Looking for the perfect gift to inspire the gardener in your life to go green? Metro natural gardening specialist Carl Grimm shared his top tips for green gardening gifts.

Soil-boosting gifts
-Earth Machine compost bin, available at the Swan Island MetroPaint Store for less than half the retail value
-Cool compost pail for the kitchen countertop
-Organic fertilizer, good for plants and easy on rivers and streams
“Antique” digging fork or other handy tool from a secondhand store, or a durable one from the nursery
-Free compost guide, available from Metro’s recycling hotline at 503-234-3000

Gifts for the edibles enthusiast
-Vegetable seeds from your own garden, presented in little reused bottles with a colorful homemade label
-Potted herb garden for a sunny windowsill now and an outside patch in spring
-Free Metro gardening resources including the revised Grow Smart, Grow Safe consumer guide
-Vegetable gardening book

Gifts for nurturing nature
-Home-crafted bug bath, made from a plate and pebbles around the yard, to attract beneficial insects
-Mason bee home, made by boring 5/16 inch holes – 3 or 4 inches deep – into a chunk of wood
-Gift certificate for a native tree or shrub, perfect for winter planting
-Free Metro booklet on native plants
-Birding binoculars with an ideal 8-by-40 magnification
-Backyard bird book
 

For additional natural gardening ideas visit Metro's website or call 503-234-3000.