Gift-giving can be expensive. It can also lack meaning at times; like when we feel like we are buying gifts for the sake of buying gifts, and we are not really able to personalize our presents.
A great way for plant growers and gardeners to personalize gifts is to give gifts made or crafted from your own plants or garden produce. This is a way to personalize a gift for the recipient, but it’s an even better way to personalize a gift from you, the giver.
There’s nothing more meaningful than a gift that was selected, crafted, or propagated from the heart of your own interests.
And the bonus? These gifts are economical and inexpensive, too, so you can share your love with more of the people who have touched your life this year.
Jump to:
- 12 Gifts for Gardeners and Plant Growers to Give -- With Meaning!
- 1. Jams, Jellies, and Preserves
- 2. Indoor Herb Plants from Cuttings
- 3. Christmas & Holiday Cacti from Cuttings
- 4. Propagated Houseplants
- 5. Miniature Succulent Garden
- 6. Dried Herb Bundles
- 7. Herbal Seasoning Mixes
- 8. Seasoned Herb Butter or Cheese
- 9. Dried Fruit, Berries, or Vegetables
- 10. Dried Soup Mixes
- 11. Pressed Flower or Botanical Hangings
- 12. Storage Crop Basket
- Give the Gift of Homegrown and Homemade Goodness -- a Gift that Keeps on Giving!
12 Gifts for Gardeners and Plant Growers to Give -- With Meaning!
To that end, we’ve come up with 12 gifts that you can make, craft, propagate, and give to everyone on your list. Gifts that are meaningful, useful, and appreciated.
1. Jams, Jellies, and Preserves
Jams, jellies, and preserves are classics. Homemade preserves often bring a sense of nostalgia and homemade goodness along with them. There’s nothing like homemade, but not so many people are making and preserving their own jams and jellies anymore.
If you’d like to take this gift idea a step further, make it a variety pack of different flavors of jams and jellies that you made this year. Or, round it out with a nice loaf of homemade bread.
A similar idea would be to gift other types of preserves. For example, perhaps a nice jar of homemade tomato sauce. To round that out, you could combine it with some sundried tomatoes, a head or two of garlic, or a nice package of pasta.
2. Indoor Herb Plants from Cuttings
There are several garden herbs that do very well when grown from cuttings. Holidays match up with this quite well, because we can take cuttings from our fall and early winter gardens (or any of the established plants that we’ve already moved inside), And grow as many gift plants as we have cuttings for.
Cuttings root quickly in water in a week or two and can then be transplanted into a pot for indoor growing. Rosemary, lavender, mint, thyme, basil, and so many other herbs propagate easily from cuttings. It’s a much faster option than starting from seed.
Here are some tips for propagating herbs:
- How to Propagate Herbs in Water + 7 Types That Will Root
- How to Propagate Herbs in Soil (10 Easy Steps)
3. Christmas & Holiday Cacti from Cuttings
Everyone loves a Christmas cactus. Fortunately, Christmas cacti and other types of holiday cacti are easy to propagate, too. You can propagate them from cuttings in water or in soil.
A well-established Christmas cactus will be able to make an almost endless amount of new plants just from some simple cuttings.
And, of course, there are many options for potting and decorating your gift to make it look great.
Learn how to propagate a Christmas cactus here.
Read on for more about Christmas cactus care, maintenance, and troubleshooting here.
4. Propagated Houseplants
Of course, Christmas and holiday cactuses are not the only types of plants you can propagate and give as gifts. After all, your goal is a gift that will be enjoyed all year long (not that holiday cacti are not great plants throughout the year, but this widens your options, too).
Some houseplants that propagate quickly and easily include pothos, snake plants, spider plants, and so many others. If you have it, chances are you can propagate it for gift-giving!
These are three of the fastest and most reliable houseplants to root. Some, like pothos, can even be grown and kept in water.
They happen to be easy to care for, too, which is nice for your gift recipient.
Here’s a helpful collection of articles to cover all your house plant propagating and gift-giving bases:
- How To Propagate Snake Plants (Leaf Cuttings And Root Division)
- How To Propagate and Grow Pothos–No Green Thumb Required!
- 44 Houseplants You Can Propagate from Cuttings
- 12 Tips for Giving Plants as Gifts
- 12 Rules for Giving Plants as Gifts (+ Tips)
5. Miniature Succulent Garden
Succulents are all the rage. They’re popular because they are easy to care for while also offering a wide range of unique and interesting colors, shapes, and sizes.
What’s also great about succulents is that they all pretty much have the same care guidelines, so you can mix them and match them to your heart’s content. That makes creating a unique miniature succulent garden simple. Make something unique for each of your gift receivers.
It’s something you can have a lot of fun with and personalize. Add trinkets and miniature statuary or create a fairy garden type planter. The options are endless!
You can propagate succulents from your own collection, or you can buy inexpensive, small single plants and work with them for a gift that will be appreciated, much loved, and not break the bank!
Find some helpful tips and guides for working with succulents here:
6. Dried Herb Bundles
Dried herb bundles can be decorative or practical. You can let your recipient decide how they want to use theirs.
There is nothing easier than making bundles of homegrown herbs and then air-drying them. Then, just make a collection of said bundles and arrange it in a nice box for gifting. Plain brown gift boxes lined with natural shredded papers are nice, or you could step it up a bit and arrange them in reusable wooden boxes (always nice and eco-friendly!).
If you want to do a little more, you could always pre-string the bundles on twine to make it easy to hang.
Of course, jars of homegrown dried herb flakes would be a lovely gift, too, with many options for jarring or packaging.
These articles will help you select, dry, and package herbs for gift-giving:
- 14 Best Herbs for Air Drying and Hanging
- 10 Best Herbs to Dry with a Dehydrator or Oven
- 6 Ways to Store Dehydrated Garden Produce + Extra Tips
- 7 Everyday Items You Can Use for Drying and Curing Herbs
7. Herbal Seasoning Mixes
Go a step beyond gifts of single types of herbs and give curated homemade herb mixes.
You can make up a mix of your favorites, or use one of many herb seasoning recipes that are out there. You can also add salt to make seasoning salts, or do single herb salts or garlic salt.
Some good options that use the more common homegrown herbs are Herbs de Provence, Italian seasoning, or just an everyday blend of common herb favorites.
Of course, unique blends are wonderful, too, and can be a way to introduce your gift recipients to something they might not otherwise use.
Tie them up in decorative favor bags or makeup jars of seasonings that will make them simple to use.
8. Seasoned Herb Butter or Cheese
Use your homegrown herbs to make an easy but impressive compound herb butter or flavored cheese spread. It only takes a few ingredients, like some good Amish roll butter (or regular butter works, too!), a good cream cheese, and your herbs.
Jar them up in four or eight ounce canning jars, and a small batch can make gifts for two to four or more!
Butter can be formed in ice cube trays, too, and then transferred into bags once cold and molded. (Do keep cheeses and butter cold and leave a note that they need refrigeration.)
This is another gift that is easy to scale up with a nice loaf of crusty bread or some premium crackers.
9. Dried Fruit, Berries, or Vegetables
Do you dehydrate? Give that gift!
Dehydrated fruits, vegetables, and fruit leathers are wonderful pantry ingredients to have on hand. There’s no need to worry about refrigeration. They’ll all be shelf-stable.
People are less familiar with how to use dehydrated fruits and vegetables, so it would also be nice to accompany your gift with a (preferably personal and hand written) recipe or two, or a card with some instructions or ideas for use.
10. Dried Soup Mixes
Go a step further with your dried goods. Makeup jars of easy-dried meal mixes, like soups, chili, or beans.
You’ll be giving an easy, shelf-stable, transportable meal, and you may just turn someone on to the wonderful world of dried homemade meal mixes!
11. Pressed Flower or Botanical Hangings
Press flowers and botanicals like leaves, greens, and ferns, then use them to create unique framed botanical wall art. Botanicals go well in almost any home or office.
You can use parts and pieces to create pictures and works of art or use whole pieces, perhaps with some nice calligraphy with the plants’ botanical names.
There are many ways to personalize this type of gift, too, like using the person’s birth flower or something that you feel represents their personality or spirit.
12. Storage Crop Basket
How about giving the gift of the harvest and its abundance? Storage crops are an excellent gift because they provide nourishing food that you know won’t need refrigeration.
You can make a basket of a single type of fruit or vegetable, or you can make a mix and match gift basket. You can even combine it with something like bread or preserves.
Some good things to include could be
- Apples
- Root crops like carrots, beets, and parsnips
- Winter squash varieties
- Pumpkins
- Potatoes
Give the Gift of Homegrown and Homemade Goodness -- a Gift that Keeps on Giving!
Homegrown and homemade gifts are unique. No one else can replicate the gift you give with thought and loving care.
Sharing your abundance with others, especially those who may not have access or inclination to homegrown and homemade goodness, helps to spread the goodness around.
These are gifts that will be far more appreciated than you might imagine! And you’ll be giving gifts that truly show your thoughtfulness and caring.
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