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The 5 gifts every beginner gardener needs

It’s easy to feel intimidated when taking on a new hobby or venture. That’s especially true for beginner gardeners who don’t know where to start because of  the overwhelming amount of resources available. Every blog, book, or video says something different, so it’s important to find a starting point that works best for you. If you aren’t a beginner gardener but have someone in your life who’s looking to test their green thumb, here are some gift basket ideas you can put together for them.

Eight-piece gardening tool set

Every gardener just starting out can benefit from a new tool set! They may not know which one to buy for themselves, which makes this eight-piece gardening tool set a great option for a gardening gift basket. Each tool in the Scuddles tool kit is made with anti-rust stainless steel and wooden handles with holes for easy storage when they’re not packed away.

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The set comes in an organized polyester tote bag for easy transportation, and your newbie gardener will never have to worry about whether they remembered that one shovel. The bag itself has extra pockets — perfect for storing seeds, keys, or other items you wouldn’t want to lose while digging in the dirt. Inside the bag is a gardening shovel, mini rake, hand weeder, gloves, cultivator, trowel, and transplanting spade.

Indoor pepper seed starter kit

The Garden Republic’s indoor pepper seed starter kit is perfect to include in any beginner gardener gift basket. It includes a wooden planter with a drip tray, four fabric grow bags (with drainage!), bamboo plant makers, steel scissors for harvest, and growing instructions.

This kit will give your inexperienced gardener the opportunity to grow their own peppers indoors, including habanero peppers, jalapeno peppers, anaheim peppers, and red chili peppers. These four types of heirloom seeds are 100 percent non-GMO and are certified organic. Starter kits like this are especially useful for novice gardeners who want to try growing their own vegetables/produce indoors but don’t know where to start.

Beginner’s guides to gardening

“Vegetable Gardening for Beginners: A Simple Guide to Growing Vegetables at Home” by Jill McSheehy is a great book for beginner gardeners who feel a bit lost. Maybe they want to grow their own vegetables at home but don’t feel like they have the right tools or the right space. This book serves as a guide, containing easy-to-follow instructions that will help any new gardener successfully create and sustain their own vegetable garden.

The book also includes tips for choosing between in-ground or raised garden beds (and how to build and fill them), planning and prepping your beds, watering your plants, and creating a full-season plan for your garden. It even offers helpful troubleshooting for various problems, including pests that you could encounter. If your new gardener likes to read and wants a go-to source for information, plop this book in their gift basket!

Stackable garden planters

Stackable garden planters are great for both beginners and experts alike! When you’re working with limited space, like indoor growing or small deck gardening, stackable planters help you make use of the vertical space at your disposal. Amazing Creation’s five-tier stackable planter can hold up to 15 different plants of your choice, be it vegetables, fruits, herbs, flowers, etc.

Whether you use this planter for fruits or vegetables, though, you’ll want to use dwarf varieties that are designed for container growing. Although the stacking helps you use the vertical space, it means that your plants can get crowded if they grow too tall.

These planters are designed to make use of a trickle-down watering system to help conserve water while still having good drainage. Even if you have a larger space to work with, the stackable planters will make it easier for you to manage and water your plants, as well as grow them indoors. They’re a great option for not only mix-and-matching for small deck gardening but for keeping all of the same plant in one place.

An air plant terrarium kit

The air plant terrarium kit is a great addition to any beginner gardener gift basket. Air plants require different care than vegetables or other houseplants and can help a rookie gardener expand their plant knowledge and understand the care needs of different plants.

This air plant terrarium kit from Bliss Garden comes with an amethyst crystal, an oval container, a black metal stand, a bag of sand, flower pods, a detailed care instruction sheet, and (of course) an air plant. You’ll be able to assemble the terrarium how you want, giving this gift truly unique.

All of these gifts bring different benefits to an inexperienced gardener, whether they’re interested in outdoor gardening, container gardening, or houseplants. Of course, when deciding what to put in a gardening gift basket, you always want to keep the recipient in mind. These ideas are good starting points, but feel free to include something else entirely that fits your recipient much better!

Kiera Baron
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Kiera Baron is a freelance writer and editor, as well as a budding digital artist, based in Upstate NY. She is currently one…
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