Still have some last-minute holiday shopping to do? Here are some gifts urban farmers will love, no matter what time of year it is.
1. Sprout World Herb Pencil
We love that the eco-minded people at Sprout came up with a clever and delicious solution for those pesky pencil nubs. Gift the urban gardener in your life with these beautifully designed, sustainable pencils. They’ll love working the pencils down to the quick and then repurposing them in their herb garden. Yes, each pencil, once all used up, looks forward to a second life as an herb or flower! Simply plant the end in your herb box, water and watch it grow. The variety of pencil-seeds are aplenty and include classics, like basil and mint, alongside bright-hued sunflowers and forget-me-nots. The seeds are carefully selected and you’ll see the complete transformation from pencil to plant within one to three weeks.
2. Edyn Sensor
The Edyn Sensor is the perfect gift for the techie on your list. Sleekly designed, the Edyn taps directly into the soil of your garden, allowing you to monitor water levels, temperature, light exposure (or lackthereof) and soil nutrition, all while you’re on the go. Its custom technology runs soil stats against the needs of the individual plants in your garden, ensuring that each flower or veggie receives the very best care. Accessed via a smartphone app, this gift offers both peace of mind and allows the gadget-loving recipient to geek out over the the garden they’ve worked so hard to cultivate.
3. Petal Perfect Mini Flower Press
What better way to preserve the delicate, brilliantly colored mini-blooms you collect than with this tiny flower press? This complete flower press kit is just the right stocking stuffer for someone who finds beauty in the smallest of gardens. Complete with various shades of paper and a tiny pair of scissors, the recipient will be able to get right to work, preserving nature’s smallest blossoms for years to come.
4. Herb Drying Rack
Many an urban gardener is used to working within the confines of a small patio or terrace, space often best suited for little more than an ample herb garden and a few select potted plants. When the temps drop and the season for fresh herbs is coming to a close, this handy drying rack will allow an avid herbalist—or homecook for that matter—to preserve what is left of their well-tended crop of basil, thyme, rosemary and the like. Six small hooks come with this rustic wire trellis, allowing bundles of herbs to hang independently, drying to perfection for later use in soups, stews and sauces.
5. Seed Bombs with Slinger
Turn gardening from a chore into a game than with this playful slingshot and seed bomb gift set! Introduce the little ones in your world to the joys of horticulture, allowing them to send nuggets of seedlings shooting through the air, resulting in a joyous mess of flowers (think black-eyed Susans and French marigolds) specifically selected to attract our favorite pollinators, bees and butterflies.
6. Brass Plant Mister
This sleek mister offers hydration to the those varietals preferring the comfort of indoor living and is as beautiful as the succulents and ferns decorating your home. Crafted with a shining finish, this mister will delight the most stylish of your friends, the natural brass developing a lovely and unique patina over time.
7. Ultimate Bug-Protection Duo
Nothing ruins a day in the garden faster than a swarm of bugs. Given the desire of many to steer clear of chemical-laden repellents, this Ultimate Bug Protection set by Beekman 1802 is ideal for the bug-magnet in your life. Beekman 1802 believes the secret to a bite-free gardening experience is to think ahead, showering with their Bug Repellent soap (made with goat’s milk) and applying a generous head-to-toe mist of their all-natural bug spray. This dual punch of bug-averse but human-friendly essential oils is sure to keep pests from biting.
8. Atlas Garden Gloves
Is there one singular item more important to a gardener than their gloves? Whether or not it is a favorite dirt-digging tool, it is arguably the most vital and there is a large divide separating a good pair of gloves from a great pair. Widely regarded as the most functional gloves on the market, the Atlas Nitrile Garden Gloves come in a variety of pastel hues, ensuring that style isn’t sacrificed for function. Sold in a pack of six, these gloves will have your friends and family pulling weeds and planting flowers in comfort, for hours on end.
9. Bug Motel
Searching for a gift for a newcomer to the urban gardening scene? Forego the obvious—a new spade or decorative markers—and invest in something that will make a real impact on their new-found hobby’s success. Creating a healthy micro-ecosystem is key to any garden’s fruitfulness, and this colorful Bug Motel welcomes bees, ladybugs and earwings alike into your outdoor oasis, encouraging them to do what they do best: pollinate and nibble up pesky, unwelcome critters. This is the unexpected gift that will pay off for years to come!
10. Egg Gathering Apron
Few urban farmers are more dedicated than those who welcome chickens into their backyards, giving them a loving home while basking in the glow of a constant supply of farm-fresh eggs at their fingertips. The task of collecting these prized eggs becomes that much easier with this custom-designed, handmade apron. Equipped with 10 individual egg-sized pouches along the front, this apron replaces the traditional basket, allowing for two hands to work at once and ensuring that the eggs are kept safe from cracking against one another, guaranteeing they will make it to your kitchen in one piece.
11. Bronze and Copper Garden Fork
Sometimes you just want something useful, but then there are the times you want something beautiful. Sure, this fork is handcrafted with a bronze tool head and copper ferrule, ideal for digging, and a perfectly rounded timber handle that will withstand the elements while remaining comfortably in the palm of your hand; but it’s the beauty of this Australian-made garden fork that will dazzle that special someone you want to spoil this holiday season. Don’t we all deserve something pretty?
12. Garden Dibber and Marker Gift Set
There are few things more beautiful than perfectly planted rows of seedlings, their leaves and tendrils peeking through freshly tilled soil in strategically spaced increments. This handy dibber and marker set, crafted from maple and ash wood, makes planting an orderly new garden bed a cinch, the dibber assuring that seeds find a home just far enough below the surface to thrive and the marker keeping edges and lines in neat order. Your type-A, perfectionist friend will be ever grateful for this handy present!
