Spring and summer can provide one or more gift-giving opportunities for gardeners. Choosing the right gifts, though, can be difficult. What will your gardener appreciate? The best place to start is with any tools or supplies that your gardener might have mentioned needing.
If, however, your gardener has not offered any suggestions — or maybe has, but you’ve forgotten what they were — here are some ideas that may help:
Gifts for the gardener

A cheerful and practical half-apron with roomy pockets, made of water-repellent oilcloth is fun to wear and keeps seed packets and small tools from getting lost in the garden. I have a similar apron that a gardening sister bought for me one year at a craft fair. I love mine! Your gardener might like one, too. The apron linked here is sold by an animal rescue group, with proceeds going to support its work.

Mini pruners from Corona tools. A 5-inch long pruning tool might not seem super-practical on first sight, but I use mine to harvest greens and vegetables like peppers. The small pruners are easier to keep in my apron pocket (see above) than larger pruners, and they are also easier to use in tight spaces than the kitchen shears that some gardeners use for the same purposes.

My Fall Garden Planning book can help your gardener prepare for the whole gardening year, which extends well into fall and winter for gardeners in the Southeastern U.S. I have been told that the book is easy to both read and understand, and that it’s helpful. Of course, that was the goal!
For gardeners who tend to “walk on the wild side”, the book The Wildcrafted Cocktail would be a fun addition to the cookbook collection. On days when the weather is not great for gardening, the gardener can spend enjoyable time in the kitchen with foraged foods (including daylily buds – which many gardens can provide) preparing elements of the various cocktails.
A Gift for the garden
Texas Tomato Cages are pricey, but I love mine. These are wide enough for good stability and tall enough to contain most tomato plants. The cages come in two sections that stack together (securely), and here is another great feature: they collapse to nearly flat for storing when not in use. They can be hung up — out of the way — in the shed or garage in winter.

If your tomato plants tend to erupt out the tops of your cages, extensions are available to make these even taller. You can see one of the cages – without an extension – in my earlier blog post about planting tomatoes. We also use the Texas Tomato Cages at the Plant-a-Row-for-the-Hungry garden for which I am a volunteer.
If none of the above seem like a good fit for your gardener, check out the gift ideas provided by a couple of my gardening friends:
- From Miss Smarty Plants – Garden Gifts to Make Mom Smile
- From The Washington Gardener – (to be added soon)