What to Get Someone Starting Their First Garden

Buying for a new gardener is harder than it looks. They're excited, they own almost nothing, and the gift aisle is full of things that look great in wrapping paper and never leave the shed. I've made every gardening mistake, and plenty of them came with a receipt.

What's a good gift for a beginner gardener?

The best gift for a beginner gardener is something they'll use in their first month: a seed gift card, a trowel with gloves that fit, or a beginner book that matches their plans. Ask where they'll grow first, because a balcony and a backyard bed need different gear.

Ask that before you buy anything. Then use this table.

Where they'll grow	Buy this first	Wait on this
Pots on a patio or balcony	Pots with drainage holes, potting mix and a watering can	Long-handled tools
A raised bed	A trowel, gloves and hand pruners	Anything with an engine
A patch of lawn	A shovel, a hoe, a garden rake and a lab soil test	Anything with an engine
They don't know yet	A seed gift card, or your time	Anything that needs a set spot in the yard

Pots dry out fast in summer, so that watering can will get real use. If your gardener is going the container route, this post on why potted plants stay thirsty will save them a few crispy plants.

The first gifts I'd buy for a new gardener

Start with seeds, then move to the hand tools they'll reach for every week. This is the order I'd shop in.

1. A seed gift card. Picking seeds for someone else is a guess, because you probably don't know their climate or which vegetables they'll actually eat. A card lets them choose. SeedsNow sells e-gift cards from $5 to $100 (US dollars), delivered by email, and you can forward the link or print the page and hand it over. I've ordered from SeedsNow for years; non-GMO and they've never let me down. My link opens their home page, so type "gift card" into the search bar once you land.

2. A trowel and gloves. A trowel is the tool for planting anything small, so a new gardener will use it constantly. Pair it with leather or other thick gloves, since cotton offers less protection. Gloves only help if they fit, so tuck in the receipt. Trust me.

3. Hand pruners, once they're growing more than salad. Choose bypass pruners, which cut like scissors, over the anvil style. Avoid anything under about $10. Upper-end pairs run $50 or more and often have replaceable parts.

4. A real soil test. If they're planting in the ground, pay for a lab test. Their local extension office is the place to ask. Fees vary from around $15 to over $50 a sample, so check the current price. Ask for a report with fertilizer recommendations. It's a strange thing to put in a card. It's also the one gift here that tells them what their soil actually needs.

5. Your time. If you already own seed-starting supplies, this one costs next to nothing. Give them a list of what you can start, let them pick, and hand over the seedlings in spring. Or write a voucher for an afternoon of help with planning, weeding or transplanting.

In a cold climate, most of these gifts will sit until spring, and that's fine. If your gardener can't wait, the November planting guide covers what still grows now, including microgreens indoors. And if spring gets away from them, a July start can still work.

Common questions about gifts for new gardeners

Is a gardening book a good gift for a beginner?

Yes, if the book matches their plans. A broad guide suits someone planning a backyard food garden. My own book, The Backyard Garden, fits that person: it covers planning the yard, building a raised bed, starting seeds and a month-by-month calendar, along with chickens and other small livestock. It barely touches containers, so pick something else for a balcony gardener. If hens are in their spring plans, my Chicken Raising book walks through breeds, coops, chick care and chicken health.

Which garden gifts should you skip for a beginner?

Skip anything that solves a problem they don't have yet. These four can wait.

• Home soil test kits and meters. They typically aren't as accurate as a lab, and one published comparison found simpler kits differed moderately or even highly from lab results.
• Bags of fertilizer. Without a soil test, nobody knows what that soil needs, and too much can burn roots.
• Tillers and other machines. A shovel, a hoe and a garden rake are enough to start a small first bed.
• Outdoor plants in December, if winter is cold where they live. They have nowhere to go until spring.

This week, ask your new gardener one question: where are you planning to grow? Then buy for that answer. A pair of gloves in a December box is a plan for April, and that's a lovely thing to hand someone.

Want the beginner's steps in one place? Start with my Backyard Garden book for beginners.

Happy growing!
Priscilla