Gift Guide for Gardeners - Christmas 2023
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 a few more 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.
I shared my first list of 7 things last year. Here’s the 2022 Gift Guide.
And here’s my updated list for 2023:
Gardener’s Smock
My sister got me this last Christmas, and it’s been so handy. The deep pockets can fit my hori hori, pruners, handsaw and much more.
It’s lightweight but long-sleeved, so it’s not too hot in the summer and provides some arm protection, and it’s just enough of an extra layer in the fall.
But the real reason I love it is convenience:
I keep supplies and tools in the pockets and hang it by the door to throw over my clothes when I’m taking a break in the garden during my day.
A BIG Arch Trellis
I got this arch when I built my new kitchen garden early this spring. I needed something large enough to bridge the two raised bed and give me a lot of space to grow indeterminate tomatoes.
It worked so well.
Tomato cages are useless when it comes to growing indeterminate tomatoes. I’ve also been training squash and English peas up and other vining plants up it.
This particular one can be configured wide or tall, and I set it up wide. It’s still about 6 feet tall.
Twine with Built-In Cutter
And for tying vines to said trellis, this was a game-changing find. It’s so simple, but I don’t think I’ll be without this going forward.
A roll of jute with the cutter built-in, I just kept this in the pocket of my smock and always had it with me. So every time I was in the garden I could secure those vines a bit more. No hassle.
Plant Stand Caddy with Wheels
Did you know we can grow citrus like Meyer lemons here in Upstate, SC?
The trick is to move it into your garage or a shed whenever the temperature is going to dip below 38 degrees.
Easy when the tree is small—harder when it gets big and is loaded down with fruit.
I picked up one of these (finally!) this summer for my Meyer lemon tree. It’s saving my back.
Watering Wand
This may be a no-brainer, but I didn’t put it on my list last year and it IS one of the most basic and yet can’t-live-without tools.
I use the soaker setting to water at the roots of new shrubs and trees in particular, without having to bend over constantly to water at soil level.
Paper Routes Plants Edition
A unique and beautiful map of the best places to buy plants locally!
I was beyond honored to be asked to participate in this project. And I had so much fun working on it—visiting plant shops I’d never been to, talking to the staff at the nurseries, and generally trying to avoid buying way to many plants in the name of research!
Paper Routes is a series of collaborative illustrated maps from Good Printed Things — a Greenville-based publishing company. Each guide combines the work of a local artist and writer to highlight places that make Greenville unique, supporting our local economy through art.
There you have it! My 2023 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.
