A gift guide for meadow gardeners
If you have a meadow lover on your gift list, give them something special that will support their meadow or inspire them to start one. Meadows create a hugely beneficial ecological shift from high maintenance lawns full of chemicals to beautiful, self-sustaining ecosystems. The following gift ideas can help accelerate the move from lawns into eye-catching, natural meadows that can both take care of themselves and help the planet.
$21.95
Digging Trowel
While a trowel may seem a bit pedestrian, a good one can be the unsung hero of gardening tools. From planting landscape plugs in meadow gardens to weeding, they get the job done—if you pick the right one. Many bend easily with too much force, but this sturdy trowel has no such problem. Tie a ribbon around it to help your meadow-builder see how special it is.
$19.99
Pollinator Signs
Neighbors are sometimes alarmed when they see lawn dug up next door. Your meadow lover can reassure them by installing a sign that lets them know a pollinator-friendly meadow is under development, and not to worry. These signs have smoothed the way for many of my meadows.
$4.95
Native Bee Nesting House with Reeds
If there’s one thing you need to help your meadow thrive, it’s bees. These industrious little creatures are crucial for maintaining natural plant communities. Their populations are also suffering due to climate change, habitat loss, and pesticides. Your meadow lover can help their cause with a bee house. Pollinators use the hollowed out center of plant stems as a home for their baby larvae, especially if they’re replaced with a new one every year or two. Let’s help save the bees!
$18-28
Seed Spreader
Spreading meadow seeds by hand works fine, but sometimes it’s easier to use a spreader, plus it ensures your seeds are evenly distributed. A patchy meadow won’t impress the neighbors! This Ev-n-Spred seed spreader can hold a whopping twenty pounds. I recommend it for planting meadow seed over large areas.
$8.99-12.99
Bat House
Meadows can attract insects of all kinds, and sometimes that includes the less popular ones, like mosquitos. Bats can easily take care of that problem—a single one eats thousands of mosquitos in a night! Help the meadow lover on your gift list enjoy their meadow more by giving them a bat house. A home can encourage these flying mammals, which only come out a night, to keep down the mosquito population without using pesticides, leaving your favorite meadow-builder in peace.
$36.99
Meadow Plants T-Shirts
Stand up for meadows! Here’s a sampling of the many t-shirts that show off striking images of meadow species. I think it’s a great way to spread awareness of how beautiful wild plants can be. Pick any wearable wildflowers you like, from Bergamot to Rudbeckia, and send your customized shirt to the meadow fans on your list.
Gift book
“It’s time to rebuild meadows wherever we can, including the deadscape we call lawn. Owen Wormser explains why, and how to do this, with oodles of highly readable, ecologically sound advice.“
-Douglas W. Tallamy,
Professor of Entomology
Lawns into meadows: Growing a regenerative landscape
Regenerative landscape designer Owen Wormser describes the environmental havoc wrought by treated lawns, and offers a low-maintenance, good-for-the-earth alternative. Planting native grasses and wildflowers sequesters carbon and attracts beneficial pollinators. Meadows are low-maintenance, low-cost, and drought-tolerant. The book features twenty-one starter perennial grasses and native wildflowers, with guidance on how to grow each one. It’s among the very few books on meadows that actually describes how to grow one.
$19.95
BOOKS
