Clockwise from top left: Tsubo secateurs, Plant Good Earth growing kit, Sneeboer trowel and RHS membership gift pack
(Picture: ES)Garden memberships
The best ideas are stolen, and London has some great places to look for inspiration. These include the glasshouses, arboretum and perennial planting at Kew Gardens, the pristinely kept Chelsea Physic Garden, and RHS Wisley in Surrey — 240 acres of garden inspiration for almost every kind of space.
All three offer membership schemes that can be given as gifts and, when you factor in a few visits, it works out much cheaper than paying on the door each time.
Kew membership begins at £74; Become a friend of the Chelsea Physic Garden from £53 ; RHS membership starts at £53
The gift of plants
Plants are synonymous with the festive season, from Christmas trees to holly and ivy. But giving plants as gifts is often overlooked. Christmas cacti (Schlumbergera) are really easy to care for.
Potted spring bulbs also make great gifts as they send out vibrant green shoots and flowers in a matter of weeks. Kept somewhere warm, this happens twice as quick — and they can be happily planted outside once the show is over.
Niwaki secateurs
No gardener should be without secateurs, and Niwaki offers some of the best. The beautifully crafted Tsubo secateurs have rattan handles (important as metal gets cold) made with wisteria stems.
If your giftee already has a favourite pair, Niwaki also provides all the bits you need to keep them sharp and clean. Essential is the ‘Crean Mate’, which removes sap and rust, leaving your secateurs looking good as new.
Tsubo secateurs, from £149; Crean Mate, £15. See the Niwaki showroom at 38 Chiltern Street for more gardening delights
Monty Don’s favourite trowel
The other essential tool is a trowel. In small London gardens you probably don’t need anything else for digging. Fans of BBC show Gardeners’ World might have noticed his go-to trowel.
This,I am reliably told, is manufactured by a Dutch tool company called Sneeboer, which has been making high-quality garden tools for more than a century. Anyone who has spent less than a fiver on a trowel will know they often bend and break at the first sign of soil. Sneeboer tools will last forever if you take care of them.
Old Dutch Style Trowel, £62.95
Seed kits
Gardeners can (nearly) always find a bit more space to grow in and often need something to fill an empty pot. The gift of a seed kit will keep your green-fingered friends in supply whenever they need more plants.
Herboo offers beautifully packaged grow boxes to bring colour and fragrance to your outside space. Planet Good Earth’s seasonal grow kits come with peat-free compost, plant labels and seeds to kick start a veg patch.
