Gift Guide for Gardeners - Christmas 2022

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

Like any new hobby, when you start out gardening you don’t have the gear—and you don’t really know what you need.

Any Big Box garden center will have spades, trowels, rakes, shovels, garden gloves and pruners.

It all seems simple enough.

Then if you get into it, you start to weed out the good from the non-essential, and the must-haves from the completely useless.

So if you are a newer gardener and you’d like some really great stuff for Christmas, or if you’re in the happy spot to have a gardener in your life to buy for, let me share 7 things I’ve come to rely on and that I wouldn’t garden without, at a variety of price points (some would make great stocking-stuffers).

No funny business here: I don’t get paid anything for recommending these. And you can tell by the photo that these are not donated items in shiny condition.

These are my favorite tools that I use all the time.

Roo Apron

Pockets galore for stashing seeds, tools, wire, a handful of cherry tomatoes, some flowers, a rock, trash… you get the idea.

I love that it has a buckle, unlike many other aprons, and adjustable straps so you can fit it to your shape and then it stays put.

It’s designed with a pouch that lets you harvest a lot of vegetables and then un-latch the bottom of the pouch to roll everything out onto a table or into a sink for washing.

They’ve got a gift set right now that includes my NEXT favorite item…

Atlas Gloves

These fit like a second skin and they’re super durable.

The most comfortable, useful gardening gloves I’ve tried.

Trust me—they’re a far better quality than what you pick up on an aisle end-cap at Lowe’s.

Felco #2 Pruners

Legit award-winning pruners (didn’t know they gave awards for that kind of thing, didya?) made by the people who make Swiss Army knives.

The best I’ve ever used.

I kind of love pruning anyway, but these make branches cut like butter.

Joy.

Hori Hori Japanese Gardening Knife

This thing is magic.

It has replaced every other small, digging-related tool I have.

It digs a hole more easily than a spade.

It’s strong enough to cut through roots you encounter.

It has a ruler on it so you’re not just eye-balling depth.

And you feel bad-ass carrying it around.

Folding Hand Saw

For pruning thicker branches with ease and safety.

Mineral Oil and Steel Wool

You can pick these up anywhere.

I’m not going to lie—I put my tools away dirty all the time.

I shouldn’t.

I do.

Steel wool helps get light rust of your favorite tools and mineral oil protects them. They’re essentials any gardener should have around.

There you have it! My 2022 holiday gift guide for gardeners. Make someone (or yourself) happy.

// UPDATE DECEMBER 2024 //

The Uncomplicated Gardener

I wrote this gardening zine in 2024 to outline a simple path to find more joy and success tending plants. Growing things can be whimsical and intuitive, and all of us get to define what gardening means for ourselves.

The Uncomplicated Gardener offers six easy steps to becoming a gardener without overcomplicating things.

And, it would make an EXCELLENT stocking stuffer :)

Get it here from Good Printed Things.