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9 best gardening gifts to treat the green-fingered person in your life

From trowels to chocolate brussels sprouts, we’ve found something for every gardener

Wednesday 08 January 2020 10:22 GMT

(The Independent/iStock)

There are heaps of potential gifts out there for the gardener in your life, but not all will be greeted with a bright sunflower smile. We’ve forked our way through a mass of products – weeding out the unwanted – to bring you some festive ideas for your green-fingered friend.

For this roundup, we have selected a glut of garden-related gifts, available at prices that suit a broad range of budgets. We considered shiny new wares as well old dependable favourites from the brands we know and trust, keeping a close eye on quality and value for money.

We’ve included practical gifts along with some decorative and pampering options. The tools and practical items on this list were taken down to our weed-filled allotment for thorough testing – the rest were grappled and prodded by our mud-encrusted fingers.

Most of all, the gifts in this guide had to be presents that we ourselves would like to tear open.

You can trust our independent reviews. We may earn commission from some of the retailers, but we never allow this to influence selections, which are formed from real-world testing and expert advice. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.

Burgon & Ball x Sophie Conran long thin trowel: £16.99, Burgon & Ball

If you are going to poke around in the muck, you might as well do it in style. This super useful garden implement is part of a collaboration between Burgon & Ball and Sophie Conran and offers up rugged durability with a classy design aesthetic. The mirror-polished trowel feels solid and weighty in use, with the hardwood handle providing a sure grip. Just the ticket for a frantic bulb-planting session or waging war on a weedy border.

Noble Isle rhubarb rhubarb! duo gift set: £34, Noble Isle

Gardeners hands will take plenty of punishment during the cold winter months, and it’s only right that they should receive a proper pampering after a hard day’s graft. Noble Isle – purveyor of quality, cruelty-free body-care – seeks its inspiration from naturalistic extracts and fragrances sourced from across the British Isles. This particular pair of hand-care products will bless sore paws with the sweet, fresh smell of rhubarb. The hand wash lathers up nicely and removes ingrained garden grime in a flash, while the non-greasy hand lotion leaves gnarly hands feeling smooth and suitably invigorated.

Choconchoc chocolate sprouts: £7.60, Choconchoc

Christmas just isn’t Christmas without a stash of chocolates to rip into, so here’s a sweet box of treats for the vegetable lover in your life. Each box comes with eight weighty, white-chocolate sprouts nesting in a smart serving carton. Rest assured the sprouty similarities end with their green, leafy appearance – these solid Belgian beauties are creamy, delicious and far too good to share.

Emma Bridgewater figs serving plate: £59.95, Emma Bridgewater

Hard-won allotment produce deserves to be served on the finest plate possible – here’s a pucker platter from Emma Bridgewater’s vegetable garden collection that will bring an air of gravitas to the lowliest carrot or ragged red cabbage. We love the vibrant and leafy fig design on this large 33.5cm plate, but the range also includes a variety of garden-grown veg illustrations across a selection of mugs, jugs and serving plates. There’s enough crockery in this collection to keep you going in present ideas for years.

Klean Kanteen insulated flask, 750ml: £39.95, Klean Kanteen

Despite the strong pull of a roaring fire and a glass of sherry, there are still plenty of gardening tasks to be getting on with over winter. Gift your gardening pal this tough insulated flask to make the transition from their warm house to the cold outdoors a little more bearable. Its generous 750ml capacity will cater to the thirstiest gardener, and the easy-open cap can be grappled with while wearing winter gloves. The pour-through neck nozzle is also a welcome feature and helps prevent soil or bugs sneaking inside the flask and spoiling your hot, tasty brew.

Haws indoor copper watering can, 1L: £59.99, The Wonderful Garden Company

Haws has a grip on high-end watering cans, and this dinky, solid copper number from its indoor range will make a perfect gift for the houseplant enthusiast in your life. It’s an absolute joy to use – the finely poised pouring action makes plant watering a breeze, and the brass rose is removable to aid pinpoint accuracy. This handsome can also work as a dazzling display piece when not in use, but be warned that inquisitive finger prodding will sully its good looks. Keep an emergency can of Brasso close to hand, just in case.

Royal Horticultural Society desk diary 2020: £6.99, Waterstones

Plan year-round gardening tasks with military precision using this swish 230mm x 170mm desk diary from the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). The week-per-page format affords plenty of space to scribble down daily gardening jobs, and each page is faced by floral, botanical illustrations plucked from the extensive RHS Lindley Library archive. There’s even a small pocket inside the front cover to stash a couple of seed packets if you so wish.

Simon King Wildlife solitary bee hive: £25.99, Simon King Wildlife

The unfortunate worldwide decline of bees and pollinators has led to a raft of insect hotels appearing on the market, aiming to provide invaluable habitat to help protect them. Not all bee hotels are up to the task, and in some cases (in particular, the ones that incorporate plastic tubing in their construction) can encourage mould growth and parasites, which is counterproductive.

This well-constructed solitary beehive is recommended by wildlife guru Simon King – a solid endorsement of its quality. We love its Nordic good looks and it offers up 24 nesting holes that shelter under the copper-tipped roof. For those wishing to check on the residents’ egg cells during the dormant winter months, a pair of wing-nuts located at the base allows for swift, safe inspection.

Okatsune shears: £75-85, Niwaki

Budding topiarists and landscapers alike will delight in this super-snippy gift. When it comes to precision slicing tools, the team at Okatsune are masters of their craft and these beautiful shears – lovingly constructed from Japanese oak and tempered steel – are top of the chops. The combination of long wooden handles and ferociously sharp blades make it tricky to wrap, but the glorious present reveal will make it well worth the effort.

The verdict: Gifts for gardeners

Any self-respecting gardener would be overjoyed to find one of these green-fingered gifts lurking under the tree, but our pick of the bunch is the Burgon & Ball x Sophie Conran trowel. It’s a beautifully constructed, practical present.