As the name implies, living gifts are alive. Fortunately, in this case ‘alive’ doesn’t mean that they wriggle or crawl!

Living gifts include trees such as (Lemon, Lime, Laurus and Olive), plants (Metrosideros, Jasmine and Michelia) indoor plants (Flowering money tree, Calathea and Dieffenbachia), living flowers (such as native Kaka Beak, Hydrangea and Gardenia), plants that fruit (Feijoa, Key Lime and Kaffir) and office plants (Anthurium and Peace Lilly) and many more. So, as you can see, there’s just about something for everyone and every occasion.

Living gifts are an original idea. Remember how it feels to get yet another box of chocolates or a bunch of droopy flowers? Neither lasts longer than a week (sometimes not even a day) and all that’s left behind are wrappers to throw away and some smelly, green water. However, a living gift only requires a pot or planting in the garden, and from there it will do all the hard work for you.

A gift of a tree is something that says continuance and permanency and is therefore fitting to mark an occasion such as an anniversary, birth, birthday or bereavement. If you want to, giving a gift tree and planting it can be part of a speech or memorial.

Indoor plants make a unique and thoughtful gift for corporate clients and colleagues. A living gift will instantly transform their desks as well as filtering in-office pollutants and gases and replace them with oxygen. As an office is sometimes a place of stress and tension, having a plant on a desk helps the recipient to reconnect with nature and to practise mindfulness.

Plants that fruit, such as lemons, limes and feijoas make tasty gifts for all those green-fingered cooks you know. Home cooks love fresh ingredients, and nothing is fresher than stepping out onto your patio to pick a ripe lemon or snipping off some bay leaves to add to a delicious homemade casserole.

Of course, everyone loves flowers in bloom. In the case of living plants, the recipient gets to enjoy a flowering season year after year with hopefully bigger and better blooms each time. Other benefits include no petals dropping all over the table, no stinky and stagnant water to get rid of, no dying flowers and no awkward host trying to cook a meal at the same time as cutting stems and putting them in a vase.

As you’d expect, a living gift might require some assistance to help it continue to grow. In most cases, this will merely mean planting it in a pot or the garden, with the occasional prune and tending to keep it in its optimum health. All of Give Plants gift trees and plants come with instructions that show you how best to look after your living gift, including where to plant and whether it is frost tolerant.

We are tempted to say that the gift of a tree is priceless, but hopefully, you’ve got that idea by now! Prices for living gifts range from $39.95 and can be delivered anywhere within New Zealand. Our nationwide delivery service means that Pete in Invercargill can receive a Meyer Lemon Tree to mark his retirement, that Nancy in Auckland can enjoy the vibrant flowers on a native Metrosideros for all her birthdays to come and that Joel and Jacky can celebrate their new home in Wellington by planting your thoughtful housewarming gift.

We hope you can now see how a living gift is a novel way to approach present buying and one that extends to all ages and situations. Take a look at our range of living tree gifts, plants, indoor plants and shrubs that will be talking points for years to come.

Need help selecting the perfect living gift? Click here to contact us.