Last-minute Christmas gifts (and beyond): Quick gifts for garden owners

Have you just realized you still need a Christmas present ? Or have you just remembered that you'd actually like to give a Christmas present to someone who wasn't originally on your gift list ? Do you still not want to just rush to the nearest store and buy "something"?

Then the only thing to do is stay calm and invest a few minutes in reflection (and reading this and other articles about Christmas gifts ). It's much more pleasant than plunging into the Christmas rush at the last minute.

Here are a few ideas for quick Christmas gifts for garden owners:

Every gardener who doesn't just cultivate a desert in front of their house needs plant markers to identify herbs and newly planted varieties, for example. Plants change as they grow, and even gardeners without a biology degree want to be able to keep track of what's growing.

These plant markers are needed in considerable quantities. Even at a modest individual price, buying them can quickly add up.

You can also make plant markers yourself inexpensively and give them as gifts, and with the right idea, it even works down to the last minute:

For example, you could look for small plastic labels in the nearest office supply store that specialty labels , in hardware stores that have floristry supplies, or on the internet (whichever is more accessible and faster for you).

These labels are available in a wide variety of sizes , with holes for hanging or with metal eyelets and wire for attachment, in white, but often also in colors, e.g., in garden-friendly green . All these labels have in common that they are made of waterproof material and are designed for writing on.

This labeling should, of course, be waterproof for your intended use. Furthermore, these labels need a stake for inserting them into the soil. You will usually find a suitable solution for this when you purchase the labels.

These could be, for example, the stakes to which the labels are actually meant to be attached in the shop. A very discreet and elegant solution for giving the labels a "stem" is the use of so-called ivy pins. These are needles from floristry supplies that resemble a long and narrow U, a very tight arc. If these ivy pins are threaded through the eyelet or hole of the label, your gardener can simply insert them into the ground on site. The labels then look as if they are growing directly out of the earth.

How you go about putting together this Christmas gift probably depends on how well you know the gardener you are giving it to: If you know what he plans to plant in the coming years, you can give him pre-labeled labels with colorful ribbons (or raffia ribbons that blend naturally into the garden) for attaching them.

If you know which plants he dreams of having in his garden , give him the ready-made labels along with the seeds he's purchased at the local seed shop. If you don't know what he's planning for his garden next year, give him the ready-made labels along with good-quality, guaranteed waterproof pens, perhaps in different colors.

If you are looking for a gift for a gardener who values ​​design in their garden, they may not want bright white or strikingly colorful plant markers, and such labels may simply seem a bit too sloppy for a design freak.

Then you could elegant labels from polypropylene film . These are available in beautiful, delicate colors that also look great in gardens, such as light orange, friendly grass green, and matte olive green.

Furthermore, these polypropylene films are translucent, meaning they're slightly see-through. This allows a bit of the rest of the garden to show through. It's actually a very simple idea, yet you can make a Christmas present out of it that might impress a gardener (for all non-gardeners: gardeners have to see a lot of terrible kitsch when they go to buy plant markers).

Other quick and sometimes quite artistic plant markers can be made, for example, from old silverware (found at the last flea market) into which you engrave plant names. Or from inscribed slate. Small slate slabs can be found at auctions, in aquarium supply stores, and sometimes even in hardware stores.

You can also transform beautiful stones into plant markers, or use almost antique-looking leftover roof tiles, wooden tile scrapers, clay tiles, and many other household items to attach a ribbon or handle and provide a surface for labeling. Paint pens or permanent markers can be used for labeling, depending on the material, or given as gifts.

For garden owners, there's a surefire gift idea that they can always use, because every gardener wants to enjoy warm summer evenings in their own garden . And for that, they always need atmospheric lighting that's a bit more stylish than a candle on the table.

It goes out with every little breeze anyway. A romantic atmosphere can be created much better with a garden lantern filled with candles . Such a garden lantern quickly transforms the garden into a festive, celebratory space. It's much easier to set up and tend to than candles, and with a little imagination, you can even create your own.

For example, you can windproof tealight holders , which also make excellent garden lanterns. They are available in countless designs for just a few euros. Garden lanterns that fit more impressive candles also come in many sizes and price ranges, and you can, of course, decorate each of these lanterns extensively.

More quick ideas:

• Photo calendar or photo book with pictures from the last garden party
• T-shirt or coffee mug with a photo print of the record-breaking zucchini that the gardener receiving the gift grew last year (if you don't have a photo, just ask his wife, she's sure to have one)
• Voucher for help with gardening (and this should be help with gardening work that nobody is really clamoring for)

If you're not quite sure whether all these suggestions can really pass as Christmas gifts : Yes, of course they can, because they show much better than the (tedious) box of chocolates from the nearest shop that you've really put some thought into it – that always pleases!