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Gifts for Gardeners 2009 Edition

November 27th, 2009

I’m sure most of you reading this blog are the gardeners in the family. In case you’re not, here are few great gift ideas for those gardeners in your life. Since today is Black Friday, the traditional kick-off for the holiday shopping season, I figured I’d talk about gifts for those gardeners in your life.

For the the gardener that loves houseplants and growing interesting things, how about a dwarf lemon tree from Four Winds Growers? I’m hoping to get one or two of these for Christmas. A Meyer lemon would be perfect as would a Mexican Lime.
dwarf_citrus
A Seed Savers Exchange gift membership would be perfect for those in your life that are trying to focus on heirloom plants. This is a great gift for those activists in your life, even if they’re not gardeners. Seed Savers Exchange is the largest non-governmental seed bank in the United States. They ensure the safety of more than 25,000 endangered vegetable varieties.
Seeds_savers_Exchange
How about a collection of seeds from a seed shop that tries to focus on heirloom & non-GMO seeds, like Bountiful Gardens, Freedom Seeds, Victory Seed Company, Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, Botanical Interests, Renee’s Garden, Wild Garden Seed, Territorial Seed.
botanical_interests_seeds
Of course I’m going to recommend a pair of Ethel Gloves for that special lady gardener in your life, or for that budding young gardener since they have children’s gloves now.
ethel_gloves
A mushroom growing kit would be a fabulous gift, especially for that young gardener in your life. I would have loved growing mushrooms as a kid. Most of the big gardening website have them, but I’d buy from a place like Cascadia Mushrooms (which I found on LocalHarvest.org), Peaceful Valley, Territorial Seed, or Mushroom Adventures.
mushroom_growing_kit
My mushroom kit in effect! courtesy of mtoasty

A membership or a day pass to a local horticultural center or botanical garden would be a fantastic gift for that gardener that has everything. If you live near Kennett Square PA, Longwood Gardens is superb. Here in NE Ohio, Stan Hywet is nice. Most large cities have botanical gardens that would be wonderful to tour throughout the year with a membership.
stan_hywet_greenhouse
I can’t go without recommending a Chiot’s Run calendar, it makes a great gift (and not just for gardeners). Many of my friends and family will be getting one.
chiots_run_calendar
I won’t be leaving the house today, I don’t like the crowds and most of my gifts are homemade. I will browse a few on-line sales> to see if anything I’ve been looking for is on sale.

Do you have any great recommendations for gifts you’d like to receive or that you’re getting for those gardeners in your life?

14 Comments to “Gifts for Gardeners 2009 Edition”
  1. Mangochild on November 27, 2009 at 9:17 am

    These are all great gift ideas – I’d be happy with any of them! I can think of a couple other gift ideas that might work: (1) herb gardening kits/starts; (2) if your loved one celebrates Christmas, a christmas cactus… I was given one my father started from a cutting of another larger one, and it is beautiful. I don’t celebrate Christmas, but the red flowers that start to appear this time of year, and the shiny dark green leaves are a bright spot in my home. It took about 4-5 years for the single cutting to mature, but wow did it grow. The plant is huge now. And (3), if it is someone you are particularly close to and would like that kind of thing, a note with a portion (maybe 1/4 or 1/2 of a CSA share). That’s a tough one to judge, but in some cases it might be a delight to the receipient.
    .-= Mangochild´s last blog ..Contibuting Local Farmers =-.

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  2. kristin @ going country on November 27, 2009 at 9:44 am

    This year I asked for a good pair of pruning shears. I had cheap ones, and they’re shot. I would love a dwarf lemon, although we have so many plants indoors already in the winter that finding a good sunny spot for it indoors might be a problem. And I think next year I’m going to try mushrooms. I have the perfect stump in mind.
    .-= kristin @ going country´s last blog ..The Menu–Straight Up =-.

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  3. Daphne on November 27, 2009 at 11:37 am

    I want some more sizes of soil block makers. That would be fun. I also need a bigger light set up for starting my plants in the spring.
    .-= Daphne´s last blog ..A Red Thanksgiving =-.

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  4. Janessa on November 27, 2009 at 11:58 am

    Ohhh I want 2 lemon and 2 lime trees for indoors. I’d also like seed starting equipment, gift certificates to craft stores and hardware stores. :)

    Reply to Janessa's comment

  5. the inadvertent farmer on November 27, 2009 at 4:21 pm

    I asked for mushroom spores this year…people thought I was crazy! Kim
    .-= the inadvertent farmer´s last blog ..An Ode to Black Friday… =-.

    Reply to the inadvertent farmer's comment

  6. KitsapFG on November 27, 2009 at 7:03 pm

    Those are all great ideas. I am going to give packages of my saved seeds from the garden and my favorite salad spinner to the garden loving folks on my list.

    Reply to KitsapFG's comment

  7. andrea on November 28, 2009 at 6:42 pm

    There is a small local seed company in Maine that sells musroom kits, tons of seeds for sprouting and kits for that also, they have sets for making your own natural beauty supplies (my daughter had fun with this when she was in high school), not to mention their seed packets are small and very resonably priced and they have a lot of unusual latin and european vegetable seeds. Check out Pinetree garden seeds and get the paper catalog, it’s much better than the website!
    https://www.superseeds.com/

    Reply to andrea's comment

    • Susy on November 29, 2009 at 12:40 am

      Thanks for the link! I’ll check them out. I’m always looking for small companies to buy from (being a small business owner myself :)

      Reply to Susy's comment

  8. Sustainable Eats on November 28, 2009 at 11:02 pm

    Those are great gifts! I just did a similar post today. It’s the time for shopping methinks. I listed some unusual plants that I want for my garden that will reduce our reliance on more store bought stuff, like sea berry plants and almond trees. One Green World has some great things! I also saw that Territorial now has hazelnut trees innoculated with black truffles. That one was tempting…
    .-= Sustainable Eats´s last blog ..Giving the Gift of Self Sufficiency =-.

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    • Susy on November 29, 2009 at 12:39 am

      I’d love to grow some nut trees as well, but we don’t have space here. Perhaps someday when we have more land.

      Reply to Susy's comment

  9. Elizabeth Davis on November 29, 2009 at 3:21 am

    Where do you grow your mushrooms? Do you grow them indoors? I have been interested in growing mushrooms, but have not been confident to try because we have so many poisonous ones here outdoors. I saw the box and wondered if perhaps you grow them inside. I have heard of people growing them on old telephone books. I would love to know more about your growing process.

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    • Susy on November 29, 2009 at 9:47 am

      With the kits you grow them indoors. You can buy spores and inoculate logs outside. Then you would know which ones you started so they’re safe.

      Reply to Susy's comment

  10. Andres Stell on November 29, 2009 at 1:44 pm

    I think the idea of a Meyer lemon tree is a great gift. I have had one for a couple of years, and love having a few homegrown lemons every year.
    .-= Andres Stell´s last blog ..Garden Progress =-.

    Reply to Andres Stell's comment

  11. Chicago Mike on November 30, 2009 at 12:43 am

    Hmmmmmmm…… how to send this link to my wife without being too obvious? :)
    .-= Chicago Mike´s last blog ..Bedding Down The Strawberry Beds =-.

    Reply to Chicago Mike's comment

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This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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