The 32 Best Gardening Gifts for Newbies and Pros Alike, All Tested & Vetted

Watering houseplants can be messy, but this watering can offers precise delivery of water with its long, slim spout. It fits nicely into your hand and doesn’t slop water everywhere—a common issue when space is tight. Plus, it holds 40 ounces and can be filled easily through the top.

Cutting gardens are trending, so give your recipient this pretty mix full of cutting favorites such as cosmos, ammi and zinnia. This selection of taller flowers is ideal when displayed in a vase, and the company’s more than 100-year reputation for quality seeds makes this a solid choice.

Every gardener needs a spare pair of gloves or two. These nitrile-coated gloves allow excellent dexterity when you’re doing chores such as seeding or weeding, yet they offer touchscreen capability if you need to snap a photo of your latest Insta-worthy flower. Toss them in the washing machine and air dry. This comes in a set of two and is available in five sizes to fit anyone.

Repotting houseplants can be a pain, but this little soil scoop and brush set make it much easier! The brush tucks inside the scoop for storage, and the scoop is flexible and easy to maneuver into tight spaces when cleaning up. Pair this with the Watering Can (above) and/or the Repotting Mat (below) for the perfect gift for indoor gardening enthusiasts.

There’s nothing worse than skimpy gardening gloves that allow thorns to poke through or that tear after a few uses. These goat-skin gloves have long gauntlets that extend to the elbows, so arms are protected from thorns and branches when pruning. In tests, they’ve survived three seasons of heavy digging, pruning and weeding and still are going strong. They also come in five sizes.

Gardeners will love this cute windowsill kit that includes a seed starting tray, expanding soil pellets, and cilantro and Italian parsley seeds. The reusable silicone seed tray makes it super-easy to pop out transplants from every cell when they’re ready to go outdoors in the garden. The silicone tray is dishwasher-safe so you can sterilize it for the next batch of seeds.

Every gardener needs plant stakes to label seeds and baby plants (because, no, you won’t remember where you planted stuff). Plastic plant stakes are too short and always break or the label fades, or you can’t reuse if you write on them with marker. These are a generous 11 ½-inches tall and have zinc labels, which won’t rust and can be buffed with steel wool to repurpose year after year.

These reusable plant protectors, made in Canada by a small business, have tubes that can be filled with water to create an insulated mini greenhouse for individual plants. You can get heat lovers, like tomatoes, in the ground sooner to extend your growing season. Plus, they protect tender plants from freezing when you get that unexpected (but inevitable!) late frost in spring.

If your recipient loves houseplants, this nifty tool caddy with handle has plenty of space for storing and carrying gardening tools, seeds or fertilizer where you need it indoors or out. The compact size slides neatly into cabinets without hogging a bunch of space.

Every gardener or houseplant lover needs snips for harvesting herbs and edibles such as peppers and eggplants (instead of trying to yank them off the plant and damaging the stems). They’re also handy for taking cuttings or trimming off dead leaves. This budget-friendly set contains a pair of snips with curved blades and one with straight blades.

Cheap hand trowels last less than a season, and they don’t feel good in the hand. Made in the USA, this trowel is made of stainless steel with a pointed end. Its simple design makes it ideal for a variety of garden tasks from digging to weeding, and it’s lasted through four seasons of heavy use without breaking, bending or rusting. The 10-inch is a good all-purpose hand tool, but it also comes in longer lengths, too.

Does potting mix seem like a weird gift? Not to houseplant lovers! This chunky ,all-purpose mixture is fast-draining, so it’s ideal for aroids such as Monstera, philodendrons, pothos and ZZ plants. But there are also specific mixes for cacti, succulents and orchids. Plus, there are an array of soil amendments and soil toppers, which add a pretty touch to the top of plants, while also discouraging insects such as fungus gnats from taking over.

This new book is every rose lover’s dream guide. Written by grower Gracielinda Poulson, founder of the iconic Grace Rose Farm, it features full-page photos of gorgeous garden roses detailing the type, breeder, color, form, fragrance and more. Poulson breaks down the types of roses, the best kinds for cutting and arranging, how to plan a rose garden and how to harvest. It’s a helpful guide for growing roses, but it’s also just plain gorgeous as a coffee table book.

Instead of a bouquet that only lasts a week or so, give a flowering shrub, such as this stunning azalea. Bred to rebloom, this lovely little bush maintains a compact shape and flowers from summer to fall—unlike old varieties that bloom only in the spring. It also keeps a compact form so it can be planted as a foundation plant or in patio containers. Encore Azaleas come in many different colors, so you can find one in your recipient’s favorite shade.

Known as a hori hori, which means “dig-dig” in Japanese, your recipient will use this sturdy gardening knife for a hundred different gardening tasks: Weeding, digging, cutting, harvesting, slicing through bags of mulch and taking cuttings. The plastic sheath keeps it handy and safely within hand’s reach on your tool belt. In tests, it’s endured two summers of abuse and still is going strong.

Authored by garden designer Jacqueline van der Kloet, this beautiful new book teaches how to plant bulbs in your landscape alongside perennials and grasses in a naturalistic style. It’s a must-have for any bulb gardener for planting tips, design idea, and learning about specialty bulbs. Van der Kloet’s own designs for gardens such as New York Botanical and Chicago’s Lurie Garden are featured in lovely photos throughout the book.

Repotting plants usually makes a huge mess. But this mat, which can be folded and snapped into several different shapes, contains the untidiness and makes cleanup a breeze. During my latest repotting event, there was plenty of room for sizing up two small houseplants to larger 10-inch pots without scattering potting soil all over the kitchen counter. It would work equally well outdoors, and it folds flat for storage.

Help your gardener grow things in small spaces. This cute little tabletop unit comes with six sustainable wheat-straw planting pots that fit neatly into a self-watering base. This is a fun presentation and is an easy way to keep small herb or flowering plants, such as sweet alyssum, contained in one self-watering base that won’t tip over like individual pots.

Foraged floral arrangements, which you harvest from your own yard and garden, are trending big time. This kit makes it fun for your recipient to snip and create a one-of-a-kind arrangement from their own backyard or garden. The package includes a pot made from agricultural byproducts, three blocks of environmentally conscious floral foam (not that plastic stuff that doesn’t biodegrade), snips, pins and binding wire.

Every gardener needs a pair of (cute!) boots, whether planting or harvesting. These have grippy soles, slip off easily for quick runs into the house and hose off when muddy. They’re also not too hot for even the steamiest summer days. In tests, they’ve lasted through two seasons of almost daily wear and are still going strong. (Yes, you probably need a pair of these for yourself!)

For a creative plant gift they don’t already have, give your recipient their very own citrus tree! The calamondin citrus, which has teeny edible fruit and is one of the easiest citrus trees to grow, is a great choice. But this small grower also offers hard-to-find varieties, such as kumquat, Yuzu, Ponderosa lemon, red limes, and Kaffir limes for a truly unique gift. I’m growing my own little “grove,” and it’s a constant source of joy, especially when these fragrant trees are in bloom.

Indoor plants prefer humidity levels around 50 percent or higher, which can be tough to achieve in winter inside most homes. Your recipient can run this small humidifier to give all their houseplants the ideal micro-climate. In tests, the top-fill tank is super-convenient, it features a handy auto shut-off for when it’s out of water, it’s easy to clean, and it’s extra quiet. Plus, it has a nice, sleek form that doesn’t look out of place in any room.

Your recipient will love this portable green wall, complete with drip irrigation system built in. Just hook it up to the hose, and the whole thing gets watered efficiently by delivering moisture directly to the roots of each plant. The frame is on casters, so it can be moved anywhere you want. It’s a great solution for small space gardening on a deck or patio.

Your friend or loved one will love wearing this for a quick weeding session or to harvest tonight’s veggies. In tests, this was easy to toss on over clothes, and the abrasion-resistant fabric is tough without being too heavy. The best part is the side-zip skirt that converts to a pouch to carry tomatoes, beans, and whatever else is ready to harvest. It’s something your recipient probably wouldn’t buy themselves, but they’ll use it over and over.

Give your recipient a salad! Or a salad garden kit, which contains a 7-gallon grow bag, sustainably sensitive coconut coir potting medium, plant food and a gift code to order plants when it’s time to plant. This all-in-one kit is a fun way to give someone you love an easy, healthy way to garden in small spaces.

Grow lights usually are—let’s just say it: ugly! This company has changed all that with sleek lights that fit into any décor. This handsome lightbar works as undercabinet lighting or when mounted to a bookshelf, and it’s touch dimmable with a rotating magnetic bracket so you can direct light exactly where you need it. My indoor plants have never been happier, and I don’t have to deal with cheap, cheesy-looking fixtures that only last a few months.

These roomy overalls allow you to bend and move freely, and they’re loaded with pockets for everything from tucking a packet of seeds to stashing your work gloves. There’s even a pocket that’s specially designed to hold pruners without poking through the fabric. Plus, they come in a ton of fun colors, including a cute gnome pattern.

Fresh herbs make a difference in any meal, so if your recipient likes to garden or cook, this is a practical and fun choice. This tabletop garden comes with an integrated LED light on a timer and even reminds you when to add water or fertilizer. Because it’s hydroponic (no soil needed!), it’s not messy and takes up little space. In tests, it’s lasted several years and has grown tons of fresh herbs, that are cheaper and fresher than the ones from the supermarket.

As sleek and sexy as they are practical, this set of three torches give the plant person in your life a way to enjoy their garden after dark. In tests, they were easy to fill and provided a beautiful glow. The length of each stake is adjustable, and the integrated clips on each stake keep the snuffer caps handy and within reach when it’s time to douse the torches for the night.

Created by Swedish designer Anna Ehrner, this stunning crystal vase is a piece of art all by itself, though it’s equally lovely when overflowing with sunny yellow daffodils or pure white roses from your gardener’s cutting garden. Each vase is hand-crafted to be one of a kind.

The design of this exquisite crystal vase is ideal for top-heavy bouquets such as peonies, hydrangeas, and tulips. In tests, the large rim allows heavy bouquets to drape over the edges without falling over, effortlessly creating a casual-chic look.

Your favorite gardener is going to go wild over this deluxe tool that has everything needed for outdoor tasks. Toss it in the gardening bag, and it’s handy for taking cuttings, slicing open bags of mulch or compost, and tightening or adjusting garden tools. Made in Oregon, it also comes with an impressive 25-year warranty. Add a personal touch by customizing it with handsome outdoor patterns and initials for a small additional fee.