A friend of mine whose greatest passion is gardening is turning 50 in a few weeks and I'd like to get them a present related to gardening..but I could do with some help with ideas!
Please let me know what the best gardening-related present is that you've ever received, or what you would ideally like to get as present, related to gardening. Obviously it has to be something that all keen gardeners would love to get (not just you)! Please be a specific as possible (i.e. make/model, if relevant)
You give little to go on; what type of gardening, how large a garden, what does this gardener already have... I'd suggest a Mantis tiller, every gardener needs one.
Generally, I hate to receive gifts for use in my garden. I prefer to examine and even handle items for my garden before deciding to purchase them.
HOWEVER, my wife gave me something that I find to be very important: a kneeler-seat. A photo is at . Mine was made by Step 2; see .
It is light-weight and easy to carry. There are hand-holds at the bottom of each leg and in the middle of the seat.
Upside-down, the underside of the seat has a foam pad to make kneeling comfortable. The legs are then helpful for getting down and up again; just be careful not to put too much weight or outward force on the legs while rising from a kneeling position.
The instructions say not to stand on the seat. I ignore that. It has not failed under my 245 lbb (111 kg) body.
Note that the seat is very useful for placing small tools while working in my garden. I don't have to bend all the way to the ground to pick them up and put them down.
I use a large, sturdy kitchen paring knife that cost less than half the price of the hori hori. My knife's handle is a composition that is not wood, so I don't have to worry about using it in a wet area. The tang of the blade runs all the way through the handle, which means the blade won't separate from the handle when I'm levering out a weed growing in the joint between two bricks.
Ideas (none of these were received as gifts - I'm solidly in the "let me buy what I actually want, not what you think I do" camp):
If they start their own plants:
Hydrofarm seedling heat mat
A good grow light germination tray
Gift Certificate to a reputable seed vendor (Baker Creek, Sustainable Seed, etc)
Perhaps they've been mentioning that there's some plant they'd really like to grow? Find the seed for it.
Do they have many seeds? Get them something good to store and organize them in.
If you're local to them and they manage a large garden:
A "gift certificate" of your time - to come over for a solid day or two to dig, plant, weed, run irrigation, whatever.
Call around and find a good soil amendment source (with a variety of composts available) and get a gift certificate for so many cubic yards of that delivered. Depending on the humour of your friend, you could provide them with a card saying you've gotten them a load of comopost ... no $#!t!
Tools: I love tools, but selection of such things is highly personal, both for 'fit', likes and dislikes, and general utility. Powered (a Mantis or similar cultivator is awesome for raised beds) vs. hand (a good scuffle hoe, a Rogue hoe, etc - all good to have, but does your friend already have such things, or do they eschew the manual labour?)
Gizmos - light, moisture, and pH metres (available in a 3-way combo even) can be useful, but some gardeners just wing it and such a thing would be a waste.
Pruners - surely your friend has a good set already, but if not, a new Felco, Fiskars, or Corona pruner might be good. Perhaps they've got arthritis creeping in, or lack hand strength - an offset gear type (adds leverage for more power) or ratcheting model might be good.
Services: if they've got a gopher problem, perhaps arrange to hire a gopher erradication service. This of course needs to be done with the cooperation of your friend.
Kitch/Wimsy/Decorative:
Solar lights
Copper plant markers.
Suncatcher
Decorative windmill or windsock
Park bench (or arrange to construct one on-site - I just built and installed an 8' plank bench under a willow in my yard yesterday, and expect it'll be a nice spot to rest).
Hardware:
Trellis' (for growing vining plants, or pole beans, etc). They come in many forms.
Nice heavy duty tomato cages.
Drip irrigation system (avoid the schlocky "starter kits") - how do they currently water their garden?
A good high quality spray nozzle (or two). I like DRAMM nozzles.
Garb (most of which needs sizing for your friend):
A good sun hat for working in the garden
Garden clogs
Gardening gloves
Gardening apron (pouches to hold a few tools and supplies, plus keeps some of the crud off of you).
Perhaps they'd like a rain barrel setup? A nice decorative pot (or two or three).
You'd probably have an easier time of determining what they might like or need in their garden if you spent time out there with them, and casually asked questions. Perhaps company is what they'd appreciate - or perhaps not, as sometimes gardening is a personal endeavour and an opportunity to contemplate.
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