If someone in your life loves gardening and nature, your locally owned garden center is the perfect place to find useful and unique gifts this holiday season. Here are a few ideas to inspire your shopping for the special nature lovers on your list:
Gardener’s Delight
A fruit tree, often called “the gift that keeps on giving,” is a delightful surprise for any gardener. Consider options like blueberry bushes, fig trees, satsumas, or a Meyer lemon tree—each is sure to please. Alternatively, a gift basket filled with blooming violas or woodland wildflowers will brighten anyone’s garden. A container garden featuring winter herbs, lettuce, and salad greens is also a great choice for a friend who enjoys cooking.
Other gardening gifts to consider include seed-starting kits, garden statues, houseplants, heirloom seed packs, gardening gloves, outdoor solar lanterns, wind chimes, local honey, colorful pots, books, fragrant Fraser fir wreaths, and festive amaryllis bulbs.
Birds and the Bees
Give the gift of native plants that attract songbirds, support garden bees, and foster other wildlife in backyards. A budding native azalea, for example, will promise spring color and nectar for pollinators. Alternatively, a yaupon holly tree adorned with bright red berries will entice cedar waxwings, catbirds, robins, and other birds.
Alabama Azalea planted on nursery grounds, by Elizabeth Georges
For those who enjoy backyard birdwatching, excellent gifts include bird feeding supplies, a new pair of binoculars, bird baths, and birdhouses. You can also create a fun gift basket featuring a basic feeder, a birding field guide, and an assortment of seed. These gifts will bring joy to bird lovers throughout the entire year.
If the person you’re shopping for already has a basic feeder, consider a specialized feeder that attracts different birds. Options include a thistle sock for goldfinches or a suet feeder accompanied by fresh suet for warblers and other non-seed-eating birds. Other bird-friendly gifts are bird seed ornaments, wreaths made of nesting materials, hummingbird feeders, purple martin gourds, and nest boxes for bluebirds, flycatchers, or wood ducks. Bat houses and butterflies rearing houses are also engaging ways to inspire a love for nature at home.
Children and Nature
Nature-inspired gifts are a fantastic way to encourage children who may not yet appreciate the outdoors to explore and engage with nature. Bug viewers can be exciting for those interested in creepy crawlies, while colorful ceramic mushrooms provide a magical introduction to gardening. DIY kits, like bluebird nesting boxes and butterfly-rearing cages, offer wonderful hands-on experiences.
Other gift ideas include garden tools and gloves, wildlife puppets, and nature-themed books, puzzles, and games. These gifts provide ongoing enjoyment and learning for both children and adults, extending their value long after the boxes are opened.