I’m a Gardener and an Expert Deal-Hunter—These Are the Best Gifts for Gardeners Under $20

I’ve been writing gift guides for nearly a decade, but I’m also a gardener, too. When I’m not at my computer, recommending products, I’m out in the field—aka, my small yard—testing gardening tools and supplies firsthand. This gives me a first-hand perspective as to what gardeners want, what’s worth the money, and what’s worth skipping. This holiday season, as I’m planning out what to get my gardening friends and family members, I’m reminded that a life spent out in the garden is one that’s often slower. Plants don’t sprout overnight, and that’s the perfect metaphor for this lifestyle, which prioritizes the sustainable and rewards low consumption.

So, no, you don’t have to spend a ton of money or gift something flashy. When you live a green-thumbed life, all you can hope for is a little bit of water, some sunlight, and a small miracle. Over the years, I’ve learned that gardening is the most thoughtful hobby there is, so it truly is the thought that counts.

Below, you’ll find 16 meaningful gifts for gardeners—including gloves, bird feeders, a journal, ornaments, and more. Each of these picks is $20 or under, and should arrive before the holidays.

Laila and Lainey Crazy Plant Lady Hat, $15
Digz Gardening Gloves, $14
The Garden Journal: A 5-Year Record of Your Home Garden, $17 (was $30)
Old World Garden Trowel Christmas Ornament, $14 (was $15)
Back to the Roots Self-Watering Olla Pot, $10
Xlux Soil Moisture Meter, $12 (was $13)
Vlzufe Cotton Linen Gardening Apron, $14 (was $15)
Back to the Roots Organic Microgreens Grow Kit, $14
More Birds Hummingbird Feeder, $14 (was $30)
Costa Farms Money Tree with Pot, $20 (was $25)

Laila and Lainey Crazy Plant Lady Hat

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Amazon

Help the gardener friend in your life embrace the “crazy plant lady” name. They’re already living the lifestyle, after all. This ball cap is made from 100% cotton and “crazy plant lady” is embroidered into the fabric itself. It also has a distressed style, is one size fits all, and has an adjustable buckle in the back.

Digz Gardening Gloves

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Amazon

Utility meets style with these four-way stretchy spandex gardening gloves. They’re thick and thorn-proof, but still have touchscreen compatible fingertips that let you use your phone. These also feature an adjustable, velcro wrist strap, so you can customize the fit.

The Garden Journal: A 5-Year Record of Your Home Garden

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Amazon

Beautifully illustrated and thoughtfully designed, this home garden journal is the perfect, low-cost gift for a gardener friend that’s practicing a low-consumption holiday season. Inside the logbook’s special, lay-flat binding—which allows it to stay open on a table or potting bench, so you can write without manually holding it open—are five years’ worth of pages to record your garden’s growth. It includes useful charts, trackers, seasonal checklists, and gardening tips, an interior cover pocket for storing plant tags or seed packets, and a ribbon page marker.

Old World Garden Trowel Christmas Ornament

Credit:

Amazon

The iconic Christmas tree ornament brand, Old World, makes a slew of gardening-friendly baubles, including a wheelbarrow, seeds, an apron, hose nozzle, and more. But my favorite is the shiny, silver trowel. It has a glittery green handle with a handcrafted flower design, and a tiny ladybug crawling across it.