Last year I wrote about gifts for the plant collector in your life. This year I want to let you know about other gifts that will be greatly appreciated this Valentine’s Day by every gardener in your life.

Seeds

Most gardeners have already started or soon will be planting seeds for this year’s growing season. Packets of seeds are also relatively inexpensive, which make them great gifts for those people who are on a budget. If your gardener likes to grow vegetables, you might try to find some seeds for heirloom tomatoes. (I have not met a vegetable gardener yet who would not love to receive such seeds.) Flower gardeners would like such seeds as nasturtiums, moonflowers, sunflowers, and other annuals.

Houseplants

The indoor gardener never has enough houseplants. You might look for something a little different, too. For example, a staghorn fern [see Including Staghorn Fern among your Houseplants] or a sago palm [see: Houseplants: Sago Palm] are interesting additions to any houseplant collection and may not be something that your indoor gardener already has. You can also inject some color into their interior landscaping by presenting them with a ti plant [see Houseplants: Ti Plant].

Containers

I can tell you from experience that buying pots for my numerous houseplants and outdoor container plants can be expensive. If you want to really splurge on your gardener, consider buying them that decorative container that they have always coveted yet were unable to afford. If your gardener is not interested in the more expensive ceramic pots, for example, buy them a collection of the cheaper plastic pots in varying sizes. I assure you that they will find plants to put in them.

Yard Art

For years, I hinted and hinted that I wanted the Savannah Girl statue for my garden. No one listened, and I wound up buying her myself. Has the gardener in your life been dropping similar hints? Valentine’s Day is the perfect day to pay attention to those numerous hints. The yard art your gardener craves may not just be a statue. It could be something as large as a particular garden bench or as small as a wind chime. Whatever it is, they will be thrilled that you did pay heed and fulfilled their desires.

Birdfeeders and Birdbaths

If your gardener is also a bird-lover – and many gardeners tend to be – consider buying them a neat birdfeeder. My daughter gave me a large red ceramic birdfeeder one year that I dearly love. Not only to the birds flock to it, it also looks great in the landscape. There are birdfeeders on the market now in all shapes and sizes, from those built to look like schoolhouses to standard tube feeders. Look around your gardener’s yard to determine what style would fit in best with their landscape. A birdbath would also be appreciated. This does not have to be some large, expensive item either. I have a very small birdbath – about a foot tall — that I originally purchased for decorative reasons only. (I thought it was cute.) I never dreamed that it would become a favorite of blue jays!

If you have a gardener in your life, think as they do and purchase something they can use in their garden this Valentine’s Day. Such a gift will probably be more appreciated than chocolates. Although, you might consider nestling some chocolates in that little birdbath you found for them.