You’ve worked hard on your garden this year, and the bounty shows. You have organic herbs, fruits and veggies in the freezer or pantry, and the satisfaction of a job well done. But as Christmas draws near, have you thought about all of the Christmas gifts you have because of your garden, too? The bounty from a garden can be made into a variety of gifts that your friends and family will really love.


Maybe you’re already working on well-planned handmade gifts and find that organic ingredients from your garden will enhance it. Or maybe you’re looking for last minute ideas. In any case, having indoor plants or the preserved harvest from a summer and fall garden can really pay off during the holidays.

Getting Gifts Straight from the Garden

The easiest gifts come right out of your garden. You’ve already preserved your harvest and no doubt have jams and jellies, pickles, and other forms of preserved bounty in your pantry. Homemade goods are highly valued. It’s something that you spent time and effort growing over the spring, summer, and fall, and then effort and expertise preserving the harvest. A jar or two of preserved food from the garden, maybe with a ribbon tied around it, makes a lovely gift.

You might have also dried some of your garden’s return. Fruits, herbs, and flowers all dry well for winter preservation. Dried fruit can be added to trail mixes, cookies, and cupcakes. Decorative herbs and flowers can be woven into wands or placed in satchels, just to name a couple of options.

Culinary herbs can be ground and put into spice jars.

And maybe the simplest gift with the highest return comes straight from the garden: seeds! A decorative set of envelopes filled with seeds from your heirloom garden is simple and well-appreciated. It really is the gift that keeps on giving!

Using Garden Herbs as Gifts

Herbs are amazing plants, with so many uses. Throughout the year, they might have served as companion plants, fighting off bad bugs or attracting butterflies, protecting your other plants. They are usually gorgeous and have strong, lovely scents. And then they become culinary treats and even medicinal remedies. Using some of the herbs that you’ve dried, you can make endless varieties of gifts.

• Salves, soaps and scrubs are all enhanced with the addition of herbs. Calendula, lavender, and lemon balm are common garden herbs that add to salves and bath and beauty products.
• We all have favorite garden scents, and you might have brought some of them in to dry already. Using the flower heads and dried petals, you can make potpourri satchels or add them to homemade candles.
• Have a favorite tea from your garden herbs? Bag them up and give your friends and family delicious organic tea that they can curl up by the fire with.

Gifting Garden Trimmings

Late fall and early winter is the time to prune shrubs, trees, and vines. If you hang onto these trimmings, there’s no end to the possibilities. Weave vines into baskets and wreaths that your recipient will enjoy for years to come. Even without the extra weaving, cuttings themselves make lovely décor. Larger branches can become candleholders. Smaller, sprawling branches look nice with some tasteful spray painting. Gather some smaller cuttings and put them into a nice vase. Ornaments, glitter, and paint as you and your loved one might like.

Handmade gifts mean a lot to the recipient, but you also want them to be practical and enjoyable. Your garden has given you the best materials and ingredients to work with. And you won’t have to pay exorbitant prices for top notch organic ingredients. They’re growing in your indoor garden or waiting in your pantry!