The Gift: 10 gifts that scream spring
Today we’ve handpicked some garden-themed gifts for you: fun dishes, great tools, some charming floral bedding. Plus, more gifts for plant lovers — including some very good-looking watering cans.
Now that spring has really and truly sprung here in San Francisco — poppies popping, wind whipping off the Pacific, and my allergies ablaze — you can find me in my small backyard with my hands in the dirt. Mostly I’m pulling winter’s carpet of weeds, but I’m also planting cheerful pots of annuals, fertilizing, fighting with gophers, pruning suckers and deadwood, and generally shaking off the last four months of neglect. I got my gardening genes from both sides — my mom’s a putterer like me, and my dad is a former-landscaper-turned-Japanese-gardening-supply-importer — and I have absorbed what I know mostly through osmosis. But when I need expert help on a specific issue or plant, I turn to the North Star of gardening from the Rockies to the Pacific, The Sunset Western Gardening Book. Anyone trying to grow anything in this part of the country should own this invaluable manual (and perfect housewarming present). My own copy has a split spine, soil-stained pages, and a case of mildew from living in the garage with the rest of the gardening supplies, which is exactly how it should be. I may be biased, but when it comes to spring gift-giving moments — whether that’s Mother’s Day, May birthdays, or a baby shower — why not lean heavily into the season: florals, plants, and truly special gardening gear? And for those who don’t like to muck about in the yard, but still appreciate the results, there are lots of garden-adjacent gifts that evoke the excitement of spring but don’t require getting dirty. I’ll sow a few of my ideas here:
More of our favorite gifts for your favorite gardeners→
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My friend is having a low-key wedding on short notice. No bridesmaids, no showers, no bachelorette, and no registry. It feels wrong to show up emptyhanded; what does one bring to a sort of shotgun wedding? — J.M. From gifting expert Mari Uyehara: One of the best weddings I ever attended was a DIY-er in Finland. We picked wildflowers for the centerpieces, ate a home-cooked meal at mismatching tables, and danced until dawn while friends DJed in a barn. Since your friend seems to value camaraderie over the wedding industrial complex, ask to pitch in if you can. Offer to pay for a delivery to help stock the bar, order Costco wedding garlands or their famous sheet cake, or dole out instant cameras and film packs to other guests for candid snaps. If that’s not feasible, then look to modest whimsy over space-hogging registry standards. For goofier types, you could make Funko Pops in the likeness of the couple, or have them illustrated and framed in their favorite cartoon. On the more buttoned-up end, you could get them a custom house portrait, personalized Champagne minis to pop open on anniversaries, or make an album of them with crowdsourced photos. As for dressing up cash, I love these exquisite pop-up cards (like the rose and fuchsia designs). Don’t sweat it too much. What may be most vital is just showing up in a good-time outfit with immaculate vibes.
Have someone who’s impossible to shop for? Submit your question here. One last gift (for you): Elevate a stray bloom or blossom with the help of these on-sale fluted glass vases. With slightly frilly Victorian edges, they’re almost guaranteed to mesh with anyone’s decor. Was this email kindly forwarded to you? Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox.
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