Contributed by Rosemary O’Brien, Catalogs.com Top 10 Guru

Sitting in a garden with a cool drink and a book is one of my favorite past times, second only to gardening itself.

If you know an avid gardener, I am certain that a gift for his or her garden would be much appreciated. Take a look at my top ten amazing spring garden gifts available to inspire the thoughtful friends and family of garden fanatics.

10. Serious gardening tools

The first thing an avid gardener needs is a set of good tools. It’s easy to collect new and shiny tools, but for a truly amazing garden gift ramp it up and go international. Look for hand-forged, carbon steel garden shovels and other quality garden tools built to go the distance. A unique and perfectly made set of tools will thrill any serious gardener.

9. Ultimate garden gloves

Not just your “get dirty” gloves, these will have your favorite gardener thanking you each time they dig in their garden. Billed as “space age” garden gloves, you should look for something like these nitrile gardening gloves: sturdy, water resistant and comfortable with a butter-soft nitrile covering. Go ahead and go crazy, buy a pair in every color to match the gardening ensemble of every day of the week.

8. Decorative flowerpot bases

Garden accessories make great gifts for gardeners and infuse a garden with pizzazz when Spring arrives. Start with a collection of decorative wrought-iron flowerpot bases, lovely decorative planters and go from there. The pleasure is in multiples, so your gardening fanatic doesn’t have to choose which pot to put where … you’ve provided many options and a way to move plants as the season progresses, a real gardening luxury.

7. Solar garden globes

My kids love solar garden globes and they are great fun for anyone. The globes spend the day gathering the suns rays into a tiny solar panel and by night, it’s magic. The globes glow in the dark! Some of them even change colors as the night progresses. This is one gift that has just enough of a touch of whimsy to make it one of those spring garden gifts that will be appreciated by everyone, especially since the gardener may not think to buy one for him or herself.

6. Wind spinners

Wind spinners are in a whimsical category just like solar garden globes. Wind spinners come in a variety of styles and sizes, with and without streamers. Like wind chimes, their entire purpose is to blow in the wind and look pretty. They can come in shapes such as suns, fish and birds and even vintage planes. Tie them all around your garden and watch the cats chase their streamers!

5. Beautiful things that grow

Every spring, avid gardeners are faced with the same welcome quandary: What to grow in a garden? Gardeners eagerly anticipate the day they open the mail or go online and find the first of their specialty seed catalogs. Make a robust selection of a variety of seeds, or give a gift certificate – and HOURS of pleasure – to your favorite gardener. Look for heirloom seeds, which are those seeds that have been passed down for generations and remain true to the original plant. For those who have tasted an heirloom tomato, there is nothing like heirloom seeds. Plant them and you will find out what delicious tastes like.

4. An entire herb garden

Don’t just present one lonely plant – go all out! Give your favorite gardener enough tiny plants to replicate everything in their spice cupboard. Herbs are the easiest type of edible plants to grow, in my humble opinion. A collection of organic herb seeds will yield culinary inspiration for an entire year.

For the healthiest plants, give organic seeds, and encourage the recipient to plant herbs near a kitchen window so they are not only easily available for cooking, but will also provide a beautiful scent through their open window.

3. Fake works, too

If you know a gardener who is office-bound or laid up and away from their plants, why not give a gift of superior quality silk plants? Gone are the days of fake-looking plastic flowers and plants. In fact, many look so real that you have to touch them to find out if they are.

Try a silk lily with its long, shiny leaves to brighten up that dreary cubical or even a small, silk violet on a desk. Spring garden gifts do not have to be living, breathing plants. They can be something that reminds your gardener of the end of the work day or the end of winter when they can go outside and get dirty again.

2. Pamper your gardener

If you are a gardener, you know our hands look like … well … dirt. We usually walk around with blisters and bits of dirt under our fingernails. The worst part is that we don’t even notice it half the time! Digging in the soil can rob hands of precious moisture, leaving them dry and rough. That’s why deep moisturizing hand lotions are a wonderful gift for gardeners.

If you know a gardener, why not surprise them with something luxurious and totally indulgent that makes their hands look better (or at least, human) until the next digging experience.

1. A seat

At the end of the day, gardening is a tough job. Yes, it is addicting and fun for every serious gardener – and even those who are not so serious – but your back feels it at some point. An Adirondack chair is the perfect antidote. Sitting in my chair at the end of the day with a cold drink while looking out at my garden is what I call the good life.

Many Adirondack chairs are made out of wood used to make decks or cedar so that they withstand the elements and age well. Regardless of whether they are made of wood or plastic, a good Adirondack chair is one of those spring garden gifts that will be appreciated by the gardener and non-gardener alike. In short, anyone who sits in this chair will appreciate you and be grateful for the gift, so you might even want to splurge on a set of happily-colored Adirondacks with a cocktail table and matching double-rocker.

Then, invite yourself over to enjoy the garden with a tall cold beverage and a dinner featuring garden-fresh produce.