Green Gifts for Mother’s Day and Beyond

2007 is shaping up to be the year of going green. With Mother’s Day coming up tomorrow, many of us have been thinking about how to go green with our own gift giving. What can we buy for Mom that is eco-friendly, biodegradable, reusable, organic, seasonal, personal, and maybe even a little bit handmade? A container garden, of course.

It starts with the right container. Maybe Mom is a recycled wine barrel kind of gal. Or maybe her tastes run toward glazed Italian pottery. Or it could be that a terra-cotta pot painted by the grandchildren would become her most prized possession. Just make sure the container has holes for drainage in the bottom, and if it’s going on her patio, think about adding a set of “feet” to keep the pot elevated and prevent staining.

Fill the container with Ocean Forest or Happy Frog potting soil, and pick up a pouch of Happy Frog all-purpose organic fertilizer. Mix according to package directions, reseal the pouch, and save the rest for Mom so that she can continue to feed her plants every month or two.

Now comes the fun part. Choose plants that she will love. Maybe she’s a foodie who will flip out over an assortment of purple and green basils. If she’s a flower lover, go for snapdragons, bachelor buttons, and dwarf sweet peas. Or fill her home with the fragrance of assorted lavenders and scented geraniums, which she can transplant to the garden later in the year.

And don’t limit green gifts to Mother’s Day—Father’s Day, graduations, weddings, anniversaries, and birthdays are all a good time to share a little horticultural love.