These charming present ideas will cost you next to nothing.
When it comes to gifts for gardeners, Secret Santa presents or small tokens of appreciation for your host, I find that a packet of seeds, a flowering plant or a bunch of flowers are always met with gratitude – and you don’t need to spend much or anything at all! The trick to making green-fingered gifts look even more special is in the packaging. I’m a long- time sucker for pretty paper, ribbons and string (I have bags full of craft supplies and scraps of paper), but I hate throwing them out after one use. That’s why I’m all about using what you’ve got to create something wonderfully unique.
Read all about it
Remember the cool kid at school who covered their books in newspaper instead of Duraseal? Well, newspaper is still cool, especially when cloaking a vibrant red verbena, tied with matching string – and it’s compostable! And don’t forget magazine pages too. I jazzed up a punnet of home-sown nasturtium seedlings by wrapping it in some colourful magazine pages and tying it with brown string.
Santa sacks
These herbs are bundled up in jute sacking I found in our garage. I cut it up and added a ribbon. Don’t you think they kind or resemble squat little Santa sacks? Herbs are always a welcome gift, especially if you’re going to someone’s house for a Christmas feast – the cook might even kiss you if they don’t have any to put in the stuffing! You can even buy them last minute at the supermarket if you’ve run out of time to visit to the garden centre.
Get into labels
Send the kids outside to hunt for rocks to make these plant labels. Brush some white paint on them, let it dry, then set to them with permanent markers.
Cups, saucers and cans
Plants that don’t need much watering, such as cacti and succulents, are a great option for non-gardeners or people who are about to head away on holiday and won’t be there to water a new plant. They look fantastic planted in Mason jars, tins and old teacups. For a vintage vibe, plant them in old china cups that you no longer want, or buy some cheap cups and saucers from an op shop.
You can’t get more rustic than rusty, right? I used a nicely rusted fruit salad can as a pot for an echeveria plant I picked up at my local fruit and vege store.
