19 Cool Gardening Gifts To Shop This Black Friday

As an organic farmer of over six years, I believe that quality tools are worth the investment to make gardening easier and more fun. I’ve hurt my back or knees way too many times by using cheap tools.

I’ve damaged too many fragile plant branches with weak pruners that shredded the wood. Moreover, I hate seeing the wasted plastic and metal materials sent to a landfill when poorly made tools break and render themselves unusable. 

Here are the best Black Friday gifts for gardeners who want to grow better:

Top Pick: Felco 2 Classic Hand Pruner

Crappy pruners can hurt your hand and your plants! When you can’t get a clean cut on a branch, the damaged wound or bark becomes susceptible to diseases and pests. Even worse, you can hurt your hand from using dull shears without properly cushioned handles.

Felco is a leader in pruning tools for a reason. These iconic red-handled pruning shears are the industry standard amongst professional farmers, orchardists, and dedicated gardeners. Made in Switzerland with 100% renewable energy, these pruners have a one-piece forged aluminum handle, phthalate-free handle grips, and rubber shock absorbers to reduce hand fatigue.

I’ve had my Felco’s for nearly ten years, and they’re still going strong! I’ve used them all over my homestead and on dozens of different organic farms, pruning everything from lavender shrubs to fruit trees to herbs to brassica stalks. 

I love how easy and safe it is to change the blades on these pruners. The replaceable screws, springs, and miscellaneous parts make the cutters more sustainable because you don’t have to throw the whole thing away if something breaks. Felco offers great customer service and top-notch products for long-lasting use.

On the practical side, the pruners include a rugged design of forged aluminum and steel. The sap groove prevents sap from sticking to your blade, making your cutting more efficient and safe. I especially love the ergonomics and shock absorbers. Anyone who has used cheap pruners knows how quickly your hands can tire or even hurt. If you or a loved one grows any ornamentals or edibles that require regular pruning, this classic hand pruner is a must!

Most Functional: Felco 701 Garden Gloves

A few good pairs of garden gloves are remarkably underrated. If you’re tired of calluses, scratches, and dirty fingernails, these gloves allow all the mobility of bare hands without the roughness on your skin. The knit HPPE fiber is lightweight and resistant to tearing. The palms are coated with nitrile rubber for extra grip and protection while you weed, plant, or prune. 

Most Comfortable: Garrett Wade Portable Bench & Kneeler

No matter your age or experience level, gardening can be tough on your knees and back! This cleverly designed portable bench creates a nice seat or a padded kneeler for working on various tasks around the garden. The all-steel frame is durable enough to support 330 pounds, and the bench seat raises you about 20” off the ground.

The nylon tool caddy makes carrying and accessing your tools a breeze. Whether you’re pruning, harvesting, weeding, or planting, it’s so nice to have a place to sit that won’t bruise your knees or dirty your pants! 

Best Budget Option: Hori Hori Garden Knife

No more digging plant holes with your hands or struggling to yank up tough weeds! A hori hori looks like a simple handled planting knife or trowel, but it is actually one of the most multifunctional tools you can grow with. Use it to dig, transplant, cut plants, and uproot difficult weeds.

However, a cheap hori knife will quickly wimp out when you start rough garden tasks. My first hori snapped right off at the soil level when I pulled back on it too hard while trying to dig up an old broccoli plant. The blade completely separated from the handle, and I had to throw the whole thing away! The same issue happened again with a different hori when I tried to dig into compacted soil. 

I realized that “full tang” construction is actually super important. This means that the metal from the blade goes all the way up into the handle, making the tool tremendously more durable than a partial tang knife, which means the blade doesn’t go all the way up and can easily snap at its base. That can be a nightmare if you’re prying out a stubborn root, so full-tang hori-hori knives are a must! The anti-blister grip and flanged base make digging more comfortable and protect your hand from slipping onto the blade.

The serrated edge is great for rough sawing away plant debris, while the engraved depth measurements make precision planting a breeze. It’s specifically engineered for levering power, so you can pull back on anything without worrying about the knife snapping in half.

I used to plant 300-foot rows of vegetable seedlings using this exact hori hori! If it is up for the rugged task of production-style farming, it can certainly hold up in your garden.

Best for Backyard Chickens: CoopWorx Feed Silo

Anyone serious about raising backyard chickens can make their life easier with a feed silo. This Black Friday, get the perfect gift for a chicken-keeping friend (or yourself!). Simply fill the silo and let it auto-release grain as needed instead of constantly going to your chicken coop to check on feed rations. The 80-pound capacity holds a giant bag of feed, so you don’t have to refill as often.

Coopworx makes their feed silos in the USA and offers great customer support. The silo includes fully adjustable legs that can be set at 9”, 13”, or 17” from the ground. Included are feed port covers so you can reduce the amount of grain coming out for a smaller flock.

It’s not always easy to find someone to watch your chickens while you go on a weekend trip. Just like an automatic watering device for houseplants, a feed silo releases food as needed so you can step away from the garden without worrying about your hens going hungry. The Coopworx Water Silo can do the same for your flock’s watering needs. 

Best for Veggie Growers: Harvest Basket

Have you noticed those gorgeous harvest photos in old gardening magazines? Vegetables always seem to look better when they’re overflowing from a pretty basket. This pine, birch, and oak harvest basket is modeled after the charming traditional New England clam basket. It is weather-resistant, food-grade, and durable for years to come. The oil finish and wire sides are food-safe and non-toxic. Plus, it makes your harvests look beautiful and stay clean!

Best for an Artist: Fine Art Gift Set

Perfect for a holiday gift, this set is full of garden inspiration and planning ideas, including a 2024 botanically-inspired calendar, a notecard set, a coloring book, and an attractive tote bag, all with gorgeous Botanical Interests plant illustrations to show off your love for plants. Plus, all the paper is Forest Stewardship Council certified for sustainable forest management!

Most Handy: Tool Bag

If you want to buy an aesthetically pleasing garden gift for your friends, family, or yourself, skip the wrapping paper and fill this tool bag with goodies. It’s easy to keep all your hand tools organized and tidy in this attractive, durable tool bag with a large central compartment and eight exterior pockets for all your hand tools. 

The mesh bottom ensures that dirt on the end of the tools can fall out. Plus, the fabric coating is easy to wipe clean with a damp rag. The bag is about the size of a tote (12” wide x 8” tall x 6” deep) and easy to carry around the garden or transport to your community garden plot.

Best for Digging: Hand Trowel

Whether you grow in containers or raised beds, a trowel is an indispensable tool for planting and weeding. But just like a hori hori, you must be sure the handle won’t break off with time. This durable, fully stainless steel trowel includes a comfortable wooden handle and leather strap for hanging and storage. The hardwood handle is Forest Stewardship Council-certified sustainable wood, and the wide, deep stainless steel dish is completely rust-resistant.

Best Hand Weeder: CobraHead Original Weeder & Cultivator

Weeding is the bane of any gardener’s existence, but the right tools make the task so much easier (even a bit fun!) This uniquely shaped hand cultivator has a blade designed to cut precisely into heavy clay, weed stalks, plant matter, and more. It makes tedious tasks like ripping out weeds or incorporating compost super quick. You can even use it to create furrows for seeds, assist with the harvest, or edge along a pathway.

For small gardeners, this multifunctional tool is an essential addition to your tool bag. It is made in Wisconsin and built to last for decades to come.

Unsure About a Gardener Gift? Get Them an Epic Gift Card!

If you don’t know what to buy for your gardener palls, a gift card to the Epic Gardening store offers a world of possibilities for them to pick out their choice of cool garden tools, seeds, books, and supplies. We offer both digital gift cards and limited edition tangible gift cards with an Epic branded sleeve. 

Whatever you buy on Black Friday, don’t forget to sow some seeds of gratitude for all that nature offers us in the garden and beyond!

Best Gardener Gift for Beginners: Seed- Starting Gift Set

If you need a gift for a new gardener, this seed starting has everything they need to start growing seeds indoors (except the soil), all bundled in a nice giftable kit. Most holidays fall in the winter months when eager gardeners can’t get outside to start their growing journey. This kit allows them to get started right away on a bright windowsill or underneath grow lights.

When I first expressed interest in gardening, my very first gift was a book about growing food (like the one below) and a seed starting kit. My mother quite literally sowed the seeds of inspiration for my food-growing journey! 

This set is nice because it has everything but the soil needed to get started. The ‘Genovese’ basil, ‘Ace 55’ tomato, and ‘Goldy Honey Bear’ sunflower seeds are some of the most beginner-friendly varieties available. They sprout readily and transplant easily, especially when grown in biodegradable paper pots that can be planted right in the ground to reduce the risk of transplant shock. 

The included soil thermometer makes it simple for beginner growers to gauge whether or not it’s warm enough to plant their seedlings. The domed growing trays make it easier to bottom water and maintain moisture so tender seedlings don’t dry out while a new gardener gets used to their irrigation tasks.

Best Gift for Experienced Gardeners: Power Planter DIY Guru Auger

Dedicated gardeners can plant hundreds of seedlings, bulbs, and transplants in a given season, which means they have to dig hundreds of holes. This drill-powered auger makes planting so much easier and can even help with other tasks around the house, like mixing paint, mortar, fertilizer, or cement. 

The DIY Guru Auger is a clever rotating design that can attach to any drill to create a handheld electronic planter. It is 3” wide and 12” long and perfectly designed to leave a small amount of fluffy soil in the bottom of the hole so the new plant can easily anchor its roots into its new home. 

This tool is particularly helpful for anyone with clay soils, compacted garden beds, or tired arms. The ⅝ inch shaft is made from solid steel, and the bit is made of a rugged ⅜ inch non-slip hex drive to hold steady in any drill insert. It works with most 18V cordless drills and includes a hanging box for easy, tidy storage.

Most Informative: Field Guide to Urban Gardening

Many people think they can’t garden because they don’t have a giant backyard or homestead, but our very own Kevin Espiritu of Epic Gardening completely debunks that myth! This book includes everything you need to know about growing in an urban environment. If you want to try vertical gardening, install raised beds, understand the secrets to successful container gardening, or test out hydroponics, the Field Guide to Urban Gardening is an extraordinarily detailed resource to have on hand all season long.

There are many in-depth garden plans for any living situation and upcycled DIY project instructions for creating ultra-functional growing systems. I love how easy it is to pick up this book and find the answers you need alongside beautiful, instructive pictures and diagrams. There is zero “fluff”; just a real-world-applicable road map to growing delicious food and beautiful ornamentals in any setting!

Whether you want to sow seeds of garden knowledge in a friend’s mind or upgrade your knowledge base, the holidays are a perfect time to cozy up and learn while the weather cools outside. Gardening books and seed catalogs are my favorite things to read by the fire while I dream of another abundant season in the garden. They are also one of the best Black Friday gifts!

Best for Gardeners Who Forget to Water: Garden Oya Watering Pot

No more forgetting to water! Let’s face it: watering dozens of different plant species can be challenging and overwhelming. You must balance over and under-watering and still make time to vacation throughout the summer growing season! An olla, particularly the Garden Oya, is an old-fashioned tool reinvented for modern, forgetful minds. The porous clay design reduces your plant’s watering needs by up to 70% because it slowly releases water straight to the root zone. 

Whether buried in a container, raised bed, or the ground, this oya encourages your plant roots to stretch toward its water source, eventually attaching themselves to the terracotta material. The roots can draw exactly the amount of water they need from the oya without risking soggy or overly dry soil.

We offer three oya sizes (small, medium, and large) for different size gardens and plants. The small is excellent for container growing, while the large is ideal for burying in the center of a raised bed. This video shows more of the awesome benefits of this ancient passive irrigation tool:

Best Black Friday Seed Gifts

Seeds are an obvious gift to your gardener friends or yourself, but you don’t want to pick out a random seed packet. These gift sets make it easy to share the excitement and diversity of seeds without spending all day ruminating over the right varieties. Best of all, you can use code BOTANICALBONUS20 to get 20% off site-wide at Botanical Interests this Black Friday.

Seeds for Container Growers: Kevin’s Balcony and Patio Set

It can be annoying to sort through seed catalogs while searching for compact, container-friendly varieties. Kevin did the work for you by narrowing down his favorite tried-and-true varieties for growing in a small space, like a balcony or patio. From compact, bushy tomatoes to lowkey carrots to a stout bean plant loaded with beans, these specialty seed varieties from Botanical Interests are sure to thrive in containers! 

Seeds for Butterfly Lovers: Butterfly Banquet 

Anyone who loves butterflies will certainly welcome more of them to the garden! This vibrant bundle of flower seeds will attract a huge diversity of butterflies, from monarchs to painted ladies to swallowtails. This set includes a blend of annual and perennial species, including butterfly flower milkweed, Mexican sunflowers, echinacea, linaria, and zinnias. 

Seeds for Bee Lovers: Bee Happy Seed Collection

There are over 4,000 native bee species in the U.S., all of which benefit our gardens. They improve pollination, yields, and diversity while offering a unique opportunity to improve native ecosystems. If your tomato or zucchini plants lack fruit due to under-pollination, bee-attracting flowers are the perfect way to “hire” more pollinator workers to help you out. 

When you give your bee friends the nectar and pollen they crave, they’re glad to help you by pollinating your crops. Better yet, these flowers are downright beautiful and add a lot of fun color to the garden. The set includes bee balm, larkspur, borage, bachelor’s buttons, sunflowers, and anise hyssop.

Seeds for Southern Growers: Heat Tolerant Vegetables Collection 

Finding heat-tolerant varieties can be difficult for gardeners in extreme southern summers. This seed set includes a range of beans, eggplant, tomatoes, squash, and even lettuce that can withstand high temperatures!

Seeds for Cut Flower Lovers: Florist Cutting Flowers Collection

Instead of gifting a bouquet, why not sow some cut flower seeds for a glorious cutting garden? This bundle of florist favorites is perfect for aspiring flower growers seeking inspiration and a closer connection to the rainbow beauty of blooming designs. From amaranth and asters to zinnias and dahlias, this blend has a range of textures, shapes, and colors for dazzling bouquets. 

Final Thoughts

This year, give the gardeners on your list what they really want. This collection of high-quality tools, kits, and seed collections will help you pick the perfect gift for beginner and expert gardeners alike.