Green-thumb gifts

The thing about gardening is that it is a constant year-round pursuit. Always, the garden beckons. A gardener could be standing in the middle of a polar vortex and still be dreaming about a plant they want to try or the backyard oasis or private haven they desire.

Just as gardening leads to endless topics to discuss or dream about, there is no shortage of useful, creative and pleasurable gift ideas for gardeners.

Let’s start with stocking-stuffers. Every gardener on your list is going to want to attend Fleurs de Villes when it returns to The Leaf at Assiniboine Park, Jan. 15-25. Fleurs de Villes Wonder will feature incomparable floral mannequins inspired by the lavender fields of Provence, France, the Great Barrier Reef, the Amazon rainforest, monarch butterfly migration and more.

One-of-a-kind botanical creations capturing the beauty of the natural world will be brought to life by Winnipeg’s talented florists. Tickets to Fleurs de Villes Wonder can be purchased online at assiniboinepark.ca or in-person at The Leaf.

The Prairie Garden is a popular and respected non-profit magazine published in Winnipeg. Compiled by a volunteer committee, The Prairie Garden has been Western Canada’s only gardening annual since 1937. The 2026 edition, Shaping Spaces, features guest editor Mark Bauche, a landscape architect and senior associate at HTFC Planning & Design in Winnipeg.

Shaping Spaces explores ideas for designing landscapes of all scales and budgets. The handy, digest-sized book costs $19.99. It is available at local garden centres and booksellers.

How about a Prairie wildflower poster that features 12 watercolour illustrations by Norman Criddle? Criddle (1875-1933) was an entomologist and one of Manitoba’s first Prairie naturalists.

This iconic poster measures 27.5-by-19.75 inches and is priced at $24.99.

It is available for purchase online at the Manitoba Museum Gift Shop (manitobamuseumshop.ca) and can be picked up anytime during the museum’s open hours.

Pamper a grower

Gardeners love to be pampered. Soak Bath Company based in Niverville offers locally handmade products that are all natural. Each of their soap bars are labelled with biodegradable, plantable seed paper that will grow into wildflowers.

Shop the holiday collection at cksoakbathco.com. Products are also available at the Community General Store, at 226 Main St., in Niverville, and at Oakridge Garden Centre, located at 369B Highway 52W in Steinbach.

“With Christmas approaching, orders placed online by Dec. 14 will still arrive in time for Christmas delivery,” says Candace Alarie, founder of Soak Bath Co.

Would you like to gift something crisp and refreshing that offers a taste of Manitoba? Kerr Apple Craft Soda from Dead Horse Cider Company, located just north of Winkler, is a non-alcoholic beverage crafted with Kerr apples. Introduced in 1952, locally grown Kerr apples are an ideal choice for cider, says Marcus Wiebe, founder of Dead Horse, because they stay on the tree and withstand late frosts, which enhances their flavour.

Check out all the delicious selections at deadhorsecider.com. Dead Horse Cider is offering free delivery to Winnipeg on Dec. 18.

Here’s a gift suggestion from Wendy Sawatzky, associate editor of digital news for the Free Press. Sawatzky edits Winnipeg Gardener, a monthly digital newsletter I write for the Free Press and she is an avid gardener.

“One of the best things I’ve purchased for my vegetable garden is a watering timer called LinkTap,” says Sawatzky. “I bought it after I had some blossom end rot on tomatoes (which is mostly what I grow in my little garden) and I read that more consistent watering solves the problem.”

The product comes with a small gateway device that stays inside your house, connected to your modem or router, says Sawatzky. “The gateway communicates with the device on the faucet which turns the flow of water on and off according to a schedule you set on an app.

“What I love about this device is you can set adjustments based on the weather, so I have it skip watering if a certain amount of rain is forecast to fall and automatically water a bit more when it’s hot and less if it’s cold.”

With LinkTap, multiple faucet devices can be controlled on one gateway, and it can be used on any kind of hose or sprinkler. “It sends notifications when it starts and finishes watering, and also notifies me if it’s clogged or leaks,” says Sawatzky. “It’s probably a fancier system than I really needed for a little garden like mine, but it seems to have completely resolved my problem with blossom end rot.”

LinkTap smart watering systems are available for purchase at Amazon.ca.

Lego Botanicals have met with such immense popularity that the collection continues to expand with new nature-inspired designs for adults. According to the 2024 Lego Play Well Study, three in four adults are actively looking for ways to practise mindfulness. Two of the newest designs are Lego Botanicals Hibiscus and Lego Botanicals Mini Bonsai Trees.

The 660-piece Lego Botanicals Hibiscus set ($89.99) features five blooming lavender hibiscus flowers with adjustable petals and leaves. The 709-piece Mini Bonsai Trees set ($79.99) features three bonsai arrangements — wisteria, black pine and ginkgo — with interchangeable foliage and stands.

I’m still working on building the Lego Botanical Garden (which consists of 3,792 pieces) I received last Christmas! Look for the Lego Botanicals collection at the Lego store at Polo Park Shopping Centre.

Princess Auto is a one-stop shop for gardening gifts. Who knew? Hands down, my top pick is their super-sturdy Gorilla poly dump cart which has a pull handle, pneumatic wheels and a load capacity of 272 kilograms. I use it to haul bark chips, potting soil and potted plants. It retails for $159.99. I had it delivered right to my front door, and it was assembled in minutes. Princess Auto has two locations in Winnipeg — 515 Panet Rd. and 3292 Portage Ave.

What gift embodies the promise of spring like a planter? Beautiful options can be found at local garden centres. This year, red-and-white planters flew off the shelves at Jensen Nursery and Garden Centre. Glazed orchid pots, with multiple large openings in the sides to allow air circulation and quick drainage, have been high in demand, says Tammy Jensen.

But consider as well the selection of products offered by Veradek, a Canadian company based in Richmond Hill, Ont., that designs and manufactures items including planters, side tables and other items for outdoor living. Some of their products are sold at local retail outlets or can be ordered online at veradek.ca.

Two recently launched products include the Demi Raised Garden Bed and the Everything Box. Made in Canada from recycled materials, the Demi Raised Garden Bed will be a beautiful addition to patios, porches or balconies. Perfect for growing herbs, veggies or flowers, this raised planter has a contemporary fluted design and features a self-watering reservoir. It retails for $219.99.

Does the gardener in your life crave more order and better storage solutions? Veradek’s Everything Box ($299.99) is deep enough for outdoor sofa cushions and even features hooks for gardening tools or string lights. Made in Canada, both these products are extreme-temperature tested (-30 C to 50 C), so they can stay outdoors year-round.

Happy holidays!

colleenizacharias@gmail.com