These Plants Make Excellent Gifts, Even for Non-Green Thumbs

Lavender fills this surprisingly lightweight pot (Fish Scale; $9.50; pottedstore.com), making it the perfect present for the frequent mover. Best of all, it will fill your giftee's home with the soothing scent of a Provencial garden.

Here are some tips for growing and harvesting lavender.

For a touch of quirky, match a brightly glazed pot (Liebermann Handmade; $15; floragrubb.com) with a Dr. Seussian asparagus fern.

A graphic white pot (Kapa; $5; ikea-usa.com) plus a golden cypress (aka “European tree”) equal a minimalist’s delight.

For the soft at heart, fill this felt “box” (Island Tina from Woolly Pocket; $29; aplusrstore.com) with frilly Crassula muscosa.

A tiny rosemary topiary in a repurposed tea tin is ideal for the waste-hating host or hostess. Best of all, the recipient of this lovely gift will add flavor to their winter stews and braises.

Gift your favorite naturalist with baby olive trees, which are right at home in these hefty stone planters (Drilled Rock; from $35 each; floragrubb.com).

Perfect for a dreamer, a cloth bag (Living-Ethos; $28/set of 4 at Reclaim, 650/329-9480) holds a not-yet-giant sequoia seedling ($29; newgrowth.com)—plant it soon!

Dwarf conifers come with gold, chartreuse, or deep green needles.

Look for 4- or 6-inch pots of Canada hemlock, false or Monterey cypress, and juniper.

After the holidays, move to a larger pot or plant in the ground.

Gift the gift of good health with a flat of edible greens! Cool-season salad greens are often sold in standard cell-packs, ready to plant. The pack will fit nicely in an 8-inch square box edged with tissue paper.

In mild-winter areas, the lettuces can be transplanted into the garden after a few days on a sheltered patio; in cold climates, plant in wide pots on a frost-free porch.

More on cool-season gardening

Bulbs planted in a paint can will brighten someone's life for weeks. Cover a 1-quart paint can (about $1 at hardware stores) with wrapping paper, securing the seam with double-stick tape.

Guided by the depression in the can's lid, trace and cut out a paper label, write your message, and attach to lid with double-stick tape. Fill can halfway with sand.

Place two or three paperwhite or other narcissus bulbs (about $5 for a 10-pack) in the sand (roots down, points up).

On a paper slip, offer advice for the giftee: To force bulbs, set aside lid and add water until sand is just moist. Place in sunny spot and keep moist; blooms in about seven weeks.

Tuck instructions in can, and, covering lid with a dishcloth, gently tap into place with a hammer.

Comes in various sizes and flower colors: bright red, yellow, orange, salmon, hot pink, white.

A houseplant in all but frost-free climates; give bright light. In summer can be moved outdoors to a partly shaded patio.

Buy the plant (or budding bulb) in a 6-inch container. Assemble a box (available at mailing centers and craft stores) that’s 1 or 2 inches larger than the plant container, then add ribbon.

Line with tissue paper, then slip in plant. Water sparingly; temperatures of 60° or so prolong flower life.

Amaryllis is still a wonderful plant after the holidays, too.

Of all the beautiful plants for sale at nurseries, florists, and grocery stores around the holidays, the new Garland clematis is one of our favorites.

Bred to thrive indoors, it comes with snowflake-shaped flowers in a range of delicious colors, from Cassis (royal purple) to Pistachio, pictured here.

The vines are trained on circular frames in 6-inch containers and sold through December for about $20 each.

To keep the plant tidy, tuck new growth beneath existing stems. Display in bright, indirect light, and water regularly.

Given their glamorous appearance and considerable cachet, orchids make impressive (and surprisingly affordable!) gifts.

Their thick, waxy flowers last four to six weeks, often longer. Many orchids make good house or patio plants ― no steamy hothouse environment is necessary to keep them happy.

With reasonable care, they'll bloom again next winter and for years to come.

This tropical cactus will grow on you in more ways than one.

Sure, the plants just get bigger and better every year. They pump out masses of delicate jungle flowers in rosy red, white, orange, pink, and pale yellow, depending on the variety, just in time for the holidays.

And although they are a true cactus, their spines are so tiny and soft that you’ll scarcely notice them ― and never get pricked.