Is there a gardener on the gift list this holiday season?

The National Initiative for Consumer Horticulture offers these ideas.

Decorative pots or containers for outdoor or indoor use are a playful and practical gift idea that comes in a variety of styles and price points. A hand-decorated planter makes a fun craft project for kids and a cute gift for grandparents. Pots and containers should be functional; check for a drainage hole before purchasing.

Outdoor nature ideas may include birdhouses, bee hotels, butterfly homes, bird baths and feeders of all sorts that attract wildlife to outdoor spaces and enhance the environment. Bring excitement to the landscape by way of yard ornaments. They can add humor, whimsy or drama to indoor and outdoor gardens.

For the avid gardener, you cannot go wrong with a good pair of gloves. The best gloves are lightweight and are made from supple leather. They are great for protecting hands from splinters, thorns and other abrasives that come from working in the soil and around thorny plants like roses and junipers.

Any gardener would delight in sturdy, sharp shears of differing sizes such as needle-nosed shears for snipping perennials and annuals. These would be perfect, especially for flower-arranging friends.

Some may need a good set of bypass pruners that will do a great job on small twigs and shrubs or for the ambitious gardener. A new set of loppers or a pole saw for cleaning up small branches in trees may be welcome.

Gardeners also love practical gifts, too, like plant stakes, tags and ties. Anyone who works with soil will appreciate a stiff soap for cleanup, followed by a soothing salve or hand cream.

Give “an experience” by purchasing a visit or a membership card to a public garden. A couple of public gardens in Northwest Ohio are Schedel Arboretum and Gardens in Elmore and the Toledo Zoo. Often public gardens have seasonal displays and special events that make the perfect gift.

Gardening is part of the agricultural economy and with good reason. Gardeners over this past year have improved our lives and theirs by improving environmental conditions, health and our general well-being.