attraction but many do. They're found in all sizes and colors and add a fanciful touch to the garden. Holders for the gazing balls come in many shapes, sizes and materials. A favorite of many is a little angel holding a small gazing ball. Perhaps I need to "gaze" into one for a while and learn the attraction.

Wind spinners and flags are also popular for the gardener. Spinners are available in a variety of colors such as the rainbow spinner and a patriotic, red, white, and blue spinner. Flags can be changed throughout the year changing with the seasons. I was surprised to learn of the many varieties of garden flags. Their growing popularity is due to the ability to give the garden a different look by changing them frequently, with the seasons, the crops, or the weather.

Have a taste for the exotic? You can find exotic plants such as the amaryllis exotica, or unusual items such as the shitake mushroom log. How about an Italian herb garden or a ginkgo tree growing kit? You may be surprised to learn of all that is available.

Animal or angel statues of any size make great gifts. Birdbaths are another added attraction to a garden that never goes out of style. I guess because birds can add so much to a garden and can also help control insects. But whatever you decide on know the greatest gift is the thought you put into it. There are gifts out there for every gardener, it's a growing world and you can never go wrong as long as your heart is in your gift.