Maybe you’ve finished planting your garden beds and are looking forward to fresh vegetables and herbs this summer. Perhaps you are a weekly visitor to a local Farmer’s Market. Or you are known for your beautiful perennial garden that brightens the neighborhood each year. Whatever your gardening passion, you can use your garden as a starting point for the upcoming Christmas season. These six thoughtful garden gifts extend the warmth of summer and are a special way of showing you care.
Depending on the type of garden produce you have, you can have a variety of handmade gifts to offer family and friends this holiday season. Here are six you may like to try:
Spices and Sides
- Dried Herb Gift Set
- If you have an herb garden, you can harvest flavorful herbs, such as basil, rosemary, cilantro, or chives and dry them in bunches over the summer and fall months. To dry herbs, simply gather them in small bunches and tie the stems together. Hang them upside down in a cool dry place until ready to package or use.
- To prepare the gift, crush or chop the herbs and seal them in a small spice jar. You can do the herbs separately or create a blend or rub. Label the jars and package in a festive box with a recipe or two.
- Canned Jams and Jellies
- Harvest fruits in season or buy them in bulk at your favorite Farmer’s Market. Once harvested, make the jam or jelly following recipes from Ball Canning or other cookbooks.
- Prepare your canning jars according to directions, and fill with them with the jam or jelly. Jars can be preserved through canning or by freezing.
- Label them using decorative labels and keep them on hand for hostess gifts or stocking stuffers. Combine a variety of flavors together in a gift box for someone special.
- Pickled Vegetables and Relishes
- Harvest or buy fresh vegetables like cucumbers, carrots, cabbage, corn, asparagus, etc., and pickle them individually or in combinations. You may also choose to make a corn or carrot relish. Ball has great recipes for pickled vegetables and relishes.
- Follow the canning instructions noted above and label each jar. Add them to a gift basket or give individually as hostess or neighbor gifts. Combine a few jars as a gift set with a grilling cookbook or BBQ set.
Decorative Gifts
- Sachets
- Dry herbs or fragrant flowers, such as lavender, and use them to make decorative sachets.
- Crush the dried herbs into small drawstring bags. Tie with a decorative ribbon or twine.
- Sachets make great gift toppers, stocking stuffers, or hostess gifts!
- Pressed Flowers
- Framed pressed flowers and leaves make a lovely gift, especially when they come from a friend’s garden. Choose your most delicate and special blooms, such as pansies, violets, lilies of the valley, or any flowers you love. Interesting leaves, such as ferns, work beautifully, too.
- Once picked, make sure they are dry, and lay them between absorbent paper, such as newspaper or blotting papers. Place within the pages of a book or in a flower press. Add weight and leave them to press for several weeks. Change the absorbent paper frequently in the first few days and periodically afterwards to help retain color.
- Once pressed, mount them on cardstock using a tacky glue and then frame them in a glass front frame.
- Package with a gift card to a nursery or some gardening tools for a thoughtful gift!
- Seasonal Garden Photos
- Do you have a family member or friend with a beautiful yard or garden? Try taking a photo of the garden from the same spot in spring, summer, fall, and winter. You’ll get a seasonal perspective on the garden that makes a timeless gift.
- Frame the four photos of the garden together to capture the growth that occurs over the seasons.
- Package it with tickets to a botanical garden, conservatory, or local Garden Show to make a special gift.
Though Christmas is still six months away, now is a great time to be planning the gifts you can give from your garden!
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