Darth Vader’s Christmas Gifts for Gardeners

Darth Vader’s Christmas Gifts for Gardeners is a selection of Star Wars Garden treats and more for the gardener and Star Wars fans in your life. A slightly tongue in cheek look at gardening sundries and books to last beyond Christmas as well as some just for the Festive Season. Co-written with the Dark Sith Lord himself, of course. And with a nod to my own love of Star Wars and the new, ninth, possibly final, film in the Star Wars series, released 19 December 19.

NB although some particular items / brands get mentioned, I don’t receive any commission etc if you purchase. The only items Plews and I benefit from is if you buy our eBooks or gardening services.

And as with previous gift suggestions on Plews Potting Shed, these Gifts for Gardeners range from free and DIY right through to a few hundred pounds sterling. I’ve only given guideline prices as there are different outlets. If you’re not interested in Star Wars, skip to the next section.

Star Wars Christmas Gifts for Gardeners – Darth Vader’s faves

What about a Christmas jumper featuring Darth Vader? (available from many outlets would you believe!) Perfect for the Dark Lord to wear whilst in the garden stringing up his festive storm-trooper led lights around the pergola. He could top it with a Star Wars beanie hat, if there’s a size big enough to go over his helmet! Prices from £5 – 30

If you fancy Star Wars lights for outdoor use, I also tracked down some Death Star lights too. (I even put them on my Christmas list!) They retail at about £15-20

More lighting comes from storm-trooper garden lanterns. These will use both tea lights and battery operated tealights. The latter is safer if you have children and pets, or want to have them lighting the path to your front door. Prices from £10

So you can imagine Vader sitting on a TIE Fighter seat, sipping mulled wine out of his Darth Vader mug warming his toes at a BBQ shaped like the Death Star on Christmas Eve (from £100) Twinkling led Star Wars lights hang overhead, and he’s busy painting his face onto clay pots to give to his troops as Christmas presents.

In fact, painting clay pots to personalise them is a fun thing to do. Make a stencil of your favourite Star Wars character as this is easier for most of us than freehand drawing onto the plant pot. Low cost and shows you’ve really made an effort.

You could, like Vader will, pot up a plant into them. He’s going to use Auricula Darth Vader from Barnhaven Nurseries (of course), but for more Star Wars flowers that will thrive in a pot, see the blog link below.

I think the storm troopers have a plan for the Christmas present they’re giving him…

Image by Andrew Martin from Pixabay

Christmas Gifts for Gardeners

Now you may have merely been amused at the above thoughts, so lets find some other Christmas Gifts for Gardeners that you might like if you’re not a Star Wars fan or living with one.

Having said that, the Sith Lord would approve of this armour. If you’re fed up with being scratched to pieces when pruning Pyracantha, leather arm protectors may be the answer! They look a bit like an elbow length finger-less glove. I’m seriously considering trying these out. Price c £40

Garden tool maintenance kits including those that with sharpeners for your secateurs which are more effective than a light sabre. Plus oil for the metal parts and wax for the wood. A practical Christmas present for a gardener, as cleaning and maintaining garden hand tools is a remarkably therapeutic task for a winter’s day. Price varies from £5 -40.

And you could drink tea out of Darth Vader’s mug if he’ll let you…or treat yourself to one that says ‘Dig for Victory’ or ‘Head Gardener’. Prices usually around £7 – 10

Now whilst keeping your garden tools in good fettle is sensible, its also a means of preventing the waste. Which leads us onto vintage tools, clay pots and other garden sundries. You can pick these up for a couple of pounds or a couple of hundred pounds, depending where and what you’re buying.

Personally, I’m rather fond of old clay pots with the occasional chip or crack, it’s the rimless shape that appeals most. Just remember that they may be more fragile than new, undamaged pots, the clay is often thinner than modern ones.

Gardening Books

Pop over to the Plews bookstand – suggested ones as Christmas presents for gardeners are: –

“Christmas and Yule in Your Garden”

but also the newest –

“Compost and Composting”

This is going on Amazon at a higher price in the New Year so grab a bargain now!
Subtitled
“How to get your hands dirty and keep your conscience clean”
With tips for getting compost right, resolving problems, learning about the different ways to compost and more, you should be set up for the next growing season and beyond.

Book Review

I’ve also had the pleasure this year of reviewing “The Export Gardener” by Richard Harrison.

“We sat down over tea and biscuits, all the while serenaded by a woman dressed in a ball gown and playing a harp. As you do when the conversation turns to lawn mowing.”

Is one of my favourite turns of phrase. Coming as it does in Chapter one, it sets the tone for the whole adventure. For adventure it is, with Richard as an unlikely gardening hero. Or should that be anti-hero?

Anyway, the basic plot of the autobiography is that he takes up a gardening franchise in Kent. So what? Well, the company is Australian and so is Richard. And just as the gardening company, ‘Jim’s Mowing’ is new to Britain, so to is Richard new to gardening…

It is a lesson in optimism and hard work – and how a sense of humour is crucial if you’re going to run your own business.

Arguably it is also a lesson to householders to be sure that the person they take on to do work in the garden (and indeed in the house!) does actually know what they’re doing.

This is not to say that Richard doesn’t check with his garden centre friends to be sure of certain plants and techniques: he does. But there are some early calamities which had me laughing out loud. And as for laying lawn turf in the snow….

Btw if you’re a cricket fan you’ll find some highly amusing anecdotes too.

Darth Vader’s comment was that Richard needs to get a new helmet…

“The Export Gardener” is available from Amazon in paper and kindle formats

And lastly…

There’s a different version of a Star Wars Garden which I wrote for the December 2019 edition of SE20 magazine. You may be able to find it online (it doesn’t always get added to the online reader until the following month) or pick up a real copy if you’re a South Londoner.

Christmas Gifts for Gardeners from Plews has to include a mention of our Gift Vouchers. These are valid for all of our services – such as Gardening Courses – and eBooks. They’re available for you to download 24/7.

And then there’s always the Christmas tree decoration that is gardening themed. I tend to buy or receive a new one each year, so I’m getting quite a collection! Although this year, I may treat myself to a Darth Vader Christmas tree decoration. You know, just to keep him happy…

Or if you’re looking for a Christmas gift with a difference, why not ask about our bespoke Gardening Lessons, where your classroom is actually your own garden? We can help with both gardening basics and more ‘expert tasks’, carry out worm and other experiments and for example, also show you how to plan a wildlife friendly ornamental border.

For further gardening advice and inspiration, check out Plews Potting Shed blogs, including the selection below and our monthly Tipsheet – You could come and find us on Instagram Pinterest and Facebook too.