15 gifts for L.A. gardeners and plant parents of all levels
Plant people are easy to buy for — and hard too — because the really die-hard gardeners usually want nothing more than their favorite battered clippers and an old table knife for weeding.
The truth is, many of those cutesy have-to-have garden gifts look pretty at the store but serve little purpose in the real world. The other truth is that gardeners enjoy more than just planting and pulling weeds — they like visiting other gardens for inspiration (and joy!). They love art that reminds them of nature's extraordinary beauty, workshops that help them learn and, of course, useful tools that make their work easier.
The suggestions below have all been tested by a real gardener (yours truly), and I can vouch for the delight-ability of every one. I tried to find useful and/or beautiful items that won't break the bank. And for bonus points: Almost all of these items come from artists or companies based in Southern California so no matter what you choose, you'll be supporting our local economy.
If you make a purchase using some of our links, the L.A. Times may be compensated.
Sally Jacobs' botanical art
L.A. botanical artist Sally Jacobs does exacting, exquisite renderings of all things botanical, from gorgeous flowers to the gnarly details of a celery root to the rich Renaissance-style details of a turban squash (above). She does her own printing in her Mid-Wilshire studio, using archival ink on acid-free fine-art paper, and signs every print. She also thoughtfully chooses sizes (8 by 10 inches or 11 by 14 inches) that easily fit into standard frames, so you can actually afford to present your recipient a complete gift. If you can't decide on a print, buy one of Jacobs' card sets ($18) and frame a few of the original watercolor art cards. And watch for her next show at the Artists Gallery next spring.
$25 to $35 at Sally Jacobs Studio
Corona Tools Yard Essentials pocket pruner
Hand pruners are to gardeners what shoes are to fashionistas — you can never have too many — but I've come to realize that most days when I'm roaming the garden, all I really need is a small hand pruner to keep things tidy. The problem is, my sturdy 1-inch pruners are bulky in my pocket and tiring to use. Corona Tools, a Corona, Calif., business for nearly 100 years, introduced its pocket pruner last year. The device — small and light enough to slip easily into my pocket, but strong enough to cut through branches up to a ½-inch diameter — has become my favorite for garden chores. You can order it from the Corona website, but the shipping will double your cost unless you're ordering $100 worth of goods. You can also check out your local hardware store for Corona Tools' BP13630, a.k.a. the Yard Essentials pocket pruner.
$15 at Lowe's
Corona Tools ErgoCut Dead Header snips
Remember what I said above about gardeners never having enough pruners? Well, there's a different issue for houseplant parents who must wander their indoor jungles with watering cans, misters, fertilizers and pruners and then find a place to store them. I had my doubts about Corona-based Corona Tools' new Dead Header Snips, but the minute I tried them I was hooked. They're lightweight, attach to your forefinger and fit comfortably in your palm, so you can carry other items and nearly forget they're there until you need them. I used mine to cut a bouquet outside, deftly harvest some green beans, lemons and eggplants, and even cut finger-sized branches with ease. I have nothing but raves about these small but sturdy clippers. They're an indispensable, easy-to-store tool for tending potted plants as well as harvesting flowers and veggies from the garden.
$16 at Lowe's
Chaparral Studio 'Don't Tread on Me' California poppies pin
L.A. artist and landscape designer Bianca D'Amico's clever enamel pin perfectly captures Southern California's love for our local wildflowers along with our concern about not destroying those flowers with too much love. Enamel pins are sometimes too heavy to use on clothes, but this cheerful design featuring the state flower — the California poppy — and the words, "Don't Tread on Me," is large enough (1.5 inches-by-1 inch) to get its message across without overwhelming a lapel. Consider this a small-but-thoughtful gift for wildflower lovers or any plant aficionados who want to make a statement stylishly on a jacket, hat or bag. Final selling point: You don't even have to wrap this gift, because it comes so beautifully decorated, complete with sprigs of pressed but still fragrant blooms of Cleveland sage, which, like the golden poppies, are California native plants.
$12 at Chaparral Studio
Ambrosia linen produce bags
Jan Rem of Ojai is a gardener who felt uneasy about storing her produce in plastic bags. She grew up wrapping damp greens in linen tea towels to keep them crisp but was frustrated when her salad makings fell out of the towels. Then she added a zipper to one of her linen towels, and Ambrosia Produce Bags was born. These handy, reusable linen bags are designed to keep veggies and leafy greens crisp for longer and to prevent them from dissolving into brownish-green smears of goo in a plastic bag. Rem uses a heavier-weight linen to keep berries firm and mushrooms from turning to slime. One tip: Wash your greens and veggies and store them wet in their bags in the crisper drawer; keep your mushrooms and berries unwashed and dry in their bags until you use them. Softer berries like raspberries and blackberries should stay in the bottom of their clamshell containers (recycle the tops) when you put them in the bag, unless you want a tie-dyed bag, Rem said. An effective, easy-to-use way to reduce plastics in the home, the bags are sized for their intended items, color-coded and clearly labeled, so you can see at a glance which one holds the lettuce.
$26-$30; $110 for all four at Ambrosia Produce Bags
Fig Earth Supply's cannabis gardening bundle
If you have a cannabis user on your list (and who doesn't these days?), Fig Earth Supply is offering a great package for people who want to stop worrying about the possible pesticides in their product. The Mount Washington–based nursery is offering two classes for beginning gardeners starting in February — one explaining how to grow cannabis at home and the other how to harvest it; both are taught by educator Emily Gogol, chief executive of Grow It From Home, an Oregon-based company that sells mail-order cannabis seeds and plants the same way other nurseries sell veggie starts. Gogol's classes sold out quickly in Los Angeles this year so go ahead and book early to give your gift recipient a head start on growing their own in 2025. The bundle includes the two classes along with a package of six cannabis seeds and a copy of the book "The Cannabis Gardener" by San Francisco Bay-area cannabis educator Penny Barthel.
$100 at Fig Earth Supply
Farmers Defense protection sleeves
After a day in the garden, my arms usually are crisscrossed with scratches, sunburn, a few punctures from thorns and more often than not, a low-grade rash. Then I tried a pair of Farmers Defense protection sleeves: Think long, fingerless gloves that extend to just under the armpits, in a silky-feeling "eco-dynamic" fabric known as Repreve, made from recycled plastic bottles and recycled fabrics. To my surprise, they actually stayed up and kept my arms protected as I whacked scratchy shrubs for several hours. During the process, they didn't even feel hot; afterward, the sleeves seemed untouched. If they do get dirty, they're machine washable, and they come in myriad colors and designs, from camo to monarch butterflies. This is a useful and thoughtful gift for gardeners tired of sporting itchy scars after a day in the yard.
$27 at Farmers Defense
Theodore Payne Foundation gift cards
Native plant gardens are a new way of thinking about landscaping in Southern California, but the Theodore Payne Foundation has a wealth of knowledge on the subject, having been focused on California native plants for 64 years. The foundation offers an array of conservation and education programs as well as its popular Native Plant Garden Tour, which takes place April 5-6, 2025. A great gift, then, is a gift card, which would let its recipient purchase a ticket to the 2025 Native Plant Garden Tour (it was $55 this year) or take a class to learn more about landscaping with California's indigenous plants. Feeling extra-generous? A $100 gift card would let them do both and also help create more habitats for our threatened pollinators and wildlife.
$100 at Theodore Payne Foundation Store
Tree of Life Nursery wildflower seed mixes
Native wildflowers are one of California's superpowers. Even when their blooms are middling, they impress, and when they're great — as in superblooms that cover entire hillsides like colorful quilts — they bring us to our knees. No wonder people try to re-create a little of that magic in their yards. The Tree of Life Nursery in San Juan Capistrano has been selling native plants and seeds for nearly 50 years. (Its wildflower seeds are collected exclusively by S & S Seeds in Carpinteria for Southern California gardens.) Choose from 10 different seed mixes, which include instructions on the best way to plant them for maximum blooms. Three ounces of seed will cover 400 square feet, a nice start to a beginning habitat garden. And the beauty of this gift is that once they bloom, these wildflowers will reseed to create new blooms year after year.
$4 to $8.50 an ounce at Tree of Life Nursery
Bauer Pottery orange swirl pot
Bauer Pottery is like a candy shop of ceramics, with pots and dishes in so many brilliant colors that shopping at the store feels like a party. John Andrew Bauer began making brown-glazed pottery in Paducah, Ky., in 1885 and moved his business and family to Los Angeles in 1910. By 1930, Bauer Pottery was creating pottery and tableware in many bold colors. The company closed in 1962, but was resurrected in 2000 by collector Janek Boniecki, who bought the rights to Bauer in 1998 and re-created Bauer pots in shapes and colors from the 1930s and 1940s. Today you can get a handsome 9-inch swirl pot, for instance, in nine colors (from Bauer orange to Federalist blue), with the distinctive Bauer Pottery stamp. These particular pots don't have drain holes (although Bauer will drill holes for free on request), which makes them good for indoor plants. Just slip a potted houseplant — still in its original plastic container — into the pot; remove the plant from the Bauer pot easily for watering without worrying about leaks. It's a gift as practical as it is fashionable. Shown here, it's paired with an 8-inch Dieffenbachia 'Tropic Snow' plant from Creature's Plants & Coffee.
$99 at Bauer Pottery
Annual membership to a botanic garden
Southern California is blessed with an abundance of brilliant weather for gardening along with a plethora of botanic gardens to help us decide what to grow — or to soothe our souls when we need some plant time outdoors. Annual memberships are the gift that keeps on giving throughout the year, with free entry into the gardens, plus discounts on special events and classes and even free passes for friends! Most dual memberships for two named adults cost $100 or less (although the renowned Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens will run you $175 for two adults in the same household). Search for gardens close to your recipient's home so they can make frequent use of your generous gift. A few suggestions: California Botanic Garden and Santa Barbara Botanic Garden (for native plant lovers), Descanso Gardens, Los Angeles County Arboretum, South Coast Botanic Garden, San Diego Botanic Garden and Ventura Botanical Gardens.
Prices vary; check out 16 options here.
CoolJob bamboo touchscreen gardening gloves
I've tried lots of gardening gloves, but they all had the same problem: I had to peel them off to use my smartphone, which isn't easy when they're wet or crusted with dirt. Then I discovered Ontario-based CoolJob's touchscreen gardening gloves, which protect my hands while keeping them cool and allowing me to work my phone. These gloves come in six sizes and are made from a bamboo-nylon fiber with a foamed nitrile covering on the thumb, fingers and palm, making them tough enough to withstand a year's worth of heavy use (the average lifespan of my garden gloves), before I have to replace them. Best of all is the cost: just $9 for two pairs. At that price, you can fill the holiday stocking of every gardener on your list, or add a pair to a gift basket for a beginning gardener. Just think: Your gardening pals will be able to answer when you call!
$11.99 at CoolJob
'Medicinal Herbs of California' field guide by Lanny Kaufer
Lanny Kaufer is based in Ojai, but he's been conducting Herb Walks through the wilds of Southern California for nearly five decades, pointing out the names and many uses of the region's native and invasive plants. It's a fun and informative way to get some history about the uses of these plants, from culinary and medicinal to making musical instruments or weaving baskets. His book, "Medicinal Herbs of California: A Field Guide to Common Healing Plants," dives deep into that history as well, with photos to help with plant identification. I took one of Kaufer's Herb Walks in Ventura and came away enlightened on several points. For instance, alcohol is an effective way to wash off poison oak if you apply it within 30 minutes, he said; otherwise, use juice from the ground-up native mugwort plant to treat the soon-to-follow blistering rash. Interesting side note: Mugwort tends to grow next to poison oak. The book and gift certificates for Herb Walks ($25-$45) are all available on Kaufer's website; be sure to include a link with your gift so your recipients can pick their walks.
$27 at Herb Walks With Lanny Kaufer
Hardy Californian LA Plants Mom & Dad Hat
Parker Davis of Hardy Californians is a landscape designer and native plant fanatic, but he also has a flair for fashion. Just check out the terrific L.A. Plants cap he designed in Dodgers blue, which fades to a nice sky blue over time. Every time I wear this comfortable, washable cap, someone stops to ask me where they can buy one. It's kind of like being a celebrity! These well-made hats come in several colors; the faded vintage blue (shown above) is a recent offering because, Davis said, so many people tried to buy his faded royal blue cap off his head. If you opt for the royal blue, another note is that it will fade naturally after many washes and exposure to the sun (for all you purists out there).
$35 at Hardy Californians
The Plant Good Seed Co.'s Culinary Basil seed collection
The Plant Good Seed Co. is based in Ojai, with growers up and down the West Coast (including several around this small Ventura County city), and even in the eastern United States. The seeds, hand-packaged in Ojai, are neither genetically modified nor chemically treated, and most are certified organic. What I really appreciate is the wide selection available online and at many local retailers, especially with its seed collections — like the Culinary Basil option, which offers six types of basil for gardeners who love to cook. Other collections run the gamut, from a mix of poppies to culinary herbs, or easy-to-grow vegetable seeds for the beginning gardener. There's something comforting about knowing there's a company in Southern California providing such a wide selection of seeds for growing food and flowering plants.
$24 at the Plant Good Seed Co.
Prices and availability of experiences in the Gift Guide and on latimes.com are subject to change.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
