Our pick of homemade gifts for gardeners
1. Plant bulbs into pretty vintage ‘tea cup’ planters. Collect single teacups, sugar bowls or small milk jugs from charity shops or car boot sales. Use a ceramic tile bit and carefully drill a hole in the base. Add a thin layer of gravel then a layer of compost. Varieties to go for: miniature daffodils – ‘Tete a Tete’, ‘Minnow’ and ‘Rip Van Winkle’; violets – Viola odorata types which are hardy and long-flowering; grape hyacinth – muscari are delicate little blooms with a wonderful fragrance.
2. Herbs: you can’t go wrong giving pots of rosemary, thyme, basil and parsley as they can be used straight away and then planted out in garden in spring.
3. For that rare winter thing – a hit of floral scent – try forcing hyacinth bulbs or buy them forced. They put on a terrific show and smell divine.
4. Beautiful and rose-like, pot up pretty Hellebores niger (Christmas rose) in an old tin planter to make a striking display that can be planted outdoors once it’s over to flower again the following winter.
Plenty more festive ideas for gifts, food and fun in December's issue of The Simple Things - buy, download or subscribe now.
Photograph: Alice Hendy Photography