Last Minute Gift Guide for Gardeners & Flower Lovers
Looking for last minute gift ideas for the flower lover in your family or a flower friend? (I know I am!). The team and I hand-picked a few of our favorite items to give or to get this holiday season. Each of these items was chosen with an eye for design, versatility, creativity, functionality, sustainability and style.
Gifts crafted by fellow farmer-florists
In case you didn’t know this already, farmer-florists are pretty talented folks. As designers, they’ve already tapped into the artistic parts of their brains, so it isn’t a total surprise that many have multiple creative outlets beyond just flowers. Here are a few finds crafted by fellow farmer-florists (descriptions of products pictured above from left to right):
Flower fashion: In addition to being a great farmer-florist, Karly at Verbena Flowers & Trimmings is a talented artist and graphic designer. She creates all kinds of super cute flower-themed goods, including this adorable t-shirt with the famed Ralph Waldo Emerson quote.
Help for farm hands: Let’s be honest, gardening and farming can be hard on your body. Natural herbal infused salve by Gretel of Sunny Meadows Flower Farm, is great for hardworking hands.
Five Golden Succulent Rings: After slathering on some hand salve, you’ll want to slide this super cute succulent ring on your finger. Great for your next holiday party or other special occasion, this living jewelry by Susan at Passionflower is a statement piece and conversation starter.
Favorites from the Floret Shop
The newly expanded Floret Shop now features a curated collection of tools and gifts that are specially geared towards farmer-florists and home gardeners. Each and every product is a favorite of mine and something that I personally use, recommend and love. Here are three great gift options:
Farmer-Florist Toolbelt: These beautiful handmade leather tool belts are custom designed by North Carolina leather artist Wheeler Munroe. Her thoughtful design and impeccable craftsmanship shine through in every detail. Whether you are working in the field or in your shop, these belts are perfect for keeping your snips, clippers, pens and phone close at hand.
Wall calendar: Featuring some of my favorite photos captured here on the farm, this gorgeous wall calendar includes lists of garden tasks to accomplish each month.
Flower snips: After trialing and testing lots of clippers over the years, we have finally found what we believe to be the perfect flower snips. Lightweight and super sharp, the thin pointed blades are ideal for harvesting delicate flowers like sweet peas and ranunculus, but also handle thicker stemmed varieties such as dahlias and zinnias with ease.
Personal picks
I asked the team to share what’s on their holiday wish lists and here are a few highlights starting with my own personal wish list (cough, Chris, cough, cough).
Blockshop scarf: I love the artwork and ethic of this sister-run company that makes these beautiful hand blocked textiles. I have a whole collection of their scarves and wear them year round.
The Flower Workshop: This new title from Ariella Chezar technically won’t be out until spring, but I’m crossing my fingers for a preview copy so I can spend a few long winter nights soaking up every page of beauty from one of my all-time favorite designers.
Vacuum seeder: Hand-seeding plug trays and cell packs can be fun on a small scale, but it is downright tedious and time consuming to do dozens–or hundreds–of trays of flower starts. After discovering that I could accomplish in a few hours what used to take me a day or two has me coveting this timesaving tool.
Jill’s wishlist:
Boots: No gardening uniform is complete without a solid pair of boots. Here at Floret, we collectively own a lot of different brands, but everyone seems to love Bogs the best.
Soil knife/Hori-Hori: Japanese for “dig-dig,” a hori-hori knife is an essential tool around the garden which we use all the time for digging, sawing and dividing plants with ease. One of the most versatile tools for gardening, this thing can be used for transplanting, weeding, opening plastic bags and cutting twine (and many other things).
Sun Hat: After the sunny, hot summer we had, I realized I need to upgrade my sun protection. These wide brimmed hats are practical, comfortable and essential.
Susan’s wishlist:
Rootrainers: After learning from Erin that sweet peas do best when sown into deep pots, I bought a set of the Haxnicks Rootrainers last year just to give them a try. The cells are deep but not very wide, which is great for me since my seed starting space is limited. Their hinged design made it really easy to remove the plants. I liked them well enough to want more—lots more!
Upcycled spiral journals: Every year at New Year’s, I make a resolution to write more regularly in my journal. (And every year I am inconsistent at best at doing it). Perhaps with a cool “new” journal, I might be more inspired to capture my memories before they flit away, forgotten in the hustle and bustle of everyday life. These handmade journals are made using upcycled vintage book covers so that their (happy!) stories–and my memories–will live on.
Flower truck: Yeah, yeah, I know. It’s just a teeny tiny bit out of the budget… but a girl can dream, can’t she? In my family we have a tradition of asking for a least one totally over-the-top gift each year for Christmas. For many years I asked for a pony. Now I want a cute vintage flower truck. Is that so wrong?
Keri’s wishlist:
Rose Gloves: Rugged. Extra long. Padded Palms. Perfect for the toughest pruning and cleanup jobs around our property.
Frances Palmer pottery: I love the beautiful lines of Frances Palmer’s pottery collection. Her handmade vases and compotes are beautiful in both form and function. Everyone at Floret is a huge fan of hers and we all love her Shane Pot and Wide Footed Vase but at the top of my holiday wish list is her Putnam Bud Vase.
Queen Bee Creations Bag: I’m on the go a lot and am in need of a new bag in which to tote all my Floret files. I love the waxed canvas and floral design which it make it functional and fashionable. Plus, it’s made in Portland!
More tools of the trade:
Taper Candle Glass Hurricanes: Tables set with beautiful china, lush centerpieces overflowing with vancouver florist hemstitched linens, etched crystal glassware and tall taper candles. Designers love it. Brides love it. Fire Marshalls…not so much (at least that last part). Open flame candles are taboo at many venues…but these new slender hurricanes for taper candles designed by my dear friend Sue of White Magnolia Designs are going to change all that. One word: brilliant!
Eyes Open E-Course: High quality photos are super important here at Floret–but figuring out how to get the shots we want took some time and training. If you want better photos for your business, blog or just want to avoid consistently blurry photos of your kids, The Eyes Open Creative Photography e-course is great. The six-week course is full of information, inspiration, and expert instruction & personalized feedback to help you take your photography to the next level.
Ardelia Farm & Co. Party Box: All this flowering sure does make you hungry. And what better snack than some sweets from our farmer-florist-baker friends at Ardelia Farm & Co. They utilize many of their own farm-fresh eggs from free-range chickens, plus dairy and other ingredients from regional farms or fairly-traded sources. Every tasty treat they make is beautiful and deeeeeee-lish. They sent me a gift box which I had to hide it out in the shop because I was afraid I was going to eat them ALL. Thus, the Party Box is the way to go for sharing with other hungry farmer-florists.
For the future flower farmer:
If you’ve ever been to a Floret workshop, there is usually at least one baby being passed around or napping quietly in a carseat nearby. Floret is a baby- and kid-friendly work environment and the entire team is made up of work-from-home moms, so we’re always on the lookout for fun garden-themed gifts. Here are a few of our top picks for the littles in your life:
Indoor Gardening Kit: We love the fact that Green Toys manufactures their toys in the USA out of 100% post-consumer recycled plastic. This cute little flower pot set is a great intro gardening activity for the little green thumb in your family.
Lois Ehlert books: These beautifully written and illustrated books are fun for both parents and wee ones alike and include a strong focus on flowers and nature. A few of our favorites titles include: Feathers for Lunch, Plant a Rainbow and Waiting for Wings.
Flower-shaped crayons: We’re always looking for creative distractions to keep the wee ones occupied while we work with flowers These flower-shaped crayons are a fun way to let your littles “play” with flowers too.
(Note: This is not a sponsored post. All the content and links are provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute an formal endorsement or sponsorship. The products listed are simply examples of stuff we love and/or would like for ourselves!)
What is on your wish list this holiday? What are you most exciting about giving? Have any recommendations for great garden and/or flower-focused gifts? Please share your ideas the comments below.
