Neeli Reamer is The Roanoke Times' gardening columnist. Her column appears twice monthly in Extra.

Neeli Reamer

Recent columns

• Evict that fuzzy, fat critter from your garden
• No need for your garden to go dormant in winter
• How to keep poinsettias healthy after holidays

About Neeli

Neeli Reamer is a Master Gardener who has a bachelor's degree in journalism and mass communication and a master's degree in counseling, where she focused heavily on horticultural therapy techniques.

She believes gardening isn't about being perfect, it's about having fun.

Do you have anyone with a green thumb on your shopping list?

If so, you're in luck. Plenty of useful, fun and budget-friendly gardening gifts are available.

A basket full of handpicked garden goodies is always a welcome gift for gardeners. Your basket might include seed packets, sunscreen, mosquito repellent, gardening magazines, garden tour tickets, lotions, soaps or even gummy worms.

If baskets are not your style, you could fill a flowerpot, a watering can or a monogrammed canvas tote bag. A gift certificate from a local garden center is an extra nice surprise to tuck inside.

Here are some other items gardeners would like to get their hands on:

Gardening books

Gardeners adore new garden books. The more color photos the better.

If you buy a plant identification or gardening guide, select one that covers our region.

I've given a paperback about Southern heirloom plants called "Passalong Plants" by Steve Bender and Felder Rushing to many friends and family members over the years.

"The Secret Garden" by Frances Hodgson Burnett is a classic I read as a child, but the story never grows old.

A gardener's journal is another good choice.

Garden snapshots

Most gardeners are also amateur photographers. A nature photography manual may be appreciated, as would a camera upgrade or a digital photo frame.

If you have a pretty picture of your friend's garden, take it to a photo center. Most photo companies sell personalized calendars, coffee mugs, coasters, jigsaw puzzles, etc., for reasonable prices.

Vases

If the gardener on your list enjoys cut flowers, purchase a vase. They range from vintage milk bottles to Waterford crystal. Look for unique vases in artists' studios, antique shops or at yard sales.

You can take this gift idea one step further. Once, my father gave my mother a lovely vase, and then he presented her with a bouquet of roses to place inside.

Unique plants

I found American Forests, the nation's oldest nonprofit conservation organization, online. They have an intriguing Famous and Historic Trees program (www.historictrees.org).

Among others, you can order the offspring of Elvis Presley's sweet gum tree at Graceland, Johnny Appleseed's apple tree or moon sycamores grown from seeds that flew aboard Apollo XIV. Trees are shipped at the proper planting time and have a one-year replacement guarantee.

Tools of the trade

In the case of garden tools, you get what you pay for. Buy high-quality tools and each time your gardening friends pick up those shovels, rakes or spades, they will think fondly of you.

Most gardeners I know prefer Felco brand pruners. Fiskars PowerGear bypass loppers also make the cut.

If the gardener you are shopping for has arthritis, ergonomic garden tools may be more suitable.

Don't forget about the next generation of gardeners. There are many durable children-sized garden tools on the market.

Go green

My friend Jaye hopes to receive a compost tumbler or a rain barrel for her upcoming birthday. Solar-powered landscape lighting and kitchen compost pails are additional green gifts.

Garden gear

Gardeners are fond of practical apparel, but we like looking fashionable, too. Rubber garden clogs, waterproof boots, big straw hats, denim overalls and garden-themed T-shirts are wardrobe essentials.

Heavy-duty gardening gloves are arguably the best gifts for gardeners. Purchase gloves in bright colors because gardeners (like me) tend to misplace them.

Accessorize!

Some gardeners take a "less is more" approach with garden accessories.

Others can never have enough. If this sounds like your favorite gardener, consider wind chimes, fountains, hammocks, sundials, statuary or unusual yard art. One of my most memorable wedding gifts was a gazing globe.

If your gardener loves birds, then birdbaths, birdhouses, feeders and birdseed might fit the bill.

If he or she entertains a lot, a welcome mat, citronella torches, a bench or a copper fire pit may be ideal.

Indoor gardeners will be thrilled with houseplants such as lucky bamboo (Dracaena sanderiana), indoor gardening tool sets, bulb-forcing kits or terrariums.

Get crafty

Homemade presents are very special. Hit the local craft store with your gardener in mind.

In the past, I've made mosaic stepping stones and herbal vinegars. I've also planted "parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme" window boxes, painted clay pots, hot-glue gunned wreaths and (reluctantly) combined Duke blue and white pansies in containers for friends and family.

Just remember, when it comes to gifts, above all, "It's the thought that counts."

What's your favorite gardening gift?

Last week I attended the annual Hahn Horticulture Garden at Virginia Tech Volunteer Appreciation Dinner. My fellow volunteers shared their garden gift ideas with me:

n Arnold Schuetz of Blacksburg suggests a rain gauge or Japanese lanterns.

n Jane O'Keefe of Floyd County loves decorative flowerpots, urns and "anything metal and rusted" for the garden.

n Jill Stewart of Riner likes garden fairies and gnomes.

n Connie Lawson of Dublin mentioned an EarthBox, a patented container garden kit.

n John Ogburn of Blacksburg, member of the Blue Ridge Orchid Society, suggests orchids, as well as a trake (a trowel-like tool).

n Holly Scoggins of Newport likes Radius Garden Natural Radius Grip ergonomic gardening tools.

n Joan Zolovick of Pembroke suggests a kneeling pad.

n Jackie Betts of Prices Fork likes hummingbird feeders.

n Rob Dowell of Lexington recommends a seedling heat mat.

n Linda Guiles of Catawba lets her friends pick a conifer (for example, a pine tree) on her property and they get all of the cones that tree produces.

n Mike Bircher of Blacksburg suggests a serrated edge trowel.

n Gwen Ewing of Christiansburg wants "an energetic worker with a tiller."

My next column will showcase more of this group's creative ideas.

Do you have a favorite gardening gift? Please e-mail me.

Neeli Reamer's column runs every other Saturday in Extra.