Looking for a holiday gift idea beyond the poinsettia for the gardener in your life? There are garden-related gifts to bring holiday joy to novice and experienced gardeners of all abilities.

Gardening tools always are in demand among gardeners who use hand held as well as power tools for pruning.

An excellent overall tool for gardening is the Hori Hori knife. First implemented in Japan to excavate wild vegetables, this knife typically features a concave blade for digging, beveled sharp edge for slicing, an opposite serrated edge for cutting roots or small limbs, and engraved inch markers to plant and seed at the correct depth.

Felco gardening tools are a nice splurge for the avid gardener. Crafted in Switzerland, Felco tools are made to last and can be sharpened and repaired when damaged. Felco also makes left-handed tools, which is a valuable find for left-handed gardeners.

Older gardeners and those with arthritis will appreciate a ratcheted hand pruner which requires less effort compared to standard pruners.

Battery-powered hedge trimmers might be on the gift wish list of gardeners with unruly shrubs located far from an electrical outlet or for those who expressed their frustrations with extension cords.

Likewise, an auger attached to a battery-powered drill makes bulb planting relatively easy; include a few bags of spring or summer bulbs with this gift!

Gardening apparel and safety gear are crucial for preventing injuries.

Sloggers are waterproof garden clogs that come in a variety of fun colors and patterns, are easy to slip on and off, and have heavy duty tread for traction outdoors. Gardening gloves, safety goggles, hats and vests wear out over time, and gardeners appreciate new gear that makes gardening fun.

A garden kneeler and seat has a multi-purpose function as a lightweight bench for sitting, used upside down for kneeling, and held onto for support while standing.

For gardeners who have limited space or time but love to garden, flower seed tapes might be an option as a quick and easy way to plant flowers and vegetables. Seeds are appropriately spaced on strips of disposable tissue paper; at planting time, simply lay the strips where flowers and vegetables are desired, cover with soil, and water well. This gift is appropriate for adults and children alike to instill or nurture an interest in gardening.

Indoor house plants need attention from gardeners throughout the year. Gifts to care for house plants include a water gauge to monitor soil moisture, an indoor watering can, mister and gardening gloves.

Books about house plants and their care, along with a house plant, would make an interesting gift for anyone.

Wildlife watchers may enjoy a new suet feeder with a tail prop designed for woodpeckers, a bird bath and water heater, or a new hummingbird feeder for the spring and summer. Bird food to fill the feeders is always needed. Gardeners with pollinator gardens might enjoy a mason bee house, butterfly biome, Monarch butterfly kit for raising these beautiful pollinators, or bat box.

Gardening books abound in the marketplace and fall into categories of plant-specific, plant photos, garden design and other landscape and nature-related topics. Books recommended as gifts by some of our Butler County Master Gardeners include: “The Well Tended Perennial Garden: The Essential Guide to Planting and Pruning Techniques” by Tracy DiSabato-Aust; “Rodale’s Ultimate Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening” by Fern Marshall Bradley, Barbara W. Bradley and others; “Epic Tomatoes: How to Select and Grow the Best Tomatoes of All Time” by Craig LeHoullier; “Good Weed, Bad Weed” by Nancy Gift; “Good Bug, Bad Bug” by Jennifer Walliser; and “100 Plants to Feed the Monarch: Create a Healthy Habitat to Sustain North America’s Most Beloved Butterfly” by the Xerces Society.

Still at a loss for holiday gift for a gardener? Gift cards to local nurseries and garden centers, tickets to a spring garden show, or a weekend tour of gardens and conservatories stretch the imagination beyond winter and into the new year. Happy Holidays from the Butler County Master Gardeners!

Renea Pomeroy is a Penn State Extension Master Gardener Butler County Apprentice.