7 Cheap but Perfect Gifts for the Compulsive Gardener in Your Life

Luckily, compulsive gardeners are easy to please. You don't have to spend a lot of money on them to make them happy. As long as it makes their gardening easy or fun, they will appreciate it. Here are just a few creative cheap gift ideas for gardeners.

1. Compost and Manure - No matter where you live, you can probably find someone around with animals who is just dying to give away a truckload of manure. Horse farms, dairy farms, even small farms with rabbits and goats, usually have enough poop to go around and then some. Municipalities or county facilities in many areas have free compost available year around. Even a couple of cutely wrapped recycled paint buckets full of manure or compost for a small garden would be a welcome gift to any serious gardener. Of course, this involves delivery in person. If you do have a truck, you can give them a handmade gift card for a trip to the supplier of the free compost or manure, and help loading and unloading.
2. Shared Seeds from Your Garden or From Trading - If you have tons of saved seeds from easy to grow annuals or perennials in your yard, or leftover seeds from trading, these can be a great gift. Cute printable seed packages are available online or just make them yourself out of magazine pages or other scrap paper. Make sure to label them well. Put these into a gift bag with a gallon zipper bag of some shared seed starter mix or vermiculite, and you have a gift any gardener would love.
3. Ceramic Pots from Dollar Stores - Every dollar store has a variety of cute pots available during the growing season, and you can gather a few of these throughout the year and give them as gifts. These are especially popular among those who grow African Violets and other small indoor plants.Stick a pair of $1 gloves and a couple of $1 tools and a pack or two of seeds, and VOILA! A wonderful gift.
4. Toilet Paper Rolls and Seed Starter Mix - This sounds insane to someone who isn't a compulsive gardener, but for your friends who are, this is a great gift! Simply cut the rolls in half, fold the bottoms in to make little "peat pots", and stack together. Package them in a plastic plant tray (you can get these free or cheap from garden centers in big box stores) or in a gift bag with some seed starter mix, and you have a wonderful inexpensive gift.
5. Cheap Garden Clogs - Discount dollar stores like Dollar General usually have cheap garden clogs for less than $10. Trust me, we got through a lot of these shoes!
6. Pumice Hand Soap and a Nail Scrub Brush - Real gardeners don't use gloves a lot of the time, so they are always getting their hands filthy. Most serious gardeners keep a bar of pumice soap and a nail scrubber handy. Add a bottle of lotion from the dollar store and the combination makes a lovely gift.
7. Old Vinyl Blinds Cut Up for Plant Stakes - You can usually pick up old vinyl blinds cheaply from thrift stores or yard sales, or free from the side of the road. Just cut them into 6" or longer pieces, bag or tie them up, and give them to our favorite plant collector. If you want to make the package complete. toss in a package of thin tipped Sharpies or china markers. They'll love it!

These are just a few ideas. If you use your imagination, I'm sure you can come up with a lot more. It doesn't have to be expensive to please a true gardener. It only has to be from the heart, or from your garden to make them happy.