Selecting holiday gifts for the gardener in your life can be stressful, especially out-of-season. Jean Starr, one of our top contributors, has organized several gift-giving lists for your consideration. You can find most of the ideas online. Of course, there’s overlap in the lists. For instance, a trowel can be used by any type of gardener, but there are specialized types that might appeal to, say, someone with arthritis. Personally, Jean owns many of these items, and can recommend them wholeheartedly.

Edibles

Jean starts with gifts for the Edible Gardener (who cooks!). Regardless of what your edibles gardener grows, the following items will be well-received.

• AeroGarden. Get your herbs and veggies growing out-of-season and indoors with one of these self-contained hydroponic growing systems from Scotts Miracle-Gro. AeroGarden has everything you’ll need such as the correct kind of light, water, plant food, and a nice variety of seed kits.
• The Heirloom Life Gardener is a book that contains an A-Z guide for organic growing. It also includes fascinating stories about edible plants from around the world. The authors, Jere and Emilee Gettle, even sell seeds through Baker Creek Seeds.
• Vacuum Food Sealer. This is a must-have item if your special gardener grows cartloads of produce. It makes preserving excess veggies easy.
• Clyde’s Garden Planner is a slide chart for vegetable planting time. It is now available for your iPhone as an iOS app ($2.99). The cost is nominal for a super useful tool.
• Territorial Seed Company is a great place for purchasing seeds and plants. You can either shop from a catalog or online. The Territorial Seed Company has a huge selection from which to choose, including heirlooms, organics and grafted plants for improved success and quicker growth. If you don’t know exactly what your gardener wants, consider purchasing a Territorial gift certificate.