Green Christmas Grow Your Own Gifts

Use up stored fruits to make treats.  Friends and family will love your moist apple cake, or perhaps some strawberry and cherry scones in a gift box.

Preserves

Make jam, pickles and chutneys from your fruits and veggies and present them in jars complete with gorgeous gingham or burlap covers.

Vinegars and Oils

Make vinegars or flavored oils with fresh or stored veggies, herbs or fruits and decorate the bottles with a festive ribbon.

Herb Pots

Evergreen herbs such as thyme, rosemary and sage will provide year-round harvests for the keen cook. Buy new plants for this, or split up packs of living annual herbs from the grocery store into two or three clumps. Grow them on a windowsill for a couple of weeks to fill out before giving away.

Alternatively, layer shoots or take cuttings from your existing garden herbs for gifting next year when they’re well-established.

Houseplants

Some houseplants like aloe vera produce offsets. Carefully pull them away from the mother plant and plant into containers. Add a bow to complete your gift.

Share Bulbs

Split up clumps of spring bulbs such as daffodils or hyacinths. Plant them into pots to provide a springtime floral display for the lucky recipient.

Saved Seed Stocking Fillers

For a novel stocking filler, fill pretty envelopes with your own saved garden seeds. By sharing your favorite heirloom varieties you’ll be helping to preserve them for future generations.

Winter Wildlife Homes

Offcuts of wood from other projects can be used up by making birdhouses, bird feeders and bug hotels for the wildlife enthusiast in your life.

Wrap It Up

Involve the kids in a fun project by making your own giftwrap. Print designs onto brown paper with vegetable stamps made from crops like potatoes, celery or okra. It’s a great way to use up old paint cans too.