Shop Your Own Garden to Find Beautiful and Easy Garden Gifts
on Jul 25, 2017, Updated Jan 21, 2022
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Are you thinking about Christmas yet? It’s possible to grow beautiful garden gifts you can “shop” for right now! I know it seems really early, but head on out to your garden and start checking items off that Christmas Gift List. Here are amazing gifts you might already be growing without even realizing it!
Shop Your Own Garden to Find Beautiful & Easy Garden Gifts
Today’s installment of Tuesdays in the Garden is all about Christmas gift giving. We realize it’s only July, but give yourself a head start this year by thinking about things you can grow or make now! I’d be really happy to add a few completed gifts to my gift box this early in the season. How about you? So today, the Tuesdays in the Garden gang has ideas for gifts you can make {or buy} now to simplify the busy holiday season! It’ll be here sooner than I want to admit.
You can also use this list to get the creative juices flowing for next year’s garden! While it’s entirely likely that you’re already growing beautiful garden gifts right now, you might need to buy seeds for some of the items on this list and grow them next year. With a little bit of thought, you can turn your garden into a great resource for your Christmas gift giving basket. Here are plants I love to grow that also make great gifts!
Grow Beautiful Garden Gifts with these Ideas!
Luffa Sponges
Did you know you can grow your own natural sponges? I had to search through my blog archives to remember when I grew my luffas – and it was 2013! It’s super easy as long as you have a long enough growing season as these gourds take a long time to grow. You’ll also need a trellis or a lot of room because the vines get BIG! But beyond that, all you have to do is wait until the gourds are grown, harvest, dry, clean, and cut. It’s really not hard. I buy luffa seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds and I’d love to grow these again next year.
Ornamental Corn
I love ornamental corn. I don’t have any growing in my garden this year, but I did grow Heirloom Glass Gem Corn last year. I have had plans for turning the gorgeous corn into a wreath or some sort of swag but haven’t done it yet. I also love the kernels just by themselves! It would be easy to take them off the cob and put them in a jar for a lovely addition to a fall table centerpiece!
Gourds
In addition to luffas, all kinds of gourds make great gifts. My grandpa in particular used to love turning gourds I grew into bird houses for his yard. I sure wish I had taken some pictures of his birdhouses. 🙁 You can also grow gourds and turn them into lanterns, bird feeders, and bird houses, maracas, and bowls. Again, you need space (or a trellis) and a long growing season to grow most gourds. Do you have a favorite gourd to grow?
Dried Beans
As I write this post, I realize what an abysmal failure my garden is this year. I’m really growing very few of the items on this list right now and that makes me sad. But another thing I enjoy growing in my garden are beans to dry. I really like things that are easy, and what’s easier than planting beans and then leaving them alone until they are dead and dry? I learned about 3 Sisters Gardens (the agricultural method Native Americans used in my area long ago to grown corn, beans, and squash) several years ago and enjoy watching beans trellis up corn. It is a little tricky harvesting the beans at the end, but with a little bit of effort it works. The dried beans make great soup and a jar of dried beans makes a practical and pretty gift with little effort on your part.
Herbs
One thing that is growing in abundance this year in my garden are the herbs. I have way more than I can personally use, but I can cut and dry them and give home dried herbs as another practical gift! Do you have too many herbs in your garden too? Think about preserving extra to give to family and friends this year!
Dried Peppers
Again, not a current problem in my garden, but in years past I have had pepper bushes that looked like that! Way too many peppers for me to enjoy. Beyond canning or freezing them, you can also dry them out and make fabulous pepper strings or wreaths to give! Isn’t it amazing to think about all of the ways we can shop our own gardens and make fun and practical gifts to give at Christmas? I hope you’re getting inspired.
Flowers
Do you know anyone who likes dried flower arrangements? If you think about the flowers you have in your garden right now, you can probably come up with ideas for lovely dried flower arrangements you can make yourself. To dry them – simply hang them upside down in a dark area for several weeks. I grow a lot of sunflowers and zinnias that aren’t hard to dry. I know a lot of people also like dried hydrangeas. Do you like dried flowers?
Canning
Of course, you can also give home canned goodness from your garden bounty too! Some of my favorite canned goods are homemade dill pickles, strawberry sauce, and crushed tomatoes!
Need more ideas for homemade Christmas gifts? Here are many more ideas for gifts you can make out of photographs and more homemade garden gifts! Here’s also a really nice list of garden related gifts you can buy if you’re not inclined to make gifts!
Tuesdays in the Garden
And now check out what my friends have in store for you! We’ve got a lot more ways to use up the bounty you have growing in your garden. Pop on over and take a look at all the fabulous ideas!
Test Tube Dried Flowers & Herbs from Patti at Hearth & Vine
DIY Garden Gift Ideas from Jami at An Oregon Cottage
10 Gift Ideas from the Garden from Shelly at Frugal Family Home
Tomato Salsa to Can from Diane at Homemade Food Junkie
5 Fantastic Garden Gifts from Angie @The Freckled Rose
Hi Michelle,
I love all your garden gift ideas. I’ve only recently learned about growing luffa and your gourd ideas are so adorable. Many years ago we went to a vacation resort where they offered daily crafts to the guests. One was painting gourds. My girls and I loved this craft and we still have the pretty gourds. They used leather paints and already had the gourds cleaned out and dried with an opening. Such a fun thing to make.
Leather paint! I didn’t know that’s what you’re supposed to use. I’ve never actually painted my gourds, but have plenty so we really should. The one is in the picture is probably also from my 2013 garden. They’re nice and dry and ready to go. 😀
We grow Luffa I can’t imagine any other kind of sponge anymore. I LOVE them and agree they make a great gift. So my grandma use to give her canned stuff for gifts too which was always fun to deliver for her. So many great things you can do for gift giving if you just think outside the box. Great examples!!
Thanks, Carole. I agree: thinking outside the box is key to most things in life. 🙂
Your creative garden Ideas have me thinking. Our garden is not at it’s best this year. I’m going to plant those luffas next year for sure. also the beans! So pretty and a great gift idea! Thanks
We’ve grown luffas in the past. We harvested a few and used them and they were great. I need to give them a try again, I’m not sure why I didn’t keep growing them.
Your pretty dried corn reminded me the neighbors we had when I was growing up. They would grow strawberry popcorn, at least that is what they called it. The corn cobs were the shape of strawberries covered with small red kernels of corn. My mom let us pop one of them and it produced small pink popcorn. I remember it was good but not strawberry flavored which was disappointing to me as a kid. 🙂
I love all the gift ideas, thanks for sharing them.
These are great ideas, Michelle! I’ve always wished I would grow luffas, it seems so fun. 🙂
Oh wow, I love all of these ideas! I’ve always wanted to grow my own luffa sponge! Do they need any special care? Every year, I gift my mom ornamental corn and she hangs it on the front door as decoration! She loves that. I love growing really different/cool gourds and using them as decor. Everyone’s always like, what’s that! Makes me giggle!