Gifts for the gardeners are everywhere, catering for everyone from armchair enthusiasts to green-fingered gadget lovers. Here are just a few ideas to suit different gardening types.
The armchair gardener
:: For those who want inspiration from gardens at home and abroad, The Gardener’s Garden (£49.95, Phaidon Press) will provide it in spades. This is surely the ultimate coffee table tome on the world’s most outstanding gardens, featuring gardens from every continent by designers including Beth Chatto, Christopher Bradley-Hole, Capability Brown and Tom Stuart-Smith. It’s illustrated with more than 1,000 colour photographs - a beautiful gift.
:: While browsing through a gardening book, the armchair gardener may also enjoy a hot toddy. Enjoy the aromatic scent of Christmas with a mulled wine or whisky toddy from ready-mixed spice sachets from the National Trust (£4.50 per pack, shop.nationaltrust.org.uk and selected National Trust shops across England, Wales and Northern Ireland).
:: If armchair gardeners can drag themselves into the kitchen, they may enjoy making a tipple of their own with a Kilner eight-piece Sloe Gin gift set, designed to provide all the essentials needed to make sloe gin or any other fruit liqueurs. Use natural hedgerow produce with traditional recipes (£22.95, harrodhorticultural.com).
The pampered gardener
:: Bring the fragrance of Christmas into the pampered gardener’s home with a stylish and subtle pine and eucalyptus scented bauble from Jo Malone, which will happily adorn any tree and make the scent of Christmas last well into the New Year (£32, jomalone.co.uk).
:: The pampered gardener will appreciate a pile of soothing goodies after a hard day in the garden, including hand lotion, hand wash and body soap in a Woodlands Watering Can Gardener’s Gift (£26, gardendivas.co.uk). The set includes a handy wooden nail brush and a pair of floral gardening gloves.
The gadget lover
:: Keep hands warm with a pair of Briers Warm Ups, gloves which you stick in the microwave to heat up the micro gel within them to keep hands warm. They should stay warm for up to an hour and you can dry them naturally and wipe with a damp cloth (£24.99, briersltd.co.uk).
:: Save space in the shed with Handigger, a Swedish product used to dig, plant, scoop, level or just break up compacted soil. With an ergonomically comfortable handle recommended for people with osteoarthritis and rheumatic pain and two different shaped blades, this multi tool took two years of testing to develop it to suit both amateur and professional gardeners (£9.99, chaselink.co.uk).
The outdoor stylist
:: Create an illusion of space with a garden mirror. This ornate Gothic Mirror from Harrod Horticultural will be an eye-catching addition to any garden wall and make the area seem bigger. The cream mirror is made from wood and painted with an antique wash, waterproof paint to withstand the elements. The mirror is 85cm high x 66cm wide (£49.95, harrodhorticultural.com).
The wildlife lover
:: A new idea comes from the Eden Project in the form of Wildlife Seedbombs (£3.50 each, edenprojectshop.com), which you soak first then throw on to a section of your garden and simply watch it burst into life. These are ideal for adding colour and attracting pollinating insects to sections of neglected garden. Choose from Cornflower Fieldbomb, Pollinator Beebomb, Poppy Peacebomb, Sunflower Powerbomb or Thyme Bomb.
:: Bird lovers will appreciate a classy bird feeder which you can also personalise. Check out the Oak Hanging Bird Feeder from Getting Personal, which comes with a thick, twisted rustic rope so that you can hang it from a tree branch or other support. Featuring a shallow bowl for seeds and nuts, the wide edge of the feeder can be engraved with a short message or name (£84.99, gettingpersonal.co.uk).
:: The designs on these Funky Laundry bags makes you think of wildlife every time you look at them. Store garden cushions in them, choosing designs ranging from bluebells and wild flower meadow, to chilli, nuts and bolts and roses. The bags are also ideal for collecting and depositing garden leaves (£6.99, funkylaundry.co.uk).
The shed enthusiast
:: The man - or woman - who finds solace in his shed can chalk up some gardening reminders on a quirky Slate Welly Boot Chalk Board with a rope handle from the RHS, a must for the shed or outhouse (£9.99, rhsshop.co.uk)
:: Are you always tripping over tools in your shed? If so, you need the new Tool Track Rack from Nether Wallop, as its ingenious sliding elements enable it to hold at least 15 tools. It comes supplied with fixings for both wood and brick. (£29.95, netherwalloptrading.uk).
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