Sarah Raven’s best Christmas gifts for gardeners in 2023, from tools to seed kits
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If anyone is going to find you the best gifts for gardeners, it’s The Telegraph’s dedicated team of horticulturists. This year, we asked expert gardener Sarah Raven to find the best gardeners’ Christmas gifts and she’s come up trumps.
Ranging from tools to seed subscriptions, garden chairs and secateurs, these presents start at under a tenner and none will cost more than £100. You’re almost guaranteed to find something for the gardener in your life. And if that gardener is you, well, here’s your Christmas wish list – courtesy of Sarah. If you’re in a hurry, here’s a quick summary:
Which are the best Christmas gifts for gardeners in 2023? At a glance
Best overall – Bee Border Cambridge University Botanic Garden
Best value – Jekka’s herb seed subscription
Best garden tool gift – Niwaki Secateurs
Best Christmas gift for women who garden – Scented pelargonium hand cream
Best Christmas gift for men who garden – Tretorn Terrang boots
Best Christmas gifts for gardeners
1. Bee Border Cambridge University Botanic Garden
Best overall
Sarah says: “Selected to be stacked full of nectar or pollen for bees, this collection of seed from the Cambridge Botanic Gardens are perfect for the beginner gardener/seed sower, whatever age.”
£24
Price at
Not On The High Street
2. Herb seed subscription
Best value
Sarah says: “And if you’re sowing seed, why not continue all year round? Good for chefs and gardeners from the Queen of herbs, Jekka McVicar’s nursery, carefully chosen seed packs of the best, easiest to grow and tastiest varieties are sent out at regular intervals at their best moment for sowing.”
£10
Price at
Jekka's
3. Niwaki secateurs
Best garden tool gift
Sarah says: “Light and nimble, for small and chunkier stems, these secateurs are amongst our favourites at home. The tools from this brand are — in my experience — pretty much all fantastic.”
£42
Price at
Niwaki
4. Scented pelargonium hand cream
Best Christmas gift for women who garden
Sarah says: “Made by Cath Kidstone’s new brand, a delicious, rose-pelargonium leaf hand-cream, rich and moisturising, ideal after a day of gardening.”
£18
Price at
C. Atherley
5. Small Flower Press
Best unusual Christmas gift for gardeners
Sarah says: “Flower pressing is a great way of preserving favourites from the garden and has become fashionable again. Frame your pressings on black card for your walls, or go for it and decorate a lampshade.”
£35
Price at
JamJar Edit
6. Merino wool socks in pink and orange
Best clothing gift for gardeners
Sarah says: “Super comfy socks for wearing with gardening boots in great colours. Really hard-wearing for cosy feet right through the colder months.”
£22
Price at
Danish Endurance
7. Waterproof notebook
Best stocking filler gift for gardeners
Sarah says: “With our winters and springs increasingly wet, these waterproof notebooks are invaluable for taking notes at home and whilst out visiting gardens.”
£18.99
Price at
Shepherds Walks
8. Hori Hori tool
Best tool gift for gardeners
Sarah says: “The best multi-purpose tool which we fight over at Perch Hill. Brilliant for planting and weeding — you can hoik out even stubborn taproots weeds like docks and thistles.”
£32
Price at
Shepherds Walks
9. From Seed to Bloom by Milli Proust
Best gardening book to buy for Christmas
Sarah says: “A beautiful book ideal for beginner gardeners on sowing and growing from seed, plus great tips for excellent arranging.”
£20
Price at
Hatchards
10. Pruning Saw
Best pruning gift for gardeners
Sarah says: “The best value fold-away pruning knife which stays sharp after pretty hard use. Stihl make great, basic, hard-wearing tools.”
£35.77
Price at
Amazon
11. Microgreen kits
Best growing kit gift
Sarah says: “Microgreens are not only extremely tasty, packed with flavour and with a high density of antioxidants and minerals in every leaf they’re good for us too. Even with no garden, you can still grow these.”
£49.95
Price at
Teeny Greeny
12. Rosa mutabilis
Best flower gift
Sarah says: “Give either potted or for extra value, bare root is a great way of giving roses. I love this rose with a healthy constitution and long life to ensure it’ll be flowering in a garden this summer and twenty summers from now. Lovely for picking too.”
£27.99
Price at
Crocus
13. Ankle Wellie Boots
Best gift for men who garden
Sarah says: “Hard-wearing but super comfy and handsome with it, I love these for taking me right through winter with dry feet.”
£90
Price at
Toast
14. Kew Series by Laithwaites Hamper
Best gardening hamper
Sarah says: “A gardening hamper packed with tools, seeds, a cookbook, condiments, toiletries and wine from the Kew Gardens and Laithwaites collaboration. Perfect for a gardener or a whole family.”
£160
Price at
Laithwaites
15. Paper White Narcissus
Best planted flower gift
Sarah says: “And finally, if you’ll allow, a gift suggestion from my own store. Planted and already growing, (in peat-free compost) these are sent out in a pretty, hard-wearing zinc pot to flower for Christmas and fill rooms with their scent.”
£34.97
Price at
Sarah Raven
Alice Vincent’s best gardening Christmas gifts
Last year, we asked urban gardener Alice Vincent to recommend some affordable Christmas gifts. Since many of them are still available and now even cheaper, we thought we’d include them in this year’s guide.
16. Bamboo cloche
Alice says: “The most stylish way to keep squirrels, foxes and cats off neatly planted pots: this is an absolute bulb-saver over winter. There are a variety of sizes available, and they stack neatly in a shed or patio corner when out of use.”
£12.99
Price at
Crocus
17. Black Iron Watering Can
Alice says: “Something of a supermodel of watering cans, this is a good gift for those who prove consistently hard to buy for: it’ll look as handsome on a kitchen shelf as it would on a patio table.”
£24.44
Price at
Amazon
18. Echoes Ceramic Birdbath
Alice says: “This charming glazed ceramic bird bath wouldn’t look out of place on a dining table, but its high-firing means its frost-resistant: perfect to offer feathered friends respite to bathe or drink in - increasingly important as our climate changes.”
£40
Price at
RSPB
19. Hanging chair
Alice says: “This timelessly striped cotton hanging chair looks far more expensive than it is, and folds down neatly for the cooler months. Perfect for those less-inspiring corners, or for those gardens short on space.”
£29.99
Price at
Wayfair
20. Galvanised calendar seed trunk
Alice says: “It’s a rare gardener who finds they’re not out of room for seed-storage, and even those with plenty are unlikely to have a system both alphabetised and mouse-proof. This hardy solution ticks a lot of boxes, and is tough enough to be stored in a greenhouse or shed.”
£42.49
Price at
Crocus
21. Chiminea
£129.99, Not On The High Street
Alice says: “The trend for entertaining outdoors isn’t going anywhere. Ensure warm nights and good vibes with this chic open fire facilitator, which doubles as a barbecue.”
£129.99
Price at
Not On The High Street
22. Colourful jute twine
Alice says: “Because nobody ever has quite enough of it. Even those who don’t stake or tie-in their plants will find a use for the stuff. Match the colour to the recipient’s personality!”
£4.25
Price at
Nutscene
