Gift Guide: For the Fledgling Gardener

When I first set out as a Novice Gardener, I didn’t have a single gardening tool save for an aged, crooked dandelion weeder I found buried in the bottom of my inherited window box. My tool-free approach didn’t help my chances for success, and I learned over the course of a year that there would have been some helpful items to have around.

Here, a few gift ideas to give the fledgling gardener the best shot at success, and at a lifetime of gardening:

Above: Good-looking tools are more likely to be used. (Is this true? We think so.) We recommend the no-frills but beautiful Joseph Bentley Traditional Stainless Steel Hand Trowel; $14.99 from Amazon.

Above: Gardening shears are a lot gentler on plants than craft scissors. We’re fond of this simple, compact design from UK designer Sophie Conran. The Secateurs are $45 from Amazon.

Above: I seriously underestimated gardening gloves in my first year of gardening, and often sported scratched hands and dirt under my nails. Nix that possibility with Women’s Leather Gauntlet Gardening Gloves; $39.50 from Duluth Trading Co. For men, we like the Golden Buckskin Gloves; $26.95 from Bear Wallow Glove Company. 

Above: As a beginner, I had an “aha” moment when I realized there are real benefits to using a watering can over a pitcher. Speed your gardener’s learning curve with an amply sized watering can with a sprinkling head. This one, from a company that’s been making watering cans since 1886, ought to work well. The Haws Traditional Watering Can is also available in green; $69.95 from Williams-Sonoma.

Above: I still sometimes forget the names of the plants in my garden. Garden labels would have been (and still would be) a useful aide; a set of ten Copper Garden Labels is $18 from Terrain.

Above: Help the beginning gardener learn from his or her mistakes; the Gardening Record Keeper includes a journal of 240 acid-free pages for recording information about gardening successes and failures, plans for the next year, saving seeds, and more; $69.30 from Garrett Wade.

Get your shopping done early; start with our Gift Guide: For the Urban Gardener and Gift Guide: For the Houseplant Enthusiast.