Hello! My dad (lives in North Carolina) loves to garden and spends a lot of time taking care of his yard and plant beds. I am thinking about potential Christmas gifts for him and would love to buy him a nice plant. I usually think about plants during the spring and summer, so I am wondering if there are any good plants that are great for the winter. He really likes his outdoor plants so I would like to be able to get him a nice plant that he can either put outside in December or that he can keep inside while it is cold and then plant once it is nicer out.

Or maybe there are cool plants you can get as seeds and then grow whenever (so like December) and then plant once they have grown? He might enjoy something like that.

Any ideas would be appreciated! Thank you!

There are surely lots of ideas. Where are you located? Your climate will play a huge role in determining what to get.

Also, consider getting him a gift certificate to one of the numerous excellent mailorder gardening companies.

Thank you for your reply! He lives in Charlotte, North Carolina.

A gift card to one of those companies is a very nice idea. I have heard that, when people are very interested in something, it may be best to avoid giving them a related gift because they undoubtably know a lot more than the gift giver. That is why I came to this forum but maybe he knows exactly what he wants or doesn't want in his yard.

That being said, which mailorder companies would you recommend I look into about a potential gift card?

Thank you again!

Do you know what kinds of plants he's interested in? Daylilies, hostas, roses, etc?

We have a nice directory of recommended companies here:

http://garden.org/greenpages/

A really good source for perennials that do well in your area is Bluestone Perennials.

If he likes vining plants then you'd be delighted with Brushwood Nursery.

Thank you for the suggestions! I am checking out those websites now.

I am unfamiliar with the variety of plants he likes. I know he has roses and then many types of smaller, flowing plants. I think I will go ahead and get him a gift certificate to a website so he can browse the types of plants and get one that he really likes!

Thank you for your help!!

I think the gift certificate would be the best gift idea. That way he can pick just what he would love to have. That would be a very thoughtful gift for your dad.

I'm not sure what part of North Carolina your father lives in but there is a huge seed company in Western North Carolina that would be cool to get him a gift certificate to and he could actually visit the place. The company is called Eden Brothers.

What about a membership in the Horticultural Society?

http://www.ahs.org/gardening-p...