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Gardener’s Gift Guide: Garden Favorites

Looking for gifts for gardeners that will actually get used? This gift guide is a collection of my personal garden favorites, from a reliable planting guide and everyday pruners to smart watering tools, soil, and roses that add beauty to any garden. These are practical, tried-and-true gifts for gardeners at any level, especially for those who love simple systems that lead to better results.

A collage showing hand pruning plants, holding a clay watering vessel, and soil with a garden trowel—perfect inspiration for any gardener's gift guide.

A Reliable Planting Guide

Planting Calendar for the Low Desert of Arizona

Best for: beginner gardeners, busy gardeners, and anyone who wants better timing

Planting at the right time is one of the most important parts of gardening, especially if you live in a place with short or intense growing seasons. My perpetual planting calendar for the low desert of Arizona shows exactly what to plant each month, along with photos from my garden of what can be harvested throughout the year.

This is a practical, long-lasting gift for gardeners who want a clear plan they can use year after year.


Garden Hand Pruners

Hands using red scissors to harvest yellow flowers in a green field—a perfect scene for any gardener's gift guide.

Best for: everyday gardeners who want one reliable tool they will use constantly

When I head out to my garden each morning, this is the one tool I take with me. These Felco hand pruners handle the day-to-day jobs that keep a garden healthy and tidy. I honestly feel out of sorts if I am in the garden without them.

A quality pair of pruners is one of the best gifts for gardeners because it is useful in every season. This is the kind of tool that becomes part of someone’s routine.


A Practical Gardening Book

A smiling woman stands in a garden, proudly holding the book How to Grow Your Own Food—perfect for anyone eager to learn how to grow your own food at home.

Best for: new gardeners, container gardeners, and anyone who likes simple, visual guidance

I like to keep gardening straightforward and easy to understand. That is exactly what I aimed for in How to Grow Your Own Food – An Illustrated Beginner’s Guide to Container Gardening. It features 50 common, easy-to-grow edible plants, from herbs to vegetables, along with detailed care instructions.

This is a great gift for gardeners who want to grow more food but need a clear starting point, especially those gardening in containers or smaller spaces.


Ollas

Hands holding a round, orange clay vessel in a sunlit garden, surrounded by green plants—a perfect scene for any gardener's gift guide.

Best for: container gardeners and water-wise gardeners

If you have been reading my blog for a while, you know I love ollas for watering containers. An olla is buried in the soil and filled with water, delivering moisture slowly right to the root zone. This helps save water and time while supporting healthier plants.

An olla from Growoya is a thoughtful gift for gardeners who want to simplify watering or improve consistency during warm or dry seasons.


Joey Harvest Apron

Gardener's Gift Guide: Garden Favorites​

Best for: gardeners who harvest often and want a lightweight, practical option

Harvests happen year-round in my garden. This harvesting apron holds big and small harvests without being bulky or hot, which matters during warm months. I love filling it up and dumping it into a favorite harvest basket.

This is a fun, useful gift for gardeners who grow herbs, vegetables, or cut flowers and want to keep their hands free while they harvest.


Roses from Heirloom Roses

Roses from Heirloom Roses

Best for: flower lovers, cut flower gardeners, and anyone who wants a long-lasting, high-impact gift

A beautiful rose is one of the most memorable gifts for gardeners. It is not just a seasonal treat. It is a plant that can grow with the garden for years, rewarding the gardener with fragrance, color, and bouquets they can cut and share.

I get all of my roses from Heirloom Roses. I love that they are container-grown, which makes gifting and planting simple. Container roses are already established, easier to handle, and tend to settle in quickly with less transplant stress. They are also a great option when you want to give a rose that looks healthy and ready to grow right away.

Another reason I recommend Heirloom Roses is that they are own-root roses, not grafted. That means no graft union to worry about and no rootstock suckers. If a rose ever experiences dieback, an own-root rose can regrow true to the variety from the roots. I also appreciate their high standards for disease resistance. When you order from Heirloom Roses, you can feel confident you are getting robust, disease-free roses with strong roots. Use Code GARDENAZ26 for 20% off any rose, perennial, or bulb order.


Watering Grids

Watering Your Garden and Landscape

Best for: raised bed gardeners and square-foot gardeners

I remember first seeing garden grids from Garden in Minutes on Instagram and immediately thinking it was a brilliant solution. These grids help you water evenly and divide your beds for square-foot gardening.

Years later, I am still adding them to new raised beds and recommending them to friends and clients. This is a gift that supports consistent growth and makes watering simpler for gardeners at any level.


Raised Bed Mix from Arizona Worm Farm

A wheelbarrow filled with rich brown soil and a small metal shovel scooping into it—an essential scene in any gardener's gift guide.

Best for: local gardeners who want an easy, high-quality soil upgrade

This gift may not fit in a stocking, but I can guarantee the gardener in your life will love it. I partnered with Arizona Worm Farm to create this raised bed mix, and the best part is that it includes their famous compost and worm castings.

If you live in the Phoenix metropolitan area, they offer pick-up and delivery. This is a wonderful gift for gardeners who want to refresh beds, start a new garden, or improve plant health without mixing soil from scratch.


A quick note on choosing the right gift

If you are unsure what to buy, look for the bottleneck in your gardener’s routine. Is it timing, watering, harvesting, or soil health? A gift that solves a real garden problem always feels thoughtful.


Looking for more garden gift ideas?


FAQ: Gifts for Gardeners

What is a good gift for a beginner gardener?

A reliable planting guide, a practical gardening book, and a quality pair of pruners are all excellent choices. They build confidence and get used right away.

What do gardeners actually want as gifts?

Tools and supplies that make gardening easier and more successful. Thoughtful, practical items like watering help, soil upgrades, and everyday tools tend to be the most appreciated.

What are the best gifts for gardeners who already have everything?

Consumables and upgrades are perfect. Roses, high-quality raised bed mix, or time-saving watering tools are useful even for experienced gardeners.


If this gardener’s gift guide was helpful, please share it.

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171 comments on "Gardener’s Gift Guide: Garden Favorites"

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  1. I would love so many of those on your list!!
    A growoya, the root apron looks so handy, and u have never tested my soil that would be a great little gift!

    Great list of ideas, thank you for this!!

  2. I would love to gift a Joey garden apron. My whole Christmas list was from Gardeners.com this year. I love it! Thank you for your tips on great gifts.

  3. The Roo harvesting apron would make a great gift for a friend of mine. We just met for coffee to discuss our 2021 gardens and seed orders.

  4. Wow, this is a great gift list! I’m buying my mom a gardening tool belt this year as she is always losing her trowels and clippers in the yard

  5. I would love to add some specially created soil mix from Arizona worm farm. But, all the gifts are so thoughtful and well put. Love to gift my friend those pruning sheers which is always useful.

  6. I have 4 of your perpetual calendars that I have given to my family and friends. They are amazing! Thank you for all your inspiration.

  7. Is this where you comment to win the gift card? Hope so! I’m new to gardening and could use all the help I could get!

  8. My sister requested “plants I cannot kill”. She might have been thinking fake plants, but I’m going to gift her some house plants I’ve had luck with: pothos, ZZ, and snake plant.

  9. Thank you, what great gift giving ideas! For my non gardening husband I’m giving him a watch. Merry Christmas to you and your family.

  10. I love this gift guide. So many of those items are on my wish list. Money is tight this year so I am making my gifts. I’m making a seed box from a tin(altoid size) which I will fill with an assortment of seeds and markers in a theme. For example a herb garden or a tea garden. This will be for some my garden friends.

  11. I am gifting planters and seeds this year! Growing things has been such a stress reliever this year. I love the Growoya as a desert planter’s gift too!

  12. Ooooo it’s so difficult to pick just one! I want them ALL . It would be down to the cedar raised beds or watering grids for me!

  13. Oooo it’s so difficult to pick just one! I want them ALL. It’ll be down to the cedar raised beds or watering grids for me! Even though that apron and the book is pretty sweet too!

  14. Being a new gardener myself, I’ve lived on the motto, trial and error. Do I always know what I’m doing? No. But I figure if I don’t try and either fail or succeed ill just keep waiting and waiting to plant seeds, or start composting, or try new arrangements in the garden. No one else in my family gardens, so I have come to truly rely on the outside gardening community. I started with instagram and found multiple websites along the way. Since I live in arizona and I havent been here my whole life i have come to rely upon this site and already have your grow calendar. I have been eyeing the squash tunnel from gardeners, and I am planning on giving that to myself for the holidays. I have realized that my cucumbers and green beans need more space to grow and since my space isn’t the largest, it seems like the best choice. Sure I’ve given other gifts to my family, but this tunnel is something that will allow us to grown more, and when we eventually move, you bet its coming with us. Thank you for all your advice and hard work that has allowed me to learn so much. Happy holidays!

  15. I would love to gift my husband watering grids this Christmas. My husband started a garden this year and our drip line system wasn’t fully watering our plants. He would go out and tend to what was missed. He enjoyed it, but it was very time consuming!

  16. Gifting my kids and hubby tools for the garden! We love to be outside together :). And lots of Legos for the kids too, of course!

  17. I’ve had a Roo apron on wishlist for quite some time! I have yet to buy gifts this year, but I will undoubtedly have a gardening item for my dad, a bonsai hobbyist and new master gardener.

  18. I think the ollas would be a great gift for my daughter who has just started gardening. Also the garden grid would be great for a beginner gardener. Thanks

  19. The perfect gift is giving my vegetables/flowers away to family and friends. I like a nice presentation so I try to do that with everything I share.

  20. Loving the list! I’m giving a friend a galvanized watering can and mini hand gardening tools for seedlings and transplants!

  21. Wow! All these gift ideas are so perfect for the avid gardener! I would love to gift or receive the harvest apron , the watering grids, your planting guide calendar is definitely on my wishlist too! Thanks for sharing all these wonderful items I will be sending my mom in Tennessee some rare seed packets so we can both enjoy gardening together even though long distance! Season’s greetings!

  22. I’m gifting my mom a zz plant since her new house has zero good plant windows and I got my hubby the smoker he’s been very patiently waiting for. Now I’ll just send him over the link to this list for myself

  23. Such good gift ideas! I’m already getting my father in law a stand up weeder tool so he doesn’t have to bed over to weed!

  24. I sent the holiday gift guide link to my hubby! Thank for all the information you share. I started a garden this year. And I bought 4 of the books you recommended on one of your post. Thank you!

  25. I got my husband’s grandma an amaryllis bulb from Gardener’s Supply this year! Also for my mother-in-law (who is a lefty) and just had carpal tunnel surgery, I got her a pair of Felcos from their ergonomic line!

  26. I’m giving herbal gifts that I’ve made from plants I grew this year – bath teas, herb-infused lotions, and dream pillows.

  27. I’ve asked for hose on/off valves and fogg it sprayers for my 3 hoses. I’m sending gifts from my garden to family.

  28. Hi Angela. I’m planing to give raised bed mix from Az worm farm and lettuce seedlings to my three grandchildren and off course toys.

  29. Definitely picking up a pie of Felco’s for my husband (mostly for me!) The watering grids will be an awesome solution to his watering issues!

  30. I am the only gardener in my circle so far so I don’t have anyone to gift to. However, it’s been a hard year and we haven’t been able to get started on the expansion we built in our garden. I asked for Growing In The Garden soil mix from AZ worm farm for Christmas and my generous parents had 4 yards delivered this week as my Christmas present! Expansion is getting planted now. Better late than never!

  31. I really Enjoy your content and contributions. @gardeners is an amazing company. Happy to see you working with them. I’the perfect gift for my gardener would be. Deluxe A-Frame Plant Stand

    IG @arizonadesertgarden

  32. These are all great gifts! This year for Christmas as a stocking stuffer I’m giving my kiddos a seed packet called Santa’s Seeds. They are going to plant all of Santa’s favorite flowers!

  33. Wonderful gift ideas! This year I’m goal is to just spread joy! I’ve sent Amaryllis bulbs to family and friends. I know they will bloom and bring joy to every household.

  34. One day I’ll get the watering grids! This year my hubby gets a Solo Stove fire pit and I’m so excited to try it out.

  35. Gardener’s Deluxe Tractor Scoot is definitely on my dream list! But honestly I really just need a dibbler so I stop using the back of a pen haha! But I will be definitely recommending Arizona Worm Farm’s soil this season and am excited to try their seed starter mix soon!

  36. Last year I bought my daughter a grow light shelving set up from Gardener’s Supply and my husband bought me the Mobile Tool Storage Caddy. This year, I ordered a microgreen hydroponic kit for my grandchildren and I’m buying myself some solar lights! I love @gardeners.com because of their high quality merchandise and great customer service. (I used to live near them in VT and loved visiting their beautiful store.) It is a great resource for beginning and veteran gardeners alike!

  37. This year I bought some herbs from Abby Lees farm and decided to propagate them. Im going to gift my 3 sisters with their own herb sets!

  38. I going to get the Growoya for my sister. She grows most of her vegetables in containers. This will hopefully help them from drying out in the Solvang sun.

  39. I’d love to gift myself several deep-root cedar raised beds. I’ve been trying to decide how to expand my garden and think these beds are the perfect gift to myself!

  40. I’m gifting dried flowers from my summer garden to family members! Making them into cards. It gets pretty grey here in Seattle so the pressed flowers help me to remember summer (and sunshine!) will come again!

  41. I keep thinking my mom would adore a chicken wire crop coop from Gardeners Supply… but really really hope someone remembers I’d love a seed starting kit and grow lights.

  42. Ohhhhhh so many great things here I want for myself!! This is a one stop shop for anyone who loves to garden! I want to try the growoya! I keep seeing it pop up here and there. What a brilliant idea!

  43. Our daughter and son-in-law are 2nd-yearvegetable gardeners and I love talking “garden” with them. We are giving them a stock tank for their tomatoes on the sunny side of the house. They live in the wet side of the mountains in Washington State and every bit of sun is a precious gift.

  44. So wonderful! We are having a new baby this year so we’re giving our 3-yr-old daughter a new balance bike to hopefully keep busy while we have the baby and still want to keep up the garden! She was already helping this morning to dig holes for new plants after yesterday’s rain 😀

  45. The cedar for more raised beds, pruners, and a Joey apron for sure!!! I am so happy to have discovered your blog and website!

  46. There are lots of great ideas here, but my favorite gift for any gardener has got to be Angela’s new book!! For the houseplant enthusiasts, I going with grow lights – might even gift myself!

  47. Thank you for this great gift guide! I bought my hubby warm shirts that unzip at the elbows so that he can stay warm at dialysis. Hopefully they arrive before Christmas!

  48. Bought several of the flip over netting frames for fellow lettuce growing friends! Love Gardeners!for Christmas, my husband is expanding our gardening space so we can grow more in order to donate food. So rewarding!

  49. My son and his wife want to start container gardening this coming spring and this is so inspiring for them!

  50. I love the ideas. After just planting tons of bulbs I may get that wooden dibbler for myself! . I’m getting my hubby a new grill.

  51. I am gifting almost EVERYONE on my list vegetable, herb, or flower seeds! I want to share the joy of gardening with everyone 🙂 bonus is that it is a consumable gift and won’t take up much space to store!

  52. Its simple but I’d like to get a bee hotel from gardeners! They’re so cute and I really like the teardrop look. From your list, blog and Instagram, I’ve really been into azwormfarm. I’m from Arizona too, but closer to Sedona, so I’ve been greatly interested.

  53. Anything from Floret is a great gift, from her books to her seeds. This year books seem to be what I want to buy the most. Maybe it’s that cozy feeling you get from them When you are stuck at home.

  54. I would love all of these for myself for Christmas!! I’m especially interested in those water grids and I’m looking forward to your book! Thanks for the giveaway!

  55. Love all of these! My number one gift ask this year was the three tier grow light system from Gardeners to set me up for next years growing season in the house I just bought with my fiancé! Can’t wait for all of the beautiful garden memories

  56. I have been really wanting the Joey apron, the watering grid, & the AZ worm soil. This has only been my 1st year so I have time. I also want a greenstalk planter. Some day…..

  57. Hello! We just adopted a 2 year old Lionhead rabbit from the AZ Humane Society. This year, we’re gifting him the gift of seeds and will be growing veggies for him in our container garden. We’ve been reading all the helpful “How to grow” articles that you have here.

  58. Giving away the best gift….. seeds to a newbie gardener! Who knows maybe the seeds that I share will get her to be the next organic gardener! Love your posts.

  59. I am giving seeds this year and seed starting kits. My aunt has set up a small green house so we’re going to try a “family vegetable garden” for this upcoming spring.
    I have had my eye on the potato and onion storage baskets from gardeners for a while now! Would love to receive them as a gift.

  60. I’m giving friends lots of seeds from my garden and stock. I also like to give books! (For the Gardners’ giveaway!)

  61. I’m giving my partner indoor grow lights for Hanukkah so we can have our seeds sprouted and ready for the spring!!!

  62. After gardening for a couple of years I realized how often I leave tools in different places and they’re so hard to find when I need them. I tried out something for myself called bucket boss which is basically like a jacket for a 5 gallon bucket where I can slot in all my tools and just carry the bucket around to wherever I’m working. I am going to gift this to my parents who love gardening and have been doing so for many many years! Hopefully they like it

  63. I have big plans for expanding our garden in the spring and so many of the items you shared are on my Christmas wishlist. Thanks for sharing!!

  64. For the Gardeners Giveaway…

    The perfect gift for a gardener would be more plants.
    That is one of my favorite gifts to give and receive. One of my sisters had such a great idea, which I hope to put in effect next year: plant exchange from our own personal gardens.

  65. I’m getting my mom binoculars for watching birds in her yard! She has towhees and wrens and loves watching them 🙂

  66. This is a great list!
    I am giving my father in law 3 ollas for his garden. He is getting older and it is harder for him to water as often. I think they will make his gardening life easier!

  67. What great gift ideas! I will be adding a few of these to my list. I’m getting my parents my favorite Bluetooth speaker, the same one I use when working outside and is so durable- it can get dirty in the garden and wet from the hose. I use it everyday I’m out there and love it!

  68. My mom used to garden but is no longer able to because of her health so I am giving her a calendar with photos of the flowers I grew last year so she can have a bit of the garden with her all year.

  69. I’m giving away native flowers seeds with every order in my store. I’m giving gift boxes with items from small businesses to friends and family.

  70. Definitely want to gift the watering grid to myself!! Bought a lot of seeds this year and plan to gift some of the starts to a garden-loving friend!

  71. I’m gifting a few plastic free household items that I’ve started using this year! (Using less plastic was my resolution for 2020)

  72. Too hard to choose, but I’m planning on your perpetual calendar for a sister who’s starting to garden. And for me, the pruning shears and the growoya pot!

  73. I love the idea of a perpetual growing calendar! I’m going to be giving a mushroom book to my dad so we can add that to our gardening plan for next year!

  74. I’ve been pressing flowers from my garden over the last few months and plan to put them in a frame to give to my grandmother. She is an amazing gardener! She is my go-to source when I have an issue in my garden. She is one of my biggest inspirations and I’m forever grateful to have inherited her love of gardening.

  75. I would definitely gift the harvesting apron to my sister and gift myself another raised cedar bed! Great suggestions and content! Happy holidays!

  76. My goal for the Spring is to carve out some new flower beds, get my mango and avocado trees in the ground. It doesn’t sound like much but I need to coordinate with the hubby which can take time.

  77. Thank you for sharing your experience with us! I have learned so much already, but just beginning and still making lots of mistakes. But that is learning. I did receive. Neat garden trellis from Gardener’s for my birthday. I have many other items on my wish list.

  78. I love the purple apron! I think great gifts would be a hand moisturizer, hat, sunscreen, garden clogs, waterproof gloves, and of course the apron. I had to use my shirt multiple times to carry tomatoes this summer

  79. This year I’m giving my young niece a hand-made gift certificate with a promise that in the spring I will teach her how to grow her first garden. The certificate will be tucked in a decorative basket along with items she’ll need for that special “event” (trowel, gardening gloves, etc).

    🙂

  80. Great articles. Look forward to reading them. I am gifting kitchen herb gardens to my son’s and their girlfriends. Sharing the love of gardening.

  81. I am giving a small bag of Meyer’s lemons from our tree to all my family and friends. We always have a surplus and lemons have such a multitude of uses!

  82. I’ve always wanted to try an Olla and have added it to my wish list for the holidays! Thanks for all of the great gift recommendations. Too bad most of them are going on MY wish list!

  83. Wow- as a newbie to gardening all of these things are amazing! Anything would be an improvement from one spade and one watering can

  84. Fantastic gift guide. You’re just one of my faves, so down to earth and wonderful Angela. I gifted a garden friend a lovely cachepot with bamboo design.

  85. These look like excellent gifts for me. I’m getting my husband a rear view camera for his car and an electric shaver. But I’m sure I can harvest him something from the garden also, beets or radishes. LOL.

  86. I am going to buy the harvest apron for my friend- who’s garden does way better than mine. But I am learning. Love Gardner’s Supply!!

  87. Loving this guide! My Christmas list included a tiller/cultivator. I got my partner a few makita “toys”. He and I both love their tools! Hope you have a great holiday season! Would be so grateful to win this. I’m increasing my gardens this year for more cut flowers and could use some more tools.

  88. I am giving my dad a personalized garden sign for his dahlia garden. I hope someone gives me a raised garden bed for Christmas

  89. I would love to have a lot of gardeners item for myself. I bought an aero garden for my nephew’s family for Christmas.

  90. I think I’ll be gifting myself several of these items…but I also just ordered a variety of heirloom tomato seeds and one of my mom’s Christmas gifts! 🙂

    1. They can be hard to find. I’ve had the best luck getting them locally at nurseries and even big box stores at that time of year.

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