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If you're looking for the best gifts for gardeners, you probably know someone who waxes poetic about things like raised beds and compost. Gardening has seen a boom in popularity the past few years, and I love to garden so much that I have tricked my workplace into letting me write about it on a regular basis, even though this is a food website. If you have a loved one who happens to also be a dedicated gardener, chances are they spent all winter resting on the windowsill in somber repose, waiting for spring to come. For some of us, indoor plants simply aren't enough. All the more reason to celebrate this spring by giving them a gift that helps them get back out into the yard.
Here's the thing, though: If you yourself aren't the owner of a green thumb, there’s a good chance the most obvious gift ideas that come to mind won’t be what a gardener needs. Your beloved plant lover probably wont be too enthused over a grow kit for an indoor herb garden, a tote that says "I <3 Succulents", or a glass terrarium. You can do much better than that.
I compiled this list of the best gifts for gardeners, including practical-yet-niche tools, beautifully designed attire for mucking about outside, and things they wouldn't think to buy themselves. If you don't know much about gardening, don't worry; put down the bird feeder (a.k.a. squirrel magnet) and I'll help you out. Read on for all the best gifts for gardeners.
Practical goods and accessories
Furniture, decor, and ambiance
Essential tools and equipment
I have written at length about the usefulness of a hori hori hand tool. It's a supercharged garden trowel that cuts, digs, saws, tills, and measures, replacing the need for a full arsenal of gardening tools. I'd argue that any luxe garden tool set with ergonomic handles and all the fixings pales in comparison to this simple do-it-all tool.
Not only do I love how a sickle looks, but it's also excellent for uprooting weeds without damaging precious nearby plants.
I love Opinel pocket knives (I've made that clear in the past). I use mine all the time while gardening, whether I'm opening bags of soil or trimming the thorns off of cut roses. You can choose between the low-maintenance stainless steel version or the sharp-but-slightly-finicky carbon-steel version, depending on whether your gift recipient happens to be a knife enthusiast or not.
The garden minimalist will appreciate this wire saw, which stores neatly in a mesh bag and can take on tough woody stems and small to medium sized branches in places where large saws might be difficult to maneuver.
Any gardener will need a year-round storage container to keep all their trowels and spades dry and rust-free. Toyo tool boxes have a cult following thanks to their charming and sturdy form factor that prioritizes organization. Fill it with small tools to assemble a gardening gift set, if you want to go all out.
Niwaki is the name in garden shears and pruners—the horticultural equivalent of a luxurious Japanese chef's knife. This pair of snips features a simple handle wound with rattan; it's a gorgeous tool for harvesting mint and basil from a thriving herb garden.
Alongside Niwaki, Felco is a brand with a reputation for high-quality, sharp clippers, loppers, and shears that last a long time. These pruners are a little more heavy duty than the snips above, ideal for trimming suckers, pruning roses and cutting through all manner of small woody stems.
Most hoses are frustrating and unwieldy, and most gardeners just put up with them. Get the gardener in your life this one, which never kinks and doesn't hold shape memory. You may not understand or care what that means, but trust me, they will.
My coworker and fellow gardener Emily Farris tested watering cans, and she chose this as the winner, saying that it addresses nearly every complaint one might have about a watering can.
I didn't actually know these existed until I began making this gift guide. I feel like the absolute brilliance of this foldable garden cart is pretty self-explanatory. I will probably be buying one for myself.
I might have an affinity for collapsible gardening tools, but hey, the more space-conscious the better. The adjustable nature of this rake also means that you can adjust the length and span of the rake tines to your exact preferences.
A nice foam cushion is never a bad gift idea for someone with a ton of planting in store this season. Their knees will thank you.
Gardening apparel
Gardening shoes should be waterproof and easy to kneel in, and the Plasticana garden clogs check both those boxes. They're easy to slip on and off when you're going in and out of the house, and they also boast some fashion clout as well.
It is incredibly easy to ruin more than one pair of cheap gardening gloves in a season. An avid gardener will appreciate a nice pair like these, which are made from durable goatskin. Product-test winning Vermont gloves cost a pretty penny, but they are worth the comfort and durability they offer.
This is a Cornish fisherman's smock, which has been a popular piece of utilitarian workwear for more than a century. It may be meant for the sea, but the sturdy sailcloth construction means it functions as a perfect gardening smock—one that will last a lifetime.
A practical garden apron with plenty of pockets is ideal for a day toiling in the duff; gardeners can keep all of their tools on hand and keep their clothes free of dirt.
Often sunscreen alone is inadequate protection for a long day spent outside under the sun. I know that my skin would certainly fry without proper coverage, which is why I always garden with a sun hat. This Solbari hat is great because it gives you the option to go full overkill, but has detachable parts for toned down—but still effective—UV protection.
Sometimes you can't avoid being arms-deep in a rose bush, and canvas arm protectors are the perfect tool to shield you from wayward thorns.
For something that's more of a splurge, this adjustable leather tool belt would make for a very special gift. It can accommodate three different tools, and the bottom panel is constructed from heavyweight leather that can hold up against sharp blades and points.
Practical goods and accessories
This tape is made out of real Japanese cedar bark, and can serve a variety of concealing purposes. Use it to protect young or vulnerable tree trunks, or disguise unsightly pvc pipes, metal posts, and other eyesores in the garden that aren't easily removed.
Believe it or not, British Nutscene gardening twine is the OG gardening twine (patented in 1926). It's dyed green so it's “not-seen” when wrapped around the stem of a plant, hence the name “Nutscene”. That fact alone is worth the gift, in my opinion.
This is the perfect gift for a gardener who likes to take meticulous records of seed packet purchase dates and seasonal weather predictions. A Rite in the Rain journal can hold up against dirt and water, keeping the written contents inside intact.
I, for one, have always wanted to saunter around an English garden, filling a harvest basket tucked in the bow of my arm with fragrant blossoms and fat vegetables. Any person with an equally powerful Beatrix Potter complex will feel the same way, and will appreciate this unique gift.
Not everybody has the space for a full-on composting heap, so a bokashi composting system, which can be kept indoors, is perfect for an urban gardener with a need for a compost bin.
Weck jars are the stylish older siblings of your standard mason jars—and they're a bit on the pricey side. If you have a small-time preserver on your hands, they'll love showing off their jams in these pretty vessels.
Gardening always requires a bit of sweeping, and a handsome, handmade whisk broom makes is ideal for tidying up after some messy repotting, or for simply dispatching wayward dirt that followed you inside. It also will look quite nice hanging in a mudroom or by the back door.
This sunscreen is unlike anything I've ever used. It's sheer on the skin and blends in better than any other. It's expensive, I know, which is what makes it actually gift-worthy for someone who loves to spend all day outside.
For the gardener that prefers to go glove-free, MacKenzie's soap can make even the most haggard and filthy hands ready for polite society. It's a thick, lemony paste full of walnut husks, that'll scrub every last bit of dirt from your palms, cuticles, and the undersides of your fingernails.
Orris root powder is a natural perfume fixative; it keeps the volatile fragrant oils on plants from evaporating. This is a great gift for anybody with a penchant for drying and preserving aromatic summer flowers for display on the dinner table.
Expert gardeners know to get a head start on gardening season, planting their seeds indoors well before the last frost of the year. This grow light, which blends both style and function, is ideal for early-season germination.
Many beginners attempt to grow their own produce and become discouraged after a lackluster harvest year, but chances are their soil just wasn't right. Proper nutrients are vital for robust fruits and veggies, and a soil test is the best way to run a diagnostic on your garden.
This simple analog tool lets you make DIY stand-alone pots from recycled newspaper. Start seeds in those pots and the whole thing can go directly into the ground once the seedlings are big enough. Watch a tutorial of how it works here.
Organized gardeners use labels to keep track of what they plant: It's easy to forget exactly where you put those squash seeds. These slate markers won't rot over time, and the wax pen won't wash off when they get wet, meaning that these plant markers will always be legible and can be reused indefinitely.
After plucking potatoes and carrots from the vegetable garden, your favorite gardener will need to give them a little scrub to remove dirt and debris. This vegetable brush has two kinds of bristles, so it can be used on both tough and delicate produce.
Furniture, decor, and ambiance
The Shakers knew how to make simple, utilitarian goods and their most iconic contribution to the world of design is the peg rack. Perfect for hanging garden tools, a simple wooden peg rack is both beautiful and functional.
This mango wood box treats seeds like the heirlooms they are. Go above and beyond and fill it with seed packets if you're really feeling thoughtful.
These reusable bags are great for annual plantings, and they're so aesthetically-pleasing, people will want to show them off. Once the season is over, you can empty, store, and reuse them again and again.
This steel boot tray is quite an upgrade from the typical plastic variety you'd find at the hardware store. The mesh grate allows for muddy boots and shoes to completely dry off, and will keep an entryway nice and tidy.
Solar powered lighting has a way of elevating a garden into a truly transcendent space. Hang these lanterns from the branches of a large tree to create an evening canopy of light, or nestle them into a flowerbed to make it glow from within.
Seibert & Rice is a company that imports these pots from Impruenta, Italy, where artisans have been producing stunning terra cotta ceramics for centuries. Far more durable than what you'd find at the garden center, these pots are thick, and can withstand years of fluctuating temperature and moisture levels.
This is as much a gift for the pollinators that dwell in their garden as it is for the gardener—specifically the bumblebees. If you didn't know, those rotund, buzzing sprites don't live in hives like honey bees do. Bumblebees like to make solitary homes in wood piles and other detritus. To them, this wooden bee hive is like stumbling upon a completely vacant dream home ready for the taking.
Charmingly analog weather instruments
Sure, modern science made these obsolete over a century ago, but they're still a fascinating tool for anybody who likes to keep an eye on the weather, i.e. most gardeners. A barometer is a simple and fascinating way to gauge relative air pressure by observing the water level rise and fall in the spout. When the water level is low, the weather's good; when the water rises high, a storm's a comin'!
This smart-yet-simple climate meter allows you to keep an eye both on temperature and humidity. It's especially great for monitoring climate conditions for finicky indoor houseplants.
Hardcore gardeners can optimize the overall health of their plants by keeping an eye on hyperlocal rainfall levels.
Gardening books
So not really a book per se, the Whole Seed Catalog is an essential for anybody looking for new and unique heirloom varietals. A lot of people like buying seeds in the winter, which is why this is such a good holiday gift.
This book introduced me to propagating many years ago, and while it may not seem like a book for the advanced gardener, it is a surprising little vessel of insights for a range of propagation methods, some actually quite advanced.
Julia Watkins shares many brilliant insights on gardening in this book, where she presents an extensive array of practical gardening know-how in an approachable, easy-to-understand format. Advanced gardeners might find more meaning in the underlying principle of Watkins' book, that gardens should be messy.
Lee Reich is a well-established expert in organic gardening, and any of his books are worth paging through. Weedless Gardening provides is an approachable introduction to no-till gardening.
