If some of your favorite people also happen to love gardening, there are dozens of great, low-cost gift ideas you could wrap up. Try stuffing some seed packets in a stocking, grabbing a set of new garden gloves or giving them seed-starting kits.
And if you're looking for a gift that the gardener on your list might use the most over a lifetime of gardening, an essential tool like hand pruners might be perfect. And the best part is, you can turn the present into a chance to spend some time together at your favorite garden center while you choose the perfect size and kind.
Hand pruners are essential for many jobs in the garden and yard. And with this handy "hand pruner 101," you'll be on your way to giving a long-lasting gift to your favorite green-thumbed person.
Hand pruner shopping guide
Grab your gardener by the hand and head to your favorite local garden center. You'll need them to come along, because finding the perfect tool with the right fit is key. Once there, you'll probably note there are at least four different types of hand pruners. Narrow down which tool your gardener will use the most based on different jobs they do around the garden and yard.
The types of hand pruners range from bypass, anvil, ratcheting and snips. A set of bypass pruners act most like scissors. These are really nice for cutting new wood, because they make a clean cut.
Bypass pruners not very good for cutting dead branches or stems. This is where an anvil pruner can get the job done. Anvil pruners will crush dead branches so they break off easily.
If the gardener has any issues that might affect grip strength, like carpal tunnel or weakness in hands, wrists and forearms, try a ratcheting pruner. You don't have to squeeze this hand pruner all the way to cut branches. Squeezing it a small amount will move a gear mechanism to lock in place and make pruning easier.
And snips are small hand pruners that are great for jobs like deadheading plants or for clipping stems and blooms to bring inside for a cut flower arrangement. Snips also are essential for cutting herbs in the garden to add to foods.
Once you've decided on the type (or types!) of hand pruners, have the gardener try them out in the store to see that they fit their hand. Are they left- or right-handed, do they have large or small hands and do they have sensitive spots on their hands? Have them squeeze them dozens of times as you walk around the store to get a good sense.
Hand pruners can be a lifetime investment if you find the right one. Then, once a year, take the pair of pruners apart to clean them up. Add some machine oil, put them back together and they'll stay in great working condition for many years to come.
More from NPR: Terrible at buying Christmas presents? Gift ideas for 5 personality types
A question about honeysuckle
Q: I think I just heard Charlie suggest planting honeysuckle as a source of winter feed for birds. Isn't honeysuckle highly invasive, and thus an inappropriate choice for anyone's garden or property? - Roger, via email
A: That is right! Certain types of honeysuckle are indeed aggressive. The advice about planting honeysuckle should have cautioned against shrub honeysuckle, four types of which are invasive in Vermont.
Native types of honeysuckles, like lonicera canadensis or American fly honeysuckle, are great food sources for birds. Another climbing type, sempervirens or coral honeysuckle, is a native plant that doesn't spread aggressively and is great for birds, as well as other pollinators.
Find both of these native types of honeysuckle in your local garden center.
All Things Gardening is powered by you, our audience! Send us your toughest conundrums and join the fun. Email your question to gardening@vermontpublic.org or better yet, leave a voicemail with your gardening question so we can use your voice on the air! Call Vermont Public at 1-800-639-2192.
