Still searching for holiday gift ideas for friends and family who are gardeners or nature lovers? Here are ten suggestions which should make them smile on Christmas morning.
- Bee Drinking Ball and Butterfly Puddle Stones
Your garden may be bursting with brightly colored zinnias, daisies, and echinacea, but bees and butterflies also need clean drinking water, a safe place to rest, and minerals for maintaining their health. A bee drinking ball like this one created by Stephen Kitras is a beautiful glass orb with a textured surface designed to catch and hold water from dew, rain, and your garden hose. These orbs not only look spectacular in the garden, but they also prevent bees from drowning by serving up shallow mini drinks for your humming pollinator guests.
https://www.uncommongoods.com/product/bee-drinking-garden-ball?
Butterflies love to gather in warm, sunny mud puddles to sunbathe and obtain the minerals they need. This hand painted ceramic puddling stone offers a low maintenance, beautiful, and beneficial way to attract those winged pollinators to your garden. All you need to do is find a sunny location amidst the flowers and add a bit of sand, salt, and water to the ceramic well. As the water evaporates, it leaves behind invaluable minerals and a place for butterflies to gather. Once the butterflies notice the puddle garden, they regularly return. I love this puddle stone. Last summer, it took a week or so for the butterflies to find mine, but once they did, I had butterflies visiting almost every day.
https://www.amazon.com/Gardeners-Supply-Company-Pollinator-Butterflies/
- Birth Month Flower Grow Kit
This is a lovely and thoughtful way to personalize a floral gift for the gardener in your life. I have even bought this for friends and family who don’t have a green thumb and they still loved it because of its sentimental value. The seeds selected are easy to grow, and the vases can be washed and used for flower cuttings or other uses later. There are several companies, like Uncommon Goods and Amazon who offer this item, so feel free to look around for the product which best suits your price range and presentation.
https://www.uncommongoods.com/product/birth-month-flower-grow-kit
- Gardening Hat and Visor for Sun Protection
I spend a lot of time outside in the garden. Also, having naturally light blonde hair, blue-eyes, and very fair skin, I sunburn easily. That’s why I always try to don a hat or visor to protect my scalp and face from the sun’s rays. Unfortunately, many hats I’ve tried to wear in the past are uncomfortable, heavy, and cause me to overheat on hot summer days. Here are two hats I have used for years which I love. The first is a wide brim gardener’s hat with a neck flap. It has UPF 50+ protection, it is breathable, and can be easily folded or rolled up so you can pack it with you in your gardener’s apron, bag, or purse. I bought mine a few years back from Amazon and the price is still quite decent. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B079NPKMVJ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
The second hat I wear is a visor which I received as a gift from my husband a few years ago. I use it when I don’t want or need the full coverage of a hat, yet I want to keep the sun off my face and out of my eyes. It also works great as a sport visor for pickleball. I particularly love this visor because it has Plant Lady embroidered on the brim. Very cute – a number of people have asked me where they can buy this. Mine was from Etsy, but you could probably find this – and personalize the visor as you wish – at any number of other stores.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/983093418/plant-lady-visor-gardening-visor
Garden Themed Coffee Mugs
You can find these almost anywhere. They usually don’t cost much, and mugs have practically limitless quote and design possibilities. I have been given quite a few from families and friends over the years, and they always make me smile. Here are three mugs I often use.
- Monthly Flower Subscription
Here is a unique gift for people who love flowers and/or aren’t particularly interested in gardening or may be too pressed for time to get into the dirt. For last Mother’s Day, Marty subscribed to a floral service and each month I receive a new box of beautiful fresh flowers which last for weeks. Many arrangements are quite exotic, and each delivery has always arrived fresh. Marty subscribed to Amazing Clubs.com (they also offer monthly delivery of a wide variety of other unique items such as neck ties, cakes, teddy bears, pastas, etc.), but you can also find other companies and florists who will provide regular delivery of plant and floral arrangements for your convenience. Take a look around the internet.
https://www.amazingclubs.com/flower.html
- Gardener Aprons
I would be lost without my gardener’s apron. I stuff my cellphone, twist ties, plant makers and pens, Fiskars, and pretty much anything else I need for easy reach in one of the three convenient front pockets. Also, this apron is lightweight, comfy to wear, a lovely dark green color with a sweet quote that says, “To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow,” and most importantly, it is super easy to clean. After a messy day in the garden (aren’t they all?) I simply toss it into the washer/dryer, and it looks as good as new. Get this. You will love it.
- Bird and Botany Puzzles
Every now and then Marty and I feel like working on a puzzle together. Breck’s has two lovely puzzles that will be sure to tickle the fancy of the birder or nature lover in your life. The Bird Lover’s Puzzle has 1,000 pieces, and The Botany Puzzle has 500 pieces. Both puzzles are not only beautiful, they also are educational in that they have the names of the birds and plants included under each image. A nice addition for an indoor nature-related family activity.
https://www.brecksgifts.com/product/bird-and-botany-puzzles
- Nature Inspired Books, DVDs, and Television Shows
Here’s a gift suggestion that can help you and friends and loved ones break away from social networking and the usual television entertainment options. There are myriad books, entertaining (and educational) DVDs, and television series on practically any aspect of gardening, wildlife, or nature which may be of interest to you. I love to watch anything by David Attenborough, The Blue Planet Series, and the Planet Earth Shows. But I also encourage you to watch Netflix’s My Octopus Teacher with family and friends. My family and I must have watched this show at least ten times. Yet, every time, we still laugh (and cry) over how beautiful this production is. Nature books, DVDs, and shows are a great gift for encouraging family time and sharing the miracles of nature.
https://www.netflix.com/title/81045007
- Planting a Tree
Here is a great gift option for the nature lover/tree hugger on your list. Over the years, I figure I have planted thousands of trees in areas ravaged by wildfires, overgrazing, or unsavory logging practices. As much as I loved doing this in the past, my age (and my back) now discourage me from doing this for more than a weekend. Nevertheless, I still wanted to be involved in some way. Fortunately, I stumbled upon OneTreePlanted. This is a great organization which supports the environment and protects biodiversity by planting trees around the world – North America, Latin America, Africa, Asia, and Europe. Their motto is, “One Dollar. One Tree. One Planet.” For every dollar donated, OneTreePlanted will plant one tree in the location of the world of your choice. Think about it. For the cost of one dinner out with friends, you could plant (at least) 40-50 trees and help the earth for generations. Here is how to contact them:
- Nature and Wildlife Organizations
In a similar spirt as OneTreePlanted, there are several other reputable and worthy nature and wildlife conservation organizations which could use your help. A holiday gift donation to an organization of your choice for yourself or your family and friends is another thoughtful and sustainable way to help the earth. Here are some of the organizations I support:
https://www.worldwildlife.org/
Happy gifting.
