Even though fall is but a short memory away, gardeners keep thinking about gardening no matter how deep the snow is on the ground.

There is always that one thing that we all are looking to do each year including redoing a garden or putting in a new one. If you have a gardener or two on your Christmas list or even a winter birthday list, here are a few good ideas of what gardeners may like for a gift.

Baskets that can be used and easily cleaned up after they have been out in the garden, whether it is a flower garden or a vegetable garden, is a good gift to give. Particularly if they are made of natural materials and are easy to clean up.

A good lotion for those tired, dry hands that have been busy weeding and working in the garden all summer long is a good treat for any gardener. There are so many available now that are made from natural products that it won’t take you long to find one that is made out of materials that came directly from the garden itself. You can go one step better and see if there is someone who is local who is making their own lotions and maybe even hand soaps.

Herb scissors are a very unique gift. The part of the scissors where you place your fingers is the same as any scissors but the cutting part is much different. It is like there are 5-6 cutting blades that have been meshed together. This helps to cut up those fresh herbs faster for cooking purposes. You have to see this one to believe it.

Garden markers (stakes) are always welcomed. There are some very lovely copper markers that either come pre-marked or there are those that you can write on the stake itself to mark out those important places in any given garden. These work well for marking out rows of plants or those other plants that you want to keep an eye on from year to year.

Gardening gloves are also a welcomed gift. You can purchase specific gloves for rose gardening now too. These gloves go up to your elbow to protect your arm from those thorns. These are a little bit heavier than regular gardening gloves and would also work well for the raspberry patch too.

We have been talking a lot about what we can do to provide bees particularly native bees with a home and plants so that we can encourage them to expand and grow in numbers. What better gift to give than a bee house along with some native perennial flowers that bees enjoy the most?

There are some very cute planters that are out now too. These planters are small and are often made into shapes like hearts and letters. These work great for smaller plants such as succulents and similar plants that don’t need a lot of room to expand.

The last gift giving idea is a gift certificate to a greenhouse or to purchase seeds for your gardener that you know that they will enjoy. These things are all items that a gardener will remember that you have given them and they will enjoy them through many months of the growing season and beyond.

–For more questions on gardening, you can reach me at s.dejaeghere@me.com