Finding good presents for gardeners can be a little hit and miss at the best of times. So we thought we would ask members of Our Nursey Shop Team what they want, what they really, really want for Christmas and why? We do not sell any of these suggestions at Hardy's so our opinions are completely unbiased, just based on desire and a healthy enjoyment of gardening.

We would also love to hear what you would like to receive and why? You can always add more to your list and hope that someone takes note....

First up is Alex G, who lives and gardens near Salisbury. A busy lady, she not only works in our nursery shop two days a week but also runs her own garden design business.

'What do I want for Christmas?'

'Well actually I have had a bit of an emergency and I have treated myself to an early Christmas present - a new pair of 'Felco Model 16 Compact Left Hand Secateurs'. I love them because they are left handed and smaller than the originals'.

Felco Model 16 Compact Left Hand Secateurs from many good Garden Centres and World of Felco

Clare lives north of Winchester and is also a garden designer. She loves to help customers with their planting quandaries.

'What would I like to get for Christmas?'

'I always love a good read, when I get the chance! So, on my Christmas list this year is the recently updated version of 'Led by the Land, Landscapes' by Kim Wilkie, as it comes highly recommended.

Kim looks at how people have moulded their environment over the centuries. He also shares how he brings the same approach of reverence for the land and the creatures that inhabit it. Very much looking forward to a few hours of down time over Christmas to relax and read another perspective on the highly topical subject of being ‘Led by the Land’.

'Led by the Land, Landscapes' by Kim Wilkie (author), Dieter Helm (foreword) published by Pimpernel Press Ltd
ISBN: 9781910258521

Alex M lives in a beautiful location close to the River Test and spends a lot of time in the garden making space to squeeze in lots of Hardy's plants. There's rarely a week when she does not go home without a plant or two.

'What would I like for Christmas?'

'A new bench plus a coffee table, so that I can sit and enjoy the garden. We are going to make the table from some stone slabs we found while excavating new foundations for the house but I would love the bench to be like this table that I have seen on the internet.'

Rachel lives between Whitchurch and St Mary Bourne on chalky soil which she continues to improve every year - it is a labour of love but getting there.

'My must-have Christmas present?'

'Working with chalky, flinty soil for many a year has refined my gardening tool collection down to what works for me plus the gardens I work in and design for. Do not get me started on bulb planters!

Perhaps rather worryingly I am drawn to things that are sharp, tough and do what they say on the tin, so it is a 'Hori Hori' or Japanese trowel knife for me please. Many fellow gardeners have recommended it to me for weeding, cutting and bulb planting in tough terrain, I cannot wait to try it.'

This is a picture of Alex G's hori hori in action, hence the mud and pink tape for her to find it after having dropped it in a plant bed!

Hori Hori trowel knives are becoming more widely available, check out a good horticultural tool supplier, Niwaki or Japeto