Henry Homeyer’s Holiday Gifts for Gardeners

By Henry Homeyer
©2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC

Right after Thanksgiving “Black Friday” arrives with merchants offering big discounts on gifts for the holiday. But most of us are not in the market for a wide screen TV or a new American Girl doll to give to Aunt Thelma or sister Louise. Let’s look at nice, moderately priced gifts for gardeners starting now, so you’ll have plenty of time to get them.

My best discovery in 2026 was a new fertilizer, one that has had amazing impact on the dozens of potted plants in our house, particularly those I’ve had for a long time in the same pot. It’s called RevitaSoil. Last spring I tried it out on things like our hibiscus tree in a pot that had stopped flowering completely for a few years but produced dozens of blossoms throughout the summer after a spring treatment. My soil outside in the garden is so good it had less impact there.

The scientist who developed it told me that it is largely is based on earthworm castings, with added microorganisms. In addition to the N-P-K of all fertilizers, it also has sulfur added (which is needed for making proteins). You can probably order it from your local gardening center – I ordered some from West Lebanon Supply in West Lebanon, N.H. It’s available in 4- and 8-pound bags.

Most gardeners like physical books they can hold in their hands to read by the fire or propped up in bed on a cold winter night. Yes, the internet has a lot of info on gardening, and some of it is even accurate or useful, but I love books, and recommend them as gifts. You undoubtedly have some gardening books, and know which ones you read and re-read to answer your questions. Any one of these would make good gifts.

I’ve been working in the vegetable garden for over 70 years, but I still refer to Ed Smith’s classic, The Vegetable Gardener’s Bible from time to time. Not sure how far apart to plant rows of onions? Ed will tell you. Do parsnip seeds germinate well after the first year? No, says Ed, and much more.

Michael Dirr is the best authority on trees and shrubs in America. Any of his books is an excellent gift for an aspiring planter of trees and shrubs. His Manual of Woody Landscape Plants is a classic, reprinted many times.

Other garden writers who I like very much include Barbara Damrosch (on every aspect of gardening), Tracy Disaboto Aust (on perennials), Sydney Eddison (on design and more, who was still gardening when I visited her last summer at age 94), Gordon Hayward (on design of landscapes and more) and Lewis Hill (a Vermont writer who is long dead, but wrote 16 wonderful books on many topics).

Doug Tallamy’s  Nature’s Best Hope should be required reading for all who care about planting for birds and pollinators. And lastly, everyone should own a copy of Essential Native Trees and Shrubs for Eastern United States by Ginger Woolridge and Tony Dove. It will tell you if deer will eat your new shrub, if it’s salt tolerant – and much more.

When I give presentations to garden clubs, I always bring along a box of CobraHead weeders. I sell them because I think they are the best, most durable and simplest gardening tool available. Available from most garden centers, many seed catalogs and on-line from CobraHead.com. It’s a family run business and the tools are made in America.

Other tools? Good hand pruners, complete with a leather holster for your belt. Brands I like? Bahco (French), Lowe (German) and Felco (American). All excellent, moderately expensive.

Seeds are great gifts, too –and inexpensive stocking stuffers. If you save seeds, you probably already share seeds of your favorite heirloom tomatoes or zinnias. Love Sungold tomatoes? You can’t save the seeds – they are a hybrid so don’t breed true. Order packets of seeds now – they often sell out early. Share with family and friends.

Despite writing five books and a gardening column for 28 years on a computer, I love old fashioned journals and notebooks for keeping track of events in the garden. I keep a blank book in my barn. I make note of every new tree, shrub and perennial I plant, and keep track of the rows in the vegetable garden – what went where each year. I like to carry a notebook around on my regular tours of the flowers in bloom. Moleskine makes a series of very nice, durable notebooks. Of course, if your loved one documents everything on her phone, this gift might be best for geezers like me.

What else? Produce from your own garden that you’ve preserved by pickling, dehydrating or freezing. Those are true gifts of love. Paperwhite bulbs are great as stocking stuffers, and will bloom on a windowsill this winter. Amaryllis for big beautiful lily-like blossoms blooming indoors this winter.

So my best to you all for the holidays. May Santa find your home and bring you the presents you have longed for. But just in case you’re due for lumps of coal this year, pass this column along to your loved one, and underline your wishes.