Hello! Welp, the holidays are here, and if you’re like me, you’re starting to wonder just WHAT you’re going to get for your special people for gifts. You want your gifts to be thoughtful, useful, and shimmering with an “only I could find you something so perfect!” vibe.
I’ve been gardening since I was a little girl and I’ve seen a lot of gardening junk doodads that didn’t quite pan out, but I also know of a LOT of items that I use and I love and …to help you KNOCK your shopping out of the park…I’m going to share those with you today.
By the way, none of these items are sponsored. They’re all items that either have actually been gifted to me, I’ve purchased for myself, and there are a few that I don’t actually own that are on my own personal wish list. Some of the links below are affiliate links, which may pay me a small commission. Other links are not affiliate links. Just trying to get you connected with the goods!
BONUS! Within this list are a few things for outdoor gardeners, but there are also some great gardening gift ideas for the indoor gardeners in your life (the ones who love their houseplants) and of course, composters. I love sharing gardening and composting ideas with you, and you can follow along here for all the goods, or you can find me on YouTube, Instagram @Burbs_and_Blooms, or Facebook.
#1: Chicken wire cloche
The first gardening gift idea is this fantastic chicken wire cloche from Gardener’s Supply. It’s a great tool that covers up a plant to protect it from critters. These chicken wire cloches are effective AND they look really nice. Plus, they’re very easy to stake into the soil with landscape staples, if you have anything that could overturn them.
The next gift idea that I have for the gardener in your life is this Fiskars tool caddy. It affixes around any five gallon bucket (your own). I LOVE THIS THING! It holds all of my hand tools, garden trimmings, and often it also totes around small bags of soil or fertilizer, or even a few plants on their way into the yard.
Literally every day I’m in the garden, I have my tool caddy with me. It keeps me from having to constantly go back to the garage for my tools. It’s also held up well. This thing is over 10 years old and still going strong, whereas I’ve had other items that are nylon or canvas material that literally start to crumble after a few years.
The next garden-related gift idea is this cute little solar powered fountain. I bought this for myself off of Amazon and I took a chance because the reviews weren’t great, but I’ve been really happy with this solar fountain.
You have to be careful to not let the water level get too low (or the pump will burn itself out), but this fountain adds that perfect bubbling water sound to the garden or patio. I did drill the holes out just a little bit bigger to reduce the height of the water stream, slow down evaporation, and then it was perfect.
Next up is my favorite pot. It says “Plant Lady is the New Cat Lady.” I think it’s so cute and yet, I actually don’t have that many houseplants! I just think it’s really fun and it makes me smile every time I see it. I went looking for this and SADLY(!) could not find this exact item on the internet. I did find a similar mug, and an Etsy decal which you could apply yourself to a pot. There are also pillows and various other items, mostly found on Etsy. (Amazon had a few options, but not my favorite designs.)
Another gift that I have really, really enjoyed has been these battery operated string lights… in house plants! They are so whimsical in house plants, but of course you can do lots of things with these. I’ve seen them in gorgeous, simple centerpieces with Christmas ball ornaments or pine cones. This particular strand is actually from Pier One and has a remote control with lots of functions AND multiple strands can be programmed to one remote control. Pretty rad, no? Here’s also an Amazon option for you Prime folks.
Another great gift idea for gardeners is this fun little 3-way light meter. It’s a gadget that measures moisture, pH and light for your house plants. I’ve only ever used it as a light meter, but it has helped me to determine which plans are getting too much light or not enough light so I could move them to better spots. This is a useful, inexpensive, item, especially for those with indoor plants (or maybe those struggling to have indoor plants?)
Now the next two holiday gift ideas I have are actually for composters and I don’t own these. These are on my wishlist. The first one is a composting thermometer. After you have the basics down of composting, it becomes sort of this self-imposed challenge to get your pile to heat up even faster and break down even faster! This composting thermometer would be a GREAT tool to help you do that because you can get a read on the pile’s internal temperature is, every time you’re out there. If it’s not hot enough, you’ll need to add greens, etc etc. (If you’re new to composting, check out my post on 3 Tips for Getting Started and you’ll be off to a good start….mostly!).
The next idea is also for composters and that is this really neat looking adjustable sifter. You’ve seen my homemade sifter that I use to sift out finished compost and it’s pretty rude and crude… but it gets the job done!This retail version looks quite a lot sturdier and has interchangeable meshes so you can adjust it for the job that you’re doing. I think it’d be a great upgrade from my DIY jobby-doo. (You’ve seen my sifter? And you agree it’s not the most streamlined piece of engineering? We’re on the same page, then!)
Finally, I’ve saved the best, gift idea for gardeners for last. This is the absolute BEST gardening gift because it’s amazing for brand-new, beginner gardeners, and it’s equally appreciated by experienced gardeners (unless they’re the special type of gardener who wants dirt under their nails while they’re squishing bugs and slugs by hand……). The best holiday gardening gift idea that I have for you……are Atlas Nitrile Touch gardening gloves.
I’ve tried TONS of gardening gloves, and NOTHING compares to the nitrile “Touch” gloves. They have great grip, snugness, don’t make my hands sweaty, and they last a long time, even with several turns through the washing machine. They’re like magical extensions of my fingers that allow me to reach under plants with no fear, de-bug when I have to, plant without gobs of dirt caked under my fingernails, tend to the compost and generally be a garden NINJA.
So there you have it. Just by chance, that happened to be nine (not ten. how boring. Everyone does “10”!) of the best holiday gift ideas for gardeners or composters, most of which come with my firsthand experience.
What was your favorite garden-related gift idea? Please tell us down in the comments below. I would love to hear if this helped you out with any of your shopping.
Your Self-Appointed Neighborhood Garden Ninja (in brand-new, purple nitrile gloves!),
–Katie
Burbs & Blooms 