Fresh, practical gift ideas for gardeners—tools, books, and supplies that are useful, thrifty, and mostly under $100. Easy to order online.
For more ideas, also see the Empress of Dirt Shop where you’ll find a printable garden planner, ebooks, and more.
Gifts For Gardeners
If you are looking for thrifty yet welcome gift ideas for your favorite gardener, this should help. With a few exceptions, most items are well within a $100 budget.
These are not romantic or sentimental, just practical for gardeners who appreciate useful gifts.
While we kick off this guide with bird essentials—for those beloved, winged friends who delight us each year—if you want to skip the niceties and give something fundamentally useful, jump to back to basics.
We’ve also included some recent books with an emphasis on eco-beneficial gardening and the return to an emphasis on growing native species to support life on earth.
If your gardener has an interest in propagation, sowing supplies shares useful items including the inexpensive grow lights I recommend.
Because there is no need to repeat commonly recommended garden tools, unusually helpful gear has a few items that are—you guessed it—unexpected yet excellent problem solvers.
But, as mentioned at the start, when in doubt, never underestimate the value of a load of top-quality compost and a cheery, hard-working volunteer to spread it in the garden. We gardeners really are simple folk at heart.
Price ranges were accurate at time of publication.
Contents
Bird Essentials
Along with growing a diverse mix of trees, shrubs, vines, and perennials, a bird-friendly garden avoids pesticides and supports the entire web of life—because birds eat a lot of bugs!
In addition to investing in more plants, these birding extras make it all more enjoyable.
The first pick is a bit of a splurge—but the rest are much kinder to the budget.
Even if feeding birds is not permitted in your area, a wildlife camera is still a wonderful gift.
Top-Rated Bird Feeder With Automated Camera
Netvue Birdfy Smart Bird Feeder Camera
Price Range: $170 to $220
It’s a bird feeder and automated camera all in
- Rechargeable – can also be powered by optional Netvue Birdfy solar panel
- High definition photos and video 24/7
- Free cloud storage or save to SD card
- Integrated phone app for footage and notifications
- Identifies 6000+ bird species
Hummingbird Feeder With Automated Camera
Netvue Birdfy Hummingbird Feeder Camera
- High definition photos and video 24/7
- Free cloud storage or save to SD card
- Integrated phone app for footage and notifications
- Identifies 150+ species
- Rechargable – can also be powered by optional Birdfy solar panel
Wildlife Camera
Price Range: $50 to $200
A motion-activated wildlife camera (also called a “trail cam”) can capture animal activity in the garden night and day. I’ve had several of these over the years. They are not only entertaining but useful for figuring out how certain critters are getting to food crops or entering sheds.
Favorite Hummingbird Feeder
Price Range: $10 to $20
There are a few key things to look for in a good hummingbird feeder: it should attract hummingbirds (not bees), be easy to clean and refill, and offer a secure perch for feeding.
This is the model I recommend. Some versions include a built-in water reservoir (in the middle section) that acts as an ant moat, keeping ants out of the sugar water. If it doesn’t come with one, you can buy ant moats separately—they’re simple but effective.
Because these feeders need frequent cleaning and refilling, it’s smart to have at least two on hand so one is always clean and ready to go.
Books
If you want to give something timely and inspirational, these titles are inspiring a new generation of ecological gardeners.
Price Range: $14 to $50
Fireflies, Glow-worms, and Lightning Bugs
Identification and Natural History of the Fireflies of the Eastern and Central United States and Canada
by Lynn Frierson Faust
by Carol Klein
Most garden information can be found online but it’s best to have a good illustrated guide to plant propagation on hand as your work.
Garden for the Rusty-Patched Bumblebee: Creating Habitat for Native Pollinators: Ontario and Great Lakes Edition
by Lorraine Johnson and Sheila Colla
All the information gardeners need to take action to support and protect pollinators, by creating habitat in yards and community spaces, on balconies and boulevards, everywhere!
Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants | Doug Tallamy
I like to include this book because it has inspired countless gardeners to take up eco-beneficial practices. Once you see your garden—no matter the size—as a part of the greater whole—the importance of plant choices and avoiding pesticides is clear.
Garden Allies: The Insects, Birds, & Other Animals that Keep Your Garden Beautiful and Thriving
by Frederique Lavoipierre
It’s a beautifully written look into the secret life of gardens.
The Pollinator Victory Garden: Win the War on Pollinator Decline with Ecological Gardening; Attract and Support Bees, Beetles, Butterflies, Bats, and Other Pollinators
by Kim Eierman
Phenology (The MIT Press Essential Knowledge series)
by Theresa M. Crimmins
On the timing of seasonal activity in plants and animals, the impact of climate change, and what each of us, as everyday phenologists, can do to help.
Sowing Supplies
Indoor LED Grow Lights
Price Range: $40 to $110
While it is possible to start many types of seeds on a sunny windowsill, there are many advantages to using basic grow lights instead.
For seed starting, Barrina LED super bright white lights are very good. They come in 2, 3, and 4-foot lengths.
If your gardener grows flowering houseplants, consider getting Barrina full-spectrum lights as well.
This shows my entire seed starting setup if you would like to see everything I use.
Also Recommended
If you are gifting the grow lights, these are useful companion gifts.
A watering can with a nice long, slender neck is perfect for watering indoor seedlings.
Price Range: $30 to $50
A basic moisture meter takes the guesswork out of watering. I use mine all the time. And no batteries required!
Price Range: $7 to $12
A timer like this one automates when grow lights turn on and off each day. I’ve tried digital ones but they were not as reliable and long-lasting as this style.
Price Range: $10 to $20
This ebook, Seed Starting for Beginners, shares everything I do to successfully sow seeds indoors at home—propagating hundreds of new plants each year. It’s written for beginners who want all the details.
Price Range: under $10
Long-Lasting Plant Markers & Labels
This is what I use to mark perennials in the garden when I need tags that will last for years (and years) throughout the seasons.
Stainless Steel Plant Markers will last for years (and years).
Price Range: $30
A Brother Label Maker with waterproof tapes is perfect for long-lasting labels. I use the TZe labels up to 1″ in size.
Price range: $30-$140
Unusually Helpful Gear
A two-wheeled wheelbarrow that does not topple over when full is worth every penny.
Price Range: $60 to $130
A Compost Tumbler works nicely to keeps animals away and you can use it all year-round.
Price Range: $100 to $300
A Pop-up Kangaroo Bag (they are sold under various names) makes moving yard waste easy. Toss weeds and clippings in as you work. No heavy lifting—the smooth base lets it glide across the yard. Available in various sizes.
Price Range: $40 to $100
If mosquitoes are making gardening impossible, a bug jacket with hood can be a gamechanger. I was getting eaten alive last summer until I got one.
Price Range: $20 to $30
I wish I had bought my waders years earlier! Now I can stay warm and dry with my feet firmly planted on the pond floor while going about routine pond maintenance.
Price Range: $50 to $150
Back to Basics
If you don’t know what to give, ask!
Or, go back to basics:
- Money for plants and seeds
- Soil, compost, mulch —by the truckload
- Skilled help —a cheerful volunteer or two to spread that earthy goodness
Let’s be real. It would be quite a treat for someone to say, here—choose what you want from this plant nursery or seed catalog. Yes, please!
On a most practical level, many of us would be thrilled to have bulk deliveries of good quality soil, compost, and/or mulch along with volunteer help to distribute them throughout the garden. Heck, yes!
Or send over an expert weed remover with the patience to remove invasive species. Dreamy!
~Melissa the Empress of Dirt ♛