Holiday gifts for gardens

The holidays provide an opportunity to lift your favorite gardener’s spirits with the gift of a gardening book – or two. There are a wide variety of volumes filled with beautiful images and educational content to help gardeners learn something new and provide inspiration for the seasons to come.

For the gardener with a passion for a specific plant family, publications are available focused on individual species, from pansies to succulents and dahlias to peonies. Still more provide guides beyond the plants to include insects, pollinators, birds, animals and other creatures important to northwest ecosystems.

Here are a few ideas to begin a search for the perfect holiday gift for a gardener near you. Check out your favorite retailer for more titles and information.

A local author: Erin Benzakein, founder of Floret Farms in Skagit Valley, has written and co-authored several books about growing and displaying flowers. Each offers inspiration and tips for growing, harvesting and arranging popular summer blooms.

A classic: “The New Sunset Western Garden Book: The Ultimate Gardening Guide” (2012, 9th edition) is a staple for beginning and experienced gardeners, offering details and tips for selecting, planting and caring for a wide range of perennials, annuals, shrubs and trees specific to each climate zone.

For the vegetable gardener: “The Timber Press Guide to Vegetable Gardening in the Pacific Northwest” (2013) by Lorene Edwards Forkner is specifically directed at those growing food crops in the Pacific Northwest. Winter is an important time for vegetable gardening enthusiasts to plan for the next season.

A coffee table option: “Private Gardens of the Pacific Northwest” (2021) by Brian Coleman shares detailed descriptions and extensive photography by William Wright to provide a glimpse of 20 private estate and residential gardens that showcase the abundance and artistic potential of the northwest landscape.

For the gardener with limited space: DK’s “Grow All you Can Eat in 3 Square Feet: Inventive Ideas for Growing Food in a Small Space” (2015) is helpful for the new or experienced gardener with limited deck, patio, or garden space.

For the littlest ones: Check out “Hello, World! Garden Time: A Book of Plants and Gardening for Kids” (2022) by Jill McDonald. This colorful board book provides a great introduction to how plants grow and the role of gardening in providing food.

For children ages 5 to 8: Another volume from DK titled “Let’s Get Gardening” (2020) details 30 gardening projects to work on with young children. Step-by-step instructions include how to grow vegetables, create a ladybug sanctuary and attract pollinators.

This is just a sampling of the many titles that await in bookstores and online to engage the gardener in your life regardless of their age and interests. There is, literally, something for every gardener to get them through the quiet of winter and inspired for the possibilities of future seasons.

For a complete list and descriptions of books for gardeners on your list: skagitmg.org/gift-ideas-24.

Kari Ranten is a retired journalist and health care communicator who became a certified Skagit County WSU Extension Master Gardener in 2024.