Nan’s Favorite Things: A Garden Lover’s Holiday Gift Guide!

In my work as a garden educator, author and TV-host, garden journalist, and being a lifelong gardener, you can bet I’ve tried my fair share of garden products. After all that testing, here are my tried-and-true favorites, sure to brighten any garden lover’s holiday – and year round!

1. Corona Forged Aluminium Pruning Shears, $60.10 There’s no substituting the right tool for the right job and Corona shears are always the right tools for cutting and pruning. They’re strong yet lightweight, and the ergonomic shape handles make them really comfortable—even for small hands like mine. The blades sharpen easily while their mechanism makes for clean cuts. And those red handles means no more wondering “Where did I put down my pruning shears?”
2. No Cry Litecraft+ Gardening Apron, $19.99This apron is just the best. There’s a pocket for everything—pruning shears, tape measure, sharpening tool, pencils, plant labels, twine, my phone, glasses… Eventually, all that stuff could weigh me down, but thanks to the padded crossing shoulder straps, even loaded up the apron feels light and my back stays protected.
3. Hot Color, Dry Garden by Nan Sterman, $24.95 Hey, I wrote this so what can I say? This is simply the best book for home gardeners (and even garden professionals) looking to create a color-filled, drought resilient garden. It’s filled with gorgeous photos of fifteen different gardens, a directory of best plants, and lessons on how to create gardens that offer the same WOW factor while being easy to maintain, supporting pollinators, and thriving on little more than Mother Nature’s rainfall.
4. Redback Easy Escape Boots for wintertime gardening, $185 I looked high and low for a boot I could wear all day long in the garden. These boots do exactly that. They are light-weight, they breathe well while repelling water and mud, feel cozy when paired with thick wool or bamboo socks, and aren’t a total fashion faux pas.
5. Dramm One-Touch Rain Wand, $27.99 The only watering nozzle I use in my garden or let my clients use. The wand has three components: 1) the soft “rain” from the multi-hole Water Breaker nozzle saturates soil without destroying your plants, 2) a 16” or  30” long, lightweight aluminum wand in great colors (I prefer the shorter length) and 3) the easy, thumb-controlled on/off valve so I don’t waste water as I pull my hoses through the garden. Go stash your water “gun” with your car washing supplies and use this in your garden instead.
6. Annual Subscription to Nan Sterman’s Garden School, $360 I am so, so excited to be welcoming a new class to Garden School! Since 2020, Garden School has been helping people just like you become better gardeners. Garden School offers several components: a monthly virtual lesson and Q&A with me and the whole “class,” a menu of tasks to do in your garden each month, and a “Plant of the Month” spotlight on one of my favorite plants including how to grow, care for it, etc. Plus, there are guest lectures, how-to videos, field trips to places like botanical gardens and nurseries, and a wonderful community of sharing and supportive gardeners to interact with. No grades, just learning and lots of fun!
7. Dramm ColorStorm Premium Rubber Garden Hose, $79.99 Everyone asks for hoses that don’t kink or leak, are light weight and last a long time. Dramm wins in this category, too. Their Colorstorm Garden Hoses are tough as nails but won’t break your back.  They come in multiple lengths, diameters, and a rainbow of colors. No more ugly aqua colored hoses lying around your garden; instead choose a hose that matches your garden’s color scheme. 
8. Bug Blaster Hose Nozzle, $15.49 Aphids, white flies, spider mites? All of these garden maladies can be addressed with the Bug Blaster Hose Nozzle, which is strong enough to get rid of bugs, but gentle on plants. Regular use interrupts the pests’ reproductive cycle so they disappear without using any pesticides at all. When paired with the Dramm Rain Wand, you can reach right into the center of your plants to spray the problem away.
9. Gold Leaf Soft Touch Gardening Gloves, $34.99 I really rely on my sense of touch while gardening, so I am not a big fan of garden gloves. Amazingly, Gold Leaf gloves protect my hands but don’t interfere with my dexterity. They are light weight, protective, they don’t crinkle up when they get wet, and they are almost puncture proof. I once literally picked up a hawk while wearing these gloves. I found my first pair of Gold Leaf gloves at the Chelsea Flower Show in London many years ago. I still have that first pair, and a few others too.