Gardens
Hannah Stephenson suggests some thoughtful Valentine’s Day gifts for gardeners which will last long after cut roses have wilted
Valentine gifts for the green-fingered
If love is in the air this month, there’s a plethora of presents you could give a romantic gardener – and no, we’re not just talking red roses.
Love For All Seasons Collection
£49.99, greatlittlegarden.co.uk Ditch the dozen red roses this Valentine’s Day and instead send a specially curated selection of four beautiful plants, that will last long after a bouquet has been thrown out.
The ‘Love For All Seasons’ plant collection, from Great Little Garden, comprises four hardy shrubs for year-round interest, including the vibrant Cordyline ‘Pink Passion’, with its striking sword-shaped leaves that look great all year, Lavandula ‘Night Of Passion’, a French lavender which produces deep purple flowers in summer, Rhodanthemum ‘Marrakech’, which will create a show-stopping splash of pink throughout spring and summer that the bees will go mad for, and Hebe ‘Jewel of the Nile’, which offers unusual pink and green leaves with pink and white flowers in early summer. Packaged in a sturdy, biodegradable box, all plants come in a 2-litre pot apart from the cordyline, which is in a 3-litre pot.
Birth Flower Box
£9.99, gettingpersonal.co.uk Treat your gardening partner to a birth flower, representing qualities inherited by those born in that month – or simply choose the February box, the violet, representing modesty and simplicity – to show your love on Valentine’s Day. There are 12 flowers available, one for each month of the year, and packs come complete with a packet of seeds, a plant marker, starter plant pot and compost disc – everything they need to start growing their gift.
Weber Q1200 Gas Barbecue
£269, from weber.com and various garden centres and retailers nationwide This is a perfect gift for a romantic meal for two in the great outdoors. Weber’s vibrant range of portable Q1200 gas barbecues comes in five funky colours; orange, blue, fuchsia, green and purple, to brighten up any patio or outdoor space. The lightweight, portable grill is great for days out or weekends away, and simple to transport and set up wherever you go.
Love The Glove Red Tweed Gloves
£17.49, burgonandball.com and garden centres nationwide The latest additions to this popular range include elegant tweed designs with a twist – pretty, feminine, and mulberry leather trim accents on red tweed. They feature wrist straps, which provide a snug fit and stop debris dropping inside the glove, plus padded palms for extra cushioning and comfort.
Cabbages & Roses Tuberose & Ylang Diffuser
£34, John Lewis Bring your romantic garden indoors with this diffuser from Cabbages & Roses, which emits a floral scent with notes of tuberose and gardenia intertwined with orange blossom, pink pepper and sweet red berries.
Rosa ‘Lovestruck’
£19.99, rhsplants.co.uk Instead of cut red roses, the 2018 Rose of the Year, ‘Lovestruck’, would make a wonderful gift. This new floribunda rose was bred by renowned rose breeder Colin Dickson and is already an award-winner, having scooped a gold medal and a gold standard for plant health at the Royal National Rose Society. It flowers from late May or early June, right through until the first frosts, and the lightly scented cherry-red flowers are large (approx 10cm across), set off beautifully against the dark green glossy foliage.
Vineyard Tour and tasting with lunch or afternoon tea for two
£49, buyagift.co.uk If your loved one is partial to a glass of wine, but would like to see how grapes are grown, this tour goes from seed to glass, through the wine-making process to the most important part – the tasting (available at seven locations across England on selected dates).
Bird House Gift Box – Watering Can
£35, boxwild.com Lovebirds will love this Bird House Gift Box, with its quirky watering can nesting box, along with a bird seed blend, seed feeder, scoop and coco feeder. It makes the ideal gift for bird lovers and twitchers, or those who just want to attract more wildlife to their plot. The seed is blended to give optimum nutrition to birds, and the company makes a 50p donation to various wildlife charities for every box sold.
Passiflora Trowel and Fork
£22.50, burgonandball.com and garden centres nationwide Opt for this stylish gardening gift set, featuring a Passiflora passion flower design, and she’ll be sure to get the message. There’s an added message of love too, as the trowel is engraved with a Gertrude Jekyll quote: ‘The love of gardening is a seed once sown that never dies’.
Hanging Garden Sign
£14.99, studio.co.uk Make it a couples’ day by personalising this quaint green metal hanging gardening sign with you and your partner’s name. With a high gloss finish, and complete with hanging rope, it can be personalised for free – with any name or names up to 25 characters.
English Mint and Ginger Lip Care
£20, jomalone.co.uk New from Jo Malone, this rich, creamy formula, enriched with moringa butter, rose flower wax and kukui seed oil, should keep any gardener’s lips kissable and protected from all the elements of working outdoors. Scented with notes of mint, the formula is balanced with ginger for a delicious fresh and spicy combination. n