Theme-based holiday gifts are appreciated by novice and experienced gardeners. Submitted photo

Gardeners bring us beauty by maintaining healthy landscapes with yearlong interest.

In addition to providing colors and textures, gardeners keep pollinators and wildlife fed and protected with native plants, shrubs and trees. Giving your favorite gardener a gift to express your appreciation for their hard work and dedication is part of holiday festivities. What do you give a gardener who has everything?

Gardeners are always interested in learning about plants, gardening techniques, and other topics. Books can help satisfy a gardener’s quest for new knowledge. A number of well-written garden-themed books were published in 2025.

For gardeners who have a special appreciation for birds, the 2025 GardenComm Silver Laurel Media Award winning “Bird-Friendly Gardening” by Jen McGuinness, or “Natural Gardening for Birds: Create a Bird-Friendly Habitat in Your Backyard” by Julie Zickefoose, offer guidance on how to use native plants in garden designs to support birds.

“The Easiest Dwarf & Container Fruit Tree Gardening Handbook for Beginners 2025” is an excellent choice for gardeners who wish to grow fruit trees but do not have the space to grow and maintain an orchard.

“A Greener Life: Discover the Joy of Mindful and Sustainable Gardening” by Jack Wallington is an option for gardeners preferring to garden naturally. For novice gardeners, “Month-by-Month Gardening in Pennsylvania” offers an organized year-round approach that is specific to our state’s USDA Planting Zones.

There are books that help gardeners identify plants, plan vegetable gardens, design flower and native plant gardens, and more. For gardeners who plan their year, a garden planner is an appropriate gift. Look for planners in paper journal format that include suggested activities based on the growing season.

Gardening tools and supplies are a must have for both novice and experienced gardeners. Sturdy gloves for weeding and pruning are a necessity. Gloves should fit snugly and securely to avoid getting soil and material inside. Gloves made of leather or synthetic material, and those with rubber coating, are durable and attractive, with a wide array of colors and patterns. Some gloves have touchscreen-compatible fingertips, while others have firm fingertips for weeding.

Purchase gloves that are useful for a range of gardening chores, such as pruning, weeding, planting and harvesting. Hand tools, such as a bypass pruner, cultivator, garden knife or trowel are useful for a variety of gardening activities. Gift them in a handy canvas garden tote or gardening apron for easy organization and loss prevention. Metal garden markers can highlight specific plants and garden signs may add a touch of whimsy.

Supplies used by gardeners can be arranged in a theme-based gift basket. In a vegetable garden basket, include seed packets, garden markers, a recipe book and gloves.

For a gardener that attracts birds, create a basket with a bird identification guide, a book on gardening for birds and/or wildlife, a small hummingbird or oriole feeder, suet cakes, small bags of bird seed or a bird bath heater.

For a gardener living with only a small space to grow plants, try a container garden theme by packing a large, interesting terra-cotta container with a small bag of container soil, a small trellis and a book about container gardening. For insect enthusiasts, create a basket with a bee house and a book about solitary bees. Add local honey or bees wax cosmetics. A self-care gift basket can include locally made skin care products, gardeners soap, sunscreen, a hat and sunglasses.

Monetary gift cards to nurseries and garden centers, tickets to garden shows, online or mailed gardening magazine subscriptions, and enrollment in educational sessions are always appreciated gifts. Penn State Extension offers a host of online and on-site education opportunities throughout the year. To learn more about gardening-related education from Penn State Extension, visit extension.psu.edu. If you have questions about gardening practices, call the Master Gardeners of Butler County Garden Hotline at 724-287-4761, ext. 7 or email the Master Gardeners at butlermg@psu.edu.

Lisa Marie Bernardo is a Penn State Extension Butler County Master Gardener.

Lisa Marie Bernardo