In need of Christmas gift inspiration?
Here are our top 10 ideas for outdoorsy Christmas gifts, chosen by the life-long gardeners of the Envisage team.*
We hope these are perfect suggestions for the gardener in your life (or for yourself!) as we use these items every day, or they are on our wish list, too!
Boots: Gear up for some cosy winter walks as there's never bad weather, only bad clothing! Dublin Clothing have the most fabulous range of shoes and boots to suit a variety of budgets. Charlie lives in her Pinnacle boots and wears them out on walks, to smart occasions, and around the nursery alike. See photo below.
Clothing: Bib & Braces from Engelbert Strauss - a gamechanger in winter months. Top tip from people who live outdoors; trapping the heat in around your kidneys is key to keep the winter chills at bay. Available in men's, women's and kid's sizes, you could go out in a matching set! (Or maybe not...!). See photo below.
Book: "Woods: A Celebration by Robert Penn" from the National Trust - a gorgeous coffee table book with beautiful photography and a bucket-list of places to visit. If they already have "Woods", there are lots of other tree-related books on the best sellers list at the moment. Our resident forester, Ben, gave us a huge list of woodland-related books, but we asked him to keep it to just one for this year! See photo below.
Experience: Give a membership, or let them choose their own gift a with a beautiful gift card from The RHS - Royal Horticultural Society. Options are available to buy a gift card to spend in one of the RHS Gardens' garden centres, or a voucher to redeem on tickets on a day out to an RHS Flower Show. See photo below.
Children: Get them growing, cooking, and having fun outdoors with "The Little Grower’s Cookbook" by Parker & James which is full of beautifully illustrated ideas for children of all ages. The author's CV's are pretty impressive, too!
Gadgets: protect their lungs from the fumes of petrol-powered motors and encourage them to switch to battery-powered tools, such as these from DeWalt. We are slowly phasing all of our hand-held tools to battery-powered, and have had loads of use out of their hedge cutter this year! For smaller pieces of kit, try a pair of beautifully crafted snips or a stunning horticultural multi-tool from Niwaki HQ (from whom we own pretty much everything...). See photos below.
Plant: the nation voted that their favourite thing to mark a special occasion was planting a tree! See in the new year with a Envisage-style tree planting ceremony (i.e. in high-vis jackets and surrounded by Spaniels) or maybe plant a tree to remember someone special to you. Purchase your tree via the The Woodland Trust or pop out and support your local garden centre - you might get to meet Santa that way, too!
Dogs: an entry from the two most important members of the Envisage team are the 'Max Glow' balls by Chuckit Fetch Games. An absolute life-saver on these dark nights as you can see not only the ball, but where the dog is going, too! Our furry friends own multiple of these balls each. We wouldn't be without them. See photo to the left.
Wildlife: feed the birds safely with squirrel-outwitting technology from the RSPB. We don't quite understand the mixed reviews because Steve owns several of these feeders and gets on with them very well. Our best tip is to tie them to a branch using thick (nibble-proof) wire and suspend them in a clearing within a tree/hedge out of the reach of squirrels (easier said than done, I know) but where the birds can still feel enclosed or surrounded by twiggy bits to protect them from the hawk. See photo below.
Charity: We all have that relative that already has everything they need. Rather than gifting something that's just going to sit in a cupboard, why not make a donation on their behalf to a gardening charity such as Thrive, or Perennial - Gardeners' Royal Benevolent Society or Greenfingers Charity. Some gardens that are open to the public have a memory tree or other such sculpture where their name can be engraved on a plaque, so you could phone up their favorite garden and enquire directly. You could wrap up the receipt in a nice plant pot so they have something to open on the day.
Best of luck with the Christmas shopping!
* We genuinely like these items. This is not an advert!
Photo credits belong to relevant company
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