I’ve been thinking about what to buy my gardening friends for Christmas. That in turn started me thinking about garden gifts in general – which ones I love and which ones end up on a table at a yard sale in the spring.

So, I am offering my best and worst gift ideas below, in cooperation with my fellow Digging RI bloggers, Elderberry and HerbDoc.

I have also asked my “garden aunt” as well as some of my favorite “hort celebs” to tell me their five best and five least liked garden gifts. I’ll be posting theirs one at a time over the next week or so. If you have anything to add to our lists, or if you have an opinion one way or another, please feel free to chime in!

Our best gifts:

• Felcos and a holster

• Garden apron or tool belt

• A good sun hat

• Lots of garden gloves

• A garden tool bag

• Waterproof footwear that’s comfortable

• A good birdbath heater

• Subscription to Fine Gardening

• A garden or seed catalog with a gift card

• A Leatherman tool

• Books

• Plants – only if you know what the recipient likes

Worst:

• Birdhouses with  big entrance holes that encourage house sparrows and other predators

• Spiked lawn aeration shoes – completely useless

• Subscription to Horticulture – used to be great, now, not so much

• Cheap pruners

• Those flimsy, painted “women’s” garden tools

• Metal or ceramic birdbaths – not bird-friendly

• Gadgets that don’t work