5 Earth-Friendly Holiday Gift Ideas for Gardeners

If you have family and friends who love to get dirt under their fingers and tend a flower or veggie garden, offering them something that gets them excited for spring might be just the perfect gift.

The great thing about buying gifts for gardeners is that often what they want or need is useful, great for the environment, good for them, and maybe even you! You don’t end up buying unwanted stuff that ends up at the thrift store or collecting dust.

Check out these fun and inspiring ideas for holiday gifts for gardeners.

1. Tool Sharpening

Source: GrowVeg/YouTube

Give your recipient a gift certificate for a tool cleaning and sharpening service. Look in the local area for businesses that provide this service, and ask your friend to gather up all of the pruning tools, spades, and hoes, and take them away to be spruced up in time for spring.

If you are in a position to do it yourself, even better. There are lots of resources online that teach you how to sharpen and fix up gardening tools. Either way, your loved one can start the season with tip-top tools!

2. Pretty Plant Pots

Source: homesteady/YouTube

Whether your plant-loving friend loves indoor or out plants, often a pretty plant pot is just what is needed. To keep things better for the planet, start your holiday shopping early and look for gorgeous pots at garage sales throughout the summer. If you are a little late for that, keep your eyes out at thrift stores or classifieds.

However, you must clean the pots carefully. Not only do you not want to give your friends a filthy present, but plant pots can carry bacteria and diseases that you might transfer to other plants. You don’t want to do this.

It is common to use a bleach solution to clean pots, but if you’d prefer to steer away from this, a solution of organic soap and some vinegar in hot water will do the trick. Give the pots a good clean and leave them in the sun to dry. Now, you can give a gift that is as good as new.

3. Seeds

One thing gardeners always need is seeds. You might know your recipient well enough to know exactly what they need in the seed department, so you can just go ahead and get them a great selection of seed packets. Think about finding a local seed supplier that offers organic, heirloom, and open-pollinated seeds.

If you aren’t worried about your gift being a surprise, you can always ask your loved one for a list of seeds they know they are going to need for their spring garden. On the other hand, if you want the surprise aspect of the gift, but have no idea what to get, buy then a gift certificate for a seed supplier or nursery. This will be one gift certificate that won’t be re-gifted.

4. Homemade Tool Belt

Source: BuzzFeed Nifty/YouTube

A tool belt is a great help for gardeners that need to lug a host of hand tools and seed packets around the garden with them, and a homemade belt is extra special. All you need is an old pair of jeans. The only catch is that you need a pair that would fit your friend. That is something you will have to figure out yourself! Once you know their size, head to the thrift shop.

This craft requires very little sewing skill. This isn’t haute couture! Just cut out the ‘bottom’ of the jeans, removing the front part and the legs, leaving the waistband in place.  Cut extra pieces of fabric from the cut-off denim and sew those onto the tool belt as extra pockets. Sew hems to prevent fraying.

5. A Coupon for Your Time

Another gift that might please your gardening friend is a coupon for your time. A promise of a few hours, a day, or even a weekend of free labor might be an invaluable gift. There is an awful lot of work to be done preparing a garden for spring planting. This is also a great excuse to just spend a bit of time with a loved one, and it makes the perfect waste-free present.

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