Growing for Success | Gift ideas for green thumbs this Christmas

If you are stuck for ideas when buying a gift for someone interested in gardening, here are a few suggestions.

Hanging baskets in full colour are a great option, and as luck would have it, there are plenty to choose from at this time of year.

Calliope geraniums, with their big heads of flowers in red, white, bright pink or burgundy, make a stunning display that flowers for months on end.

Geraniums have experienced a real resurgence since the introduction of the Calliope varieties.

They make reliable hanging baskets that require very little maintenance.

Grown for its foliage colour, Dichondra Silver Falls makes a versatile hanging basket plant that grows well in full sun to partial shade.

The soft silver foliage cascades down to around one meter or more but can be trimmed shorter to give it a fuller look.

Known for its low water requirements, it is well-suited for hanging baskets.

Calibrachoa is a biannual low-growing ground cover that, in our region, is probably best treated as an annual plant.

It will flower profusely for most of the summer months, with its bright, happy-looking flowers spilling over the edges of hanging baskets.

These plants look stunning and create a great visual impact.

Senecio String of Pearls and Ceropegia Chain of Hearts (in both plain and variegated forms) make great gifts.

Easy to grow but sometimes hard to find, they thrive in hanging baskets, with their unusual foliage cascading down in long, thin strands.

We have both incorporated into our green wall in the shop, where they cascade down about six meters in length.

Other baskets worth considering include Plectranthus Mona Lavender, fuchsias, blue ferns and macho ferns.

All are easy to grow, even for novice gardeners.

Standardised plants are another very popular gift, from the hard-to-find grafted grevillea and acacia to standard gardenia, lilly pilly and camellia.

Camellia Marge Miller is a low-mounding camellia, but when grown as a standard on a one-metre stem, it forms a beautiful, weeping feature plant that looks stunning in a stylish planter.

These require a partially shaded position and will flower from April onwards, displaying masses of double pink flowers over their deep green foliage.

Gardenia standards are always a favourite of mine, with their clear white flowers blooming in flushes throughout the year.

The soft, sweet fragrance of their flowers is quite tropical, as is their bold, glossy green foliage.

They can be grown in part shade to full sun and, if clipped after flowering, will form a dense, bushy crown of foliage.

If you know the style and size of someone’s garden, feature trees can make thoughtful gift ideas, but you will need to do your research to ensure they fit with the garden’s overall scheme.

Magnolia Teddy Bear makes an amazing feature in a formal or cottage garden but would be out of place in a native garden.

For a native garden, a feature tree like a grafted Corymbia Wildfire, with its magnificent crimson flowers almost completely covering the deep green foliage, would be a much better choice.

These are currently in bud and will be in full flower right around Christmas or shortly after.

Growing to six metres in height, they will fit into most gardens, but if not, there are shorter options available, such as Corymbia Baby Orange or Corymbia Baby Red.

If you are worried about looking after plant gifts until Christmas, we can care for them for you to collect in the days before December 25.

Moving away from plants, consider gifts such as bird baths, garden art, statues, water features and sculptures.

Wind spinners or modern ornamental windmills can add colour and movement to the garden, as well as create a great talking piece.

Water features can create a relaxing, tranquil ambience, while a fire pit can bring family and friends together to relax and enjoy the garden.

You could also build a garden hamper with assorted hand tools, a kneeling pad, secateurs, a vegetable basket, seeds, a tool caddy, a watering can, garden gloves, seedlings, a sun hat or even garden shoes.

Wind chimes are a popular choice of gift, especially those tuned to a true pitch, which produce a much more harmonious sound.

Weathervanes, table lanterns, ceramic pots and outdoor furniture are just a few other suggestions often sought after in the Garden Centre.

The Garden Centre also has an extensive range of general gifts to choose from, but if all else fails, there is always a gift voucher for the Garden Centre or our Laugh-A-Lot mini golf.