Given that gardening is an overwhelmingly favorite American hobby, chances are you have someone on your gift list who loves to garden. A gardening gift basket makes a sensational gift for the gardener in your life, any time of the year. This gift idea works well for special occasions, such as birthdays, Mother's or Father's Day, an anniversary or Valentine's Day.
However, the gardening gift basket can be for no special reason, except that spring, summer, fall or winter is on the way! You'll want to gear the contents to the coming season. For example, February or March, depending on your growing zone, is a great time to make a garden gift basket which contains items to be used for spring planting.
Much like stocking stuffers, including items such as cotton or leather garden gloves, a nice sharp hand pruning tool, a bulb planter, heirloom seed packets or a gift certificate for your friend's favorite nursery fills out your gardening gift basket nicely. Such items will be appreciated by any gardener. Other nice items include specialty garden books, a jar of rooting hormone, or a programmable drip irrigation timer kit.
A spring garden basket might include easy to grow summer annual seeds, annual herb seeds, or some starts in 4 inch pots. Along with herb seed packets, you might slip in enough terra cotta pots to get a windowsill herb garden going.
When summer is well underway, your summer garden basket might be filled with veggie seeds for an early start on fall crops. You could also pack that basket with potted chrysanthemums, small florist's cyclamens which can be babied inside until the weather cools and they can be transplanted outside for a lovely winter display.
A fall gardening gift basket can be one of the most interesting. Come September and October, the nurseries are filled with spring blooming bulbs, such as daffodils, tulips and begonias. Again, depending on your growing zone, you'll find a variety of exotic bulbs suited to your area. Also, freshly on display are poinsettias and Christmas cactus. Toss in some bone meal and a bulb planter and your friend is good to go.
Winter doesn't offer the gardener much in the way of hands on time in the garden. This doesn't mean that your gardening gift basket can't be a great success. This is the time gardeners pore over the garden catalogs. Order several. It's easy to do on the net. Before you order a catalog, be sure they ship to your area. Some don't, if the stock they carry won't grow in your climate. The winter basket can also have some easy to force bulbs, such as paper whites and certain miniature daffodils. Those covered, terrarium style seed starters and a few packs of heirloom seeds or unusual perennials will keep your gardener happily occupied until spring arrives.
There's no question that a gardening gift basket will be well received by any gardener. It's a gift that keeps on giving.
