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Eco gardeners are gardeners that combine traditional gardening with ecological principles. Through gardening they aim to create sustainable landscapes which can boost wildlife and produce food. Consequently an eco gardener’s garden may look different to more conventional gardeners.
With an emphasis on food production, low energy, recycling and biodiversity, eco gardening is the future! With Climate change and global warming becoming a great threat we need eco gardening more than ever! Hence gifts for eco gardeners are a way of encouraging environmentally friendly gardening! Not only is eco gardening good for the planet it’s also very interactive! A well thought out eco garden can become place to harvest organic food and study wildlife! The more eco gardening gifts you provide the more you can do your bit to inspire the next generation. Hence we have studied eco gardening extensively to come up with a list of top gifts for eco gardeners here. These gifts span from boosting biodiversity, to recycling and growing food. We have also included some great educational resources in our eco gardening gifts list below. 1. Green wallEco gardeners are always looking for opportunities to green every space! They recognise that the more living plants you have the better the environment. Most gardens will have adjacent buildings and various vertical surfaces. These are often bare and completely devoid of any wildlife habitat value. Brick walls and buildings also exacerbate what is known as the ‘heat island effect’ this is where urban areas heat up in the sun and cause a micro climate. This can make the environment very hot in summer and very cold in summer. The way to combat this is with natural vegetation. This green wall modular system can fix onto concrete and brickwork allowing you to green vertical surfaces. Not only does this look great but it can help keep gardens cool in summer and insulate in winter. These green wall systems can also boost wildlife and contribute to a healthier environment. This makes this green wall system the perfect gift for eco gardeners. 
2. Paper pot maker
If there is one thing eco gardeners try to avoid as much as possible it is plastic! Plastic today has infiltrated every aspect of our lives and is the number one cause of pollution. One of the places it is most devastating is ocean. Here it can be ingested by larger sea creatures and break down so small it can enter the wider food chain. Plastic pollution can now be found in some of the most remote parts of the planet. Consequently eco gardeners go out of their way to reduce it as much as possible. In gardening the most common use of plastics is pots. Therefore this paper pot maker is a great gift for eco gardeners. Not only does it help to reduce plastic use in the garden it also helps to recycle waste paper. 
3. How to create an eco gardenMost eco gardeners love to spend time out in the garden learning by experimentation. However it is important to remember that the weather is not always on the gardener’s side. Some of the best gifts for eco gardeners are the ones which are cherished whatever the weather is doing. This makes ‘how to create an eco garden’ a great Christmas gift for the winter months. The author is an expert in the subject of eco gardening and shares so much in depth information in the book. This book explores everything from creating wildlife habitat to even making organic fertiliser. The publication is simply everything you need to know about eco gardening with beautiful illustrations. This will make the perfect eco gardening reference gift for any friend or relative. 
4. Bee bomb
When seeking gifts for eco gardeners anything which benefits bees is always a plus! There are many different types of bees and all of them play an important role in pollination. Bees fly from flower to flower collecting pollen and nectar from a range of flowering plants. In so doing they help to cross pollinate flowers leading to genetically healthy plant reproduction. It has been predicted without bees we would lose up to 30% of our food crops! This could be catastrophic for us and the environment. For this reason eco gardens cherish anything which can boost their numbers. These bee bombs consist of a selection of wild plants bees love. By throwing them onto bare ground they will soon germinate and provide welcome food for local bees. 
5. Compost tumbler
Eco gardeners are big lovers of both the soil and recycling. This means they always recycle organic waste into the garden. By composting grass clippings, weeds, leaves and kitchen waste composting can help feed soil life and create organic garden fertiliser. One of the biggest problems with modern food production today is it relies on chemical fertilisers. These are produced from oil and are not produced from organic waste. This means over time soil life is slowly being destroyed by a lack of organic matter and ploughing. The only true way to create good healthy soil is to compost organic matter. Many people struggle making good quality compost as they do not add enough oxygen and mix it enough. Hence this compost tumbler makes a fantastic gift for eco gardeners! Simply fill the barrel with waste materials and turn every now and then. 
6. PropagatorPropagators are an essential way to provide a light and warm place to germinate young seedlings. These allow you eco gardener friends to get their seedlings started just that little earlier in the season. This means they can get their plants strong in a safe environment before they put them outside. Not only do propagators keep young plants warm they also prevent pests like slugs getting to them. Propagators are particularly useful if you live in a colder climate and need to start young seedlings off early. There are many propagators on the market ranging from standard types to electric heated ones. These can make a very exciting gift for eco gardeners especially around springtime. 
7. Bird bathIf there is one thing environmentally conscious gardener’s love it is taking care of local birds. Garden birds have dramatically reduced in number in recent decades. Over development and lack of suitable habitat has played a significant role in this. Just by simply giving birds a place to drink and bathe can make a dramatic difference for birds. It is essential birds have a good place to bathe so they can keep their feathers in pristine condition. This bird bath looks fantastic and is easy to install making it a great gift option for eco gardeners. 
8. Bug hotel
An important part about being an eco gardener is recognising every living creature is a part of an ecosystem. This is also the case for small insects and invertebrates; they all have important jobs to do in the garden. One of the main problems with gardens today is they are far too tidy. Artificial lawns and extensive paved surfaces mean gardens become lifeless deserts to the majority of wild species. Many of the beneficial creatures are small parasitic wasps, spiders and beetles. These prey upon our garden pests such as aphids and caterpillars. Hence to have a well balanced garden it is important to create good bug habit. Some of the best are mounds of old vegetation and stick piles. However these can look rather untidy so the best option is with a bug hotel. These cool bug nest boxes provide great places for beneficial insects to shelter. 
9. Herb growing kitHerbs are extremely interesting and useful garden plants! They have various good qualities which make them extremely popular with eco gardeners in particular. Herbs typically attract plenty of beneficial insects when they flower. Herbs such as thyme are very beneficial for pollinators like bees during the summer time. The really great thing about herbs is they can be dried and used all year round. Many popular herbs such as sage, thyme and rosemary are also evergreen so you can pick them all year. Hence this herb growing kit is the perfect gift for eco gardeners who love to cook. The kit includes a variety of herb seeds, pots, soil and instructions. 
10. Hedgehog home
Hedgehogs are one of the most beneficial creatures for the garden. They devour hundreds of garden pests and have a particular liking of slugs and snails. These small, spiky mammals have experienced a population crash in recent years with numbers declining by 90%. One of the biggest problems facing hedgehogs is a lack of suitable shelter. Therefore one of the best things you can do for hedgehogs is providing a hedgehog home. This home is a great place for hedgehogs to hibernate, rest and raise young. As conservation is a large part of eco gardening this nest box can make an excellent gift! 
11. Mushroom growing kitEco gardeners love the relationship between ecology and food production. This makes mushroom growing very relevant as they help to break down dead vegetation. This process helps to degrade dead wood into healthy soil boosting fertility. This means more healthy plants and crops can be grown. This mushroom growing kit introduces the eco gardener to growing their own edible mushrooms for the kitchen. Simply add water to activate the mycelium which will start the mushroom growing process. If your eco gardener friend becomes more advanced they can actually start growing different types. Mushrooms can actually be grown on waste materials such as cardboard and woodchips. 
12. Vegetable seeds
If there is one thing that eco gardeners recognise it is their own responsibility to the environment. One of the best things you can do to reduce climate change is to grow your own food. This reduces the reliance on unsustainable agriculture and reduces food miles. Vegetable growing is an extremely exciting activity and one that produces a product! Home grown vegetables are much superior in taste to supermarket varieties. Even better organic vegetables you grow yourself are free from agricultural chemicals such as herbicides and insecticides. Hence this vegetable growing kit is a great way to treat eco gardeners during Christmas or birthdays. 
13. Bat boxes
Bats are fascinating creatures and the only mammal which has the ability to fly on earth. These beautiful creatures have been victimised for many years being seen as evil! This is probably because they choose to roost in dark places such as caves and only come out at night. Bats have suffered dramatic declines in their populations in recent years. This is due to a lack of suitable roost sites and reducing numbers of prey species. Bats primarily prey upon night flying insects such as moths. They are such fascinating creatures and a real treat to see flying around as the sun sets. One of the best things you can do to help save bats is with a box. This provides them save places to roost and raise their young. 
14. How to make a wildlife garden
How to make a wildlife garden is a favourite book on the subject of wildlife gardening. This classic publication gives a thorough break down on the importance of wildlife habitat. The book describes multiple habitat types and how they can be replicated in gardens. It breaks down the idea of garden ecosystems and how you can maximise your gardens wildlife value. As eco gardeners are always trying to attract wildlife to their garden this publication makes perfect gift. Not only is it a great reference book it is also very enjoyable to read again and again. 
15. Bird boxes
Just like much garden wildlife birds have seen dramatic falls in numbers over recent times. There are many reasons why this is so but generally lack of suitable habitat is a common cause. In the past century there has been a reduction in forests which provide suitable food and nesting for birds. Gardens are some of the last pools of food and shelter for birds left and eco gardeners know this. Therefore a perfect gift for eco gardeners is a bird box! These nesting boxes are a great way to provide a safe place for birds to rear their young. A bird raising hungry chicks can also consume a large number of garden pests. 
16. Garden pond
For those that want to encourage wildlife to their garden there really is nothing better than a wildlife pond. Wildlife ponds provide drinking water for terrestrial wildlife and great habitat for aquatic life. If there was one single thing you could do to boost biodiversity it would be a pond. Hence they can make really great gifts for eco gardeners if they don’t already have one. Ponds can be created using special pond liner or preformed wildlife pond tubs. These come in all shapes and sizes and a lot of fun installing! Once the pond is installed its intriguing watching wildlife slowly colonise. 
17. Plant domesEco gardeners love to make their gardens as productive as possible! However sometimes getting plants going in spring can be a risky business. Late frosts as well as cold winds and hail can devastate young tender plants. Hence why not help you eco gardener friends out with these fantastic plant domes. These mini greenhouse domes fit over individual plants providing them a warm, snug place to become established. This means they will never have to lose plants to bad weather conditions ever again! 
18. Wormery
Worms are amazing creatures which help to keep soil healthy. With their amazing borrowing tunnels they can pull organic matter deep into the soil. This enables them to feed on dying leaves and pass them out as nutrient rich fertiliser. As worms burrow they also oxygenate the soil which helps other soil organisms to thrive. Worms can be used to feed on organic waste and produce rich fertiliser for the garden. This is typically done within wormeries and can create great fertiliser in a matter of months. Typically you will need a wormery like the one below then just order some worms online. These make excellent gifts for eco gardeners and a great way to compost waste! 
Thank you for reading our article on gifts for eco gardeners, did you get the inspiration you needed?
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AuthorPaul Nicolaides is a Landscape architect and garden builder with over 30 years experience in designing, building and maintaining gardens. Contemplating just how important garden space is for nature and recreation he created 'Cool Garden Gadgets' to explore the best gadgets for enhancing outside spaces. From outdoor dining ideas to the latest garden technology we break it down for you here. Archives
November 2021
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