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The great thing about gardening is that it doesn’t require a ton of high-tech or expensive equipment — all you really need to grow a plant is light, water, and persistence. That makes gardeners tricky to shop for, though, since the horticulturalist in your life likely already owns a lot of the tools they need. What do you get the person who stockpiles stacks of planters and has already perfected their fertilizer blend? Below, I’ve rounded up 59 ideas sourced from my own reporting (and experience as an apartment gardener), the Strategist’s deep archive of gardening content, and polls of the Strategist gardening caucus. From a heritage watering can to our favorite smart garden that takes the guesswork out of growing herbs indoors, there’s something for pretty much everyone — whether they’ve got a sprawling backyard garden or make do with a few sunny windowsills in their apartment.
Update on November 25, 2024: Updated prices and checked stock for all products.
Gardening tools
If your gardener doesn’t have a pair of pruners, the F2 model from Swiss company Felco — our best-in-class pruner — would make a fantastic gift. The pruners are the industry standard: According to Kurt Morrell, the VP of landscape operations at the New York Botanical Garden, “A good gardener or horticulturalist anywhere in the world is most likely going to have a pair of Felcos.” (They also have a model for lefties and the slightly more compact F6, both below.)
These hedge shears by Okatsune, also the maker of a favorite latch-lock pruner, would make a great gift for any gardener who avoids the chainsaw and prefers an analog approach to hedge-trimming. They have a steel blade that holds an edge well and white oak handles.
I’m a huge fan of these small, supersharp Japanese iron herb shears — they’re very beautiful and very practical, and I use them almost every day. The fine point is especially useful for snipping herbs from my smart garden.
This is a great starter tool set for the novice gardener who’s ready to transition from cultivating indoors to outside. Strategist contributor Joseph Truini, a gardener for four decades, recommends it — especially the measured transplanting trowel, which is useful for planting bulbs.
A hori hori is a Japanese all-purpose gardening knife with a million uses. “It works as a spade, a knife, a fork, a weeder, a scissor for roots,” says magazine editor turned Hudson Valley craftsperson Deborah Needleman. “It’s small enough to carry around easily.”
We wrote about the rise of the artisanal broom a few years ago. (“People tend to ask, ‘Are your brooms sculptures or tools?’” broom-maker Erin Rouse told us. “A nice broom is right at the intersection.”) These double brooms are made to order (and can be customized!), so plan a few weeks ahead.
A butcher-favorite French pocket knife with a curved blade and tiny brush designed specifically for harvesting and cleaning mushrooms — handy if your giftee is a forager.
The CobraHead is a tool that can tackle anything, from weeding to planting furrows and prying out rocks. “I ordered it on impulse, and it has quickly become indispensable,” says Strategist senior editor Jen Trolio. “Probably its greatest strength is its literal strength — it’s a very solid hook that will lift out whatever plant is bothering you by the roots.”
This red steel hoe from Johnny’s Selected Seeds is great for digging and removing weeds. Dan Colen, artist and founder of Sky High Farm, a sustainable farm in the Hudson Valley, swears by it: “The blade is sharp; the grip is comfortable,” he says. “Without it, I’d be down on my knees pulling things out of the ground or throwing my back out, which I do all the time regardless.”
These Japanese pruners are smaller and lighter than the Felco F2 and better for precise work on flowers or more delicate plants. “They are kind of my universal tool,” says Marc Hachadourian, director of glasshouse horticulture and senior curator of orchids at the New York Botanical Garden.
Bug-repelling tools
This citronella-based insect repellent is highly effective and smells so good that Strategist contributor Aleta Burchyski’s husband occasionally wears it as cologne. It comes in handy during the summer months to keep mosquitoes at bay.
Here are a few recommendations from the Strategist’s resident bug-bite expert, Lauren Ro. (“Mosquitoes have loved to feast on my blood for as long as I can remember,” she writes.) The Bug Bite Thing is an inexpensive tool that can be used to suck the irritating venom out of a bite, preventing it from turning into an itchy welt.
For keeping mosquitoes away before they can bite, Ro likes Thermacell’s portable repeller.
And if you really want to splurge, Thermacell’s LIV system is the only large-area mosquito-repelling tool to consistently work for Ro. “It completely changed my family’s relationship to our backyard,” she says.
Things to wear while gardening
I couldn’t pick one pair of giftable garden clogs, so here are three. Calzuro’s Italian rubber clogs have a massive fan base that includes gardeners and nurses, a trustworthy source for comfy-clog intel. Gardenheir clogs come recommended by fashion designer Phillip Lim, who calls them “superchic.” And Plasticana clogs are made in France from hemp plastic and have a unique speckled pattern; they’re also available as boots, mules, and sandals.
Overalls are a gardener’s uniform for a reason: They’re durable, comfortable, and have plenty of compartments to store tools. Katie Parks, who documents her Northern California gardening on her Instagram, Freckles and Sprouts, is a fan of these ripstop nylon Duluth overalls: “They have loads of pockets on the legs, on the front, a pocket for knee pads to be inserted into, and even a small harvest pocket that is detachable,” she says.
We’re also big fans of Patagonia’s sturdy canvas duck overalls, which come in a wide range of sizes and inseam lengths.
Because “Australians make the best summer hats,” writes Strategist writer Kat Gillespie. This cotton canvas hat from Alpha60, a brand “beloved by stylish Melburnians,” offers great sun protection and comes in black, tan, and navy.
A T-shirt to declare their love of native biodiversity and enmity toward monoculture lawns.
The Muckster II topped our ranking of garden boots, with high marks for durability, flexibility, and comfort. “These are my go-to shoes whether I’m in my garden, walking my dog, or doing the school run,” says ecologist and botanist Becky Searle. (The brand also makes an ugly-chic slip-on, below, which comes in black and olive green.)
For plants that require a lighter touch, they’ll appreciate an alternative to thick gardening gloves. Hachadourian, the New York Botanical Garden’s director of glasshouse horticulture and senior curator of orchids, says that most gardening gloves cause him to “lose the sense of touch that lets me feel the difference between a weed and a real plant.” These are thin enough to preserve a finer sense of touch. Plus they’re colorful, so “when you take them off and put them down, you don’t lose them,” he says.
Garden furniture and décor
If they tend a garden, chances are they have a favorite spot to sit and admire it. This powder-coated-steel bistro set is cute and durable and folds up with a small enough footprint for city gardens.
Vego Garden’s raised beds were first enthusiastically recommended by Kate Anello, backyard gardener and sister of former Strategist writer Chloe Anello. The beds are easy to assemble and modular — plus, the delivery box is compact enough to be wrapped as a gift.
An art-historical bronze bell that gets only more beautiful with age. If you’d like to shop around, you can sample the different bell tones on the Cosanti website.
For their garden picnics, gift them a waterproof gingham blanket that looks more expensive than it is …
… Or a splurgy but very cute picnic blanket from Baggu that comes in a ton of seasonal patterns.
Give your horticulturalist the gift of bird visitors with this cedar hanger, which can serve as a birdbath or feeder. Birder Juita Martinez recommends installing an open-platform feeder like this one because it can accommodate birds of any size.
This solar-powered device is like a Ring doorbell that allows you to keep tabs on your neighborhood birds. Strategist fitness writer Jeremy Rellosa gifted it to his family, and it’s been a huge hit: “Our family group chat started to feature more updates about birds than humans,” he writes. (It’s also a favorite of author and birder Amy Tan.)
This raised-bed planter makes a great gift for a gardener with limited space. Suitable for indoor use (or out, if they have a balcony or roof), it’s self-watering, which means their plants will be fine even if they forget about it for a few days.
Planters, pots, and vases
This modular piece from designers Chen Chen and Kai Williams tops our list of status planters. It has a smooth porcelain finish and — important for gardeners who may doubt the functionality of fancy planters — integrates a drainage saucer into its design. “That imperceptible drainage tray gets me every time,” says Sight Unseen co-founder Jill Singer. “It’s basically a sexy workhorse planter.”
For something zippier (and less expensive), I love the Strata planter by artist Simone Brewster, which comes in a few shapes and colors. (There’s also a vase version.)
There are many copycats of the Modernica Case Study planter out there, but plant people say the original is best for its craftsmanship and aesthetic. Darryl Cheng — the Canadian “plantfluencer” behind House Plant Journal — counts it among the insider goods he and other gardening-content creators endorse.
Here are two variations on the trug, a British wooden carrying tool invented in the 1820s, adapted from an Anglo-Saxon vessel — one for flowers, one for cucumbers. I first learned about them from British interior designer Rita Konig, a contributor to our gift guide of recommendations from people with exacting taste.
[Editor’s note: The price is an estimated conversion of pounds to U.S. dollars.]
Watering tools
The watering can from British brand Haws, which has manufactured watering cans since 1886, has a cult following among serious horticulturists (including Martha Stewart) and is an heirloom item any gardener would be thrilled to receive. It has a gleaming copper finish and a nozzle that puts forth an even flow of water to “simulate a very gentle rain,” according to Cheng.
These ingenious terra-cotta stakes are a gift that keeps on giving — they’ll help your gardener keep plants alive when they go on vacation, or make watering a hard-to-reach pot much easier. Yang has been using them since 2014: “They release just the right amount of water into the surrounding soil — when your soil gets drier, more water passes through the terra-cotta.”
Australian company Hoselink makes “an exceptional hose,” according to Timothy Hammond of Big City Gardener. This model is retractable, cutting down on time spent coiling and detangling.
Or you can upgrade their watering system with this aesthetically pleasing hose, also free of BPA, lead, and phthalates. It’s recommended by Lauri Kranz, founder of garden-planning and organic-food-delivery service Edible Gardens LA, who uses it for produce and edible plants.
An inexpensive gift that will change their life. This two-pronged probe measures soil moisture, pH, and sunlight to take some of the guesswork out of growing.
Composting and fermentation gifts
If they want a sturdy compost bin that’s still cute, they’ll love Bamboozle. Strategist contributor Ruth Baron gives it high marks for both aesthetics and functionality: It’s used by other “hot, environmentally conscious New Yorkers.” It comes in a dozen colors, and despite its lightweight footprint, it’s sturdier than it looks.
If they tend a vegetable garden, consider giving the gift of fermentation — this kit has everything you need to pickle cucumbers, make kimchee, or any new recipes they invent.
Our best-in-class outdoor compost tumbler, this durable, weather-resistant composter will help them convert their kitchen scraps and yard waste into nutrient-rich fertilizer.
If the gardener in your life looks at a decomposing pile of compost with fascination rather than disgust, may I suggest giving them worms? Grow Your Soil author Diane Miessler recommends this vermicompost system — the finished product of “rich compost writhing with red worms brings joy to most gardeners,” she says. (Pair with red wigglers from our preferred worm retailer, below.)
Seeds, plants, and kits
Herbs are notoriously hard to keep alive indoors. Save your urban gardener the hassle with our best-in-class smart garden — it’s self-watering and has a built-in grow light, which is especially handy in a kitchen that may not get consistent sun.
If they’re getting into hydroponics (or just need to supplement dim natural light), this full-spectrum grow light is powerful and adjustable, and it comes with a timer. It’s recommended by Krissie Nagy, the owner of landscaping company BK Bumpkin, and Grow Room owner Lindsey Arnell.
One of my favorite plants to gift an experienced gardener is an angel-wing begonia — it’s hardy and unique, and it can grow to an impressive size.
When in doubt, give seeds. A favorite source I share with actress Isabella Rossellini, who’s also the founder of Mama Farm: Johnny’s Selected Seeds. “They have a catalogue that has exclusively organic products — it’s well illustrated and has easy and clear explanations for how to plant the seeds and what conditions they need,” she told us.
If your gardener is also a birder, a recommendation from wildlife biologist Danielle Belleny: Enter their Zip Code in Audubon’s Native Plant Database to find native plant species and which birds they attract. Buy a pack of seeds and wait for a bird-filled springtime.
Or, if you truly don’t know what your gardener wants to grow next, get them a gift certificate to Park Seed. The company is one of the country’s oldest and largest mail-order seed operations and was recommended by recently retired gardeners.
This expert-recommended fertilizer, derived in part from seaweed, is a good all-purpose formulation for common leafy houseplants and is water-soluble so can be used for hydroponic growing. It’s my favorite fertilizer to use at home — it perked up a prayer plant that had been at death’s door — and it’s a favorite of carnivorous-plant growers (just dilute it to a weaker solution than is listed on the container).
Books and memberships
A gift membership to their local botanical garden — for example, in the New York metro area, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden — makes it easy for gardeners to seek respite in nature and get inspiration for their own plantings. The BBG membership is also “well worth it for skipping the line,” according to PowerHouse Books founder Daniel Power.
Gift them the book sometimes referred to as the “Bible of fermentation.” The book “contains a lot of general knowledge of all the different fermented products of the world in a very relaxed manner and helps you understand how you might be able to start making all of your fermented projects,” says chef Dave Park, who recommends the book for beginners. (Once they’ve mastered the basics, you can also give them The Noma Guide to Fermentation for recipes from the award-winning restaurant.)
Isabella Tree’s memoir of “rewilding” a 3,500-acre West Sussex farm makes a great gift for a gardener who enjoys watching the complex ecosystem in their backyard change over time.
If they’re curious about what kind of plantings the landscape designer of the High Line has at home, they’ll love this book. It contextualizes Piet Oudolf’s family garden in the Netherlands, which they have been cultivating for over three decades.
This book on rare foods, by BBC food journalist Dan Saladino, “acts as both a guide and a warning: If we don’t protect and honor food diversity and the people protecting it, we’re at risk of losing it for good,” writes Strategist writer Tembe Denton-Hurst in our guide to the best giftable books for dads.
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