Oodles of Christmas gifts for your plant and garden-loving friends

There's no getting away from it, Christmas is coming and you really need to go shopping. This task is now a lot simpler than it used to be because most of us can do it from the comfort of home. Garden-lovers are spoilt for choice  as the season revolves around the topic of new life. It's all about re-birth during days of darkness. There are better things to come and it's a celebration of greenery when skies are grey. In other words, there are so many gift opportunities for those who love nature and the outdoor world that it makes Xmas shopping a breeze.

Let's give you some inspiration

‍Christmas gifts under the tree - but what can you buy for your garden-loving friends? How do you make a gardener happy? By giving a gift that inspires and opens doors of opportunity. It could be in the form of books, tools, equipment, bulbs, seeds, sculpture, ornaments or even a token so that the lucky recipient is able to select an item of his or her choice. How simple it is! ‍

Cactus vase, anyone? These quirky ceramic vases are a statement feature and a lot of fun! Click on the photo to link to the product. ‍

A bird bath with a glass, hand-painted top, picturing a colourful peacock. Beauty and function all rolled into one gift. Click the photo to take a look at the product. ‍

A gift set for a gardener! Promote your garden-loving friend or family member to the role of Head Gardener! Set includes Rigger gloves and wooden plant labels too. Click on the photo to look at the Gardener's Gift Sets.  

Gifts for garden-lovers!

Here's a sackful of ideas which might be suitable for someone you know at Christmas: ‍

These three wise men didn't seem to have any trouble choosing their presents. Firstly, we like to keep things relevant and according to the Bible (Matthew, Chapter 2) the Magi, or wise men, followed a bright star in the east to Bethlemen. ‍

It's easy to see why stars represent such a strong symbol at Christmas.

This brings us to the 'stars' of the garden in December that you might forget to notice.

A basket of something beautiful always makes a lovely gift and flowering from now until at least February are heathers such as Erica and Calluna with their insect-attracting pink, purple and white gems. They represent a frequently disregarded bonus of the winter garden and in modern times they tend to be overlooked. Never fail to appreciate plants that offer so many positive benefits. ‍

This heather in a basket would make a simple, but entirely beautiful, gift for a plant lover.

More stars of the season will be readily available this festive season

They include shrubs with berries; house plants with fragrant flowers such as Stephanotis and of course traditional Christmas flowers such as Poinsettias and growing kits including Amaryllis and hyacinths. ‍ An Amaryllis growing kit which includes an unusual glass vase. This is a present that will keep on giving. ‍

A charming hyacinth growing kit which includes a metal bucket for use as a plant container.

Those wise men were said to bring gifts of gold, frankinsense and myrrh.

Well, we all know what gold is, but what about the other two? Did you know that both frankinsense and myrrh are derived from tree sap? They are fragrances made from the resin of aromatic trees which is extracted in a similar way to rubber from rubber trees. ‍

Perfumed candles make a lovely present and these are particularly suitable for garden-lovers at Christmas.

So, perhaps perfumed candles might be the appropriate present of choice?

There are some superb candles available including the luxurious Voluspa range containing only the finest and purest ingredients. Once you've enjoyed them, no other scented candle will be good enough! The range includes the perfect choice for garden-lovers, Elysian Garden, which is certainly characteristic of heaven or paradise - as its name suggests. Or how about the delightful Vanilla & Cinnamon candle from Wax Lyrical, endorsed by the RHS? If you want something really quirky you could go for a Mince Pie fragranced candle, produced by Wax Lyrical. ‍

A mince pie scented candle! This is a quirky Christmas gift with a difference.

Gardeners are an easy lot to please at Christmas.

Give them something subtle and useful and most of them will be delighted. Gloves, twine, copper tape, plant labels and useful storage crates or seed tins always go down well. Natural materials such as terracotta, pottery and gifts in baskets are generally well-received and there are oodles of gardener's gift sets available too.

This gardener's gift set includes secateurs, gloves, a cheeky robin ornament, plant labels, a Victoria & Albert tea towel in a presentation tin, all presented in an attractive wicker trug. Many of these gift opportunities are available from www.perfectplants.co.uk. Enjoy unlocking oodles of potential!