A Year Of Miniature Garden Gifts

Summertime is not usually thought of as “gift-giving season.”

For that, we look to winter, when Christmas, Hanukkah, and other holidays give us ample opportunities to shower our friends and family members with toys, clothing, electronics, and other presents. But if you, like me, have a passion for all-things fairy gardening and miniature gardens, then you know that gardens make some of the best gifts around. And you need not wait until December. From Father’s Day and Valentine’s Day to baby showers and graduations, the year is full of special days and events that often require a gift. Wondering how to gift a garden? Read on for some of my most-gifted (and easiest!) miniature garden ideas.

Theme Gardens

When it comes to gift-giving, I love to customize my presents for the recipient. Miniature gardens make it easy to celebrate holidays, sports teams, ages, interests, and other “themes” of the recipient’s life. For example, if you are building a garden for a Packers fan, you could make a quick DIY sign, include a miniature football, and even leave room for garden gnomes to play a quick game of backyard football. If your recipient is celebrating a birthday, it is easy to create a fairy birthday party. All you need is a tiny cake, some miniature streamers, and garden residents gathered around a picnic table.

You can also theme your garden gifts after specific holidays. A spooky Halloween garden makes a great October gift. For St. Patrick’s Day, you can hide a pot of gold under some miniature plants and paint rainbows on the outside of the container. Does your gift recipient like to go to the beach? Creating a miniature beach garden is a snap! A personalized container garden sends the message that you know the person, you are listening to them, and you care about their interests. Customized gifts like these can help strengthen bonds and deepen relationships. What could be better?

Quick and Easy

You may not expect gardens to lend themselves well to gift-giving, especially since they so often involve miniature plants, soil, pebbles, and other messy materials. However, if you give the garden a little thought and pre-planning, your recipients will fall in love with their new miniature gardens, and you may become addicted to creating gardens whenever you need to provide a gift. They can actually be very quick and easy, especially if you choose the right container.

I like to keep a few common containers on hand. Small terra cotta pots can be decorated with paint or a bow in a pinch. Add soil, a succulent, and a garden fairy, and your garden gift is ready for gifting. A shallow dish needs nothing more than sand and a few miniature accessories to transform into an impressive Zen garden, which makes a perfect gift for the office workers in your life. A hanging glass terrarium just needs an air plant and a sprinkle of fairy dust—voila! The gift is complete.  If you are extremely rushed, you can even substitute a faux plant for a living one. These days, faux plants are increasingly popular, especially for apartment-dwellers. Cacti, air plants, and some succulents are other affordable, low-maintenance plants that you can keep on hand for last-minute gifts.

The Gift of Time

While everyone enjoys the feeling of tearing the wrapping paper off of a brand-new gift, our loved ones no doubt appreciate it when we give them the most valuable present there is—the gift of time. Struggling to think of the “perfect” present for your grandchild, mentee, best friend, or someone else? Consider scheduling a time to work together on a container garden project. You can supply a few container options, landscaping materials, miniature accessories, and miniature plants, as well as snacks and beverages. An afternoon spent building gardens together, along with your gardening expertise, is not just a thoughtful gift. Sharing one’s time and building memories together is priceless.

When it comes to gifting a miniature garden, there is no wrong way to do it. With a little forethought and a lot of love, you will provide your recipients with gifts that do not gather dust or go forgotten in a closet. A miniature garden will be cherished and enjoyed for years to come, as will the memory of your thoughtful gift.

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