Inspiration for a Green-Thumbed Mother's Day: a Gift Guide

May is just about to sprout, and the scent of flowering trees fill the air. This time of year as our gardens, parks and forests spring to life, we always start thinking of the mother figures that have helped us to grow.

With Mother’s Day around the corner, we compiled this inspiration guide for you, where you can find gifts to bring some gentleness and joy into her life during these trying times.

Something Sweet

• Peonies: For the gardener, look no further than the classic Mother’s Day garden gift, the beloved peony. Why send a bouquet when you can give her flowers all spring year after year? Peonies boast intensily aromatic, billowy flowers that are hardy, easy to care for, and bloom every year. This year, we are excited to have the cultivars 'Festiva Maxima' and 'Coral Sunset'. The former boasts large, ivory blooms edged with a touch of crimson, and the latter has coral-colored flowers with bright yellow centers. Check out our availability for local pickup, here.

• Heart Fern: Give her your heart in the shape of a fern! This sweet little plant, Hemionitis arifolia, paired with a glass mister and some bright pottery would make for an impressive present.
• Marimo Moss Ball: Fascinating aquatic plants, known in folklore as charms of good luck everlasting love, Marimo Moss Balls are also some of the easiest plants around. A perfect gift for that mom who might not yet have developed her green thumb.

Something Thoughtful

• Mother’s Day Gift Box: This year, we created a Mother’s Day Gift Box that includes a collection of items for a bright and thoughtful Mother’s Day. Order by 5/1 for delivery on Mother's Day! Included in the box is:
• Anthurium Kokedama and Dish: A unique bonsai style plant that flowers again and again, set in a terracotta dish.
• June and December Tea Towel: to bring the brightness of springtime into her home. These botanically inspired tea towels are soft and simple.
• Organic CBD bath fizzy: For an extra relaxing, well deserved mother’s spa day. This fragrant bath fizzy will melt her stress away in a silky soak.

• Potted Herb Container: Have a special terracotta container potted up to order with culinary herbs for mom. Choose some of her favorites from our long list of herbs such as: Golden Marjoram, Rosemary, Oregano, Thyme, Mint, Parsley, Lavender, and Sage.

Something Bright

• Coco and Leo Planters: Our own flagship line of pottery is very close to our hearts, handmade using a slip cast method right here in Oregon. This line is a gift from our mother to yours. The Founder of Pistils named the designs after her children, Coco and Leo. The Coco design is sophisticated and whimsical, the Leo design is handsome and sturdy much like the people from which they got their names. Each style comes in 2 sizes and 4 colors: oatmeal, satin peach, seafoam and charcoal.

• Tandem Pottery: Created by one our favorite makers from Massachusetts, these planters come in three different sizes, and have the benefit of drainage and a matching saucer. Available in freckled pink, goldenrod yellow and mariner green, we love the bright colors and uniform, cylindrical shape. Tandem pottery has a subtle way of lighting up the room.  
• Pink Houseplants Botanical Print: Florida Artist Aaron Aspley creates remarkable botanical prints for any plant lovers' home decor. The brightest of these is the pink houseplants print featuring 23 houseplant leaves that have us tickled pink all over. The style is unique and calming for a gentle reminder of sweetness in our lives. Gift this with a pink plant that is featured in the print or in an elegant frame for a lovely pink present.

Something Unique

• Rare Flora: For the mothers who already have a large collection of plants consider gifting her something a little harder to find. Some of our favorite treasures right now include: Philodendron 'Birkin', Calathea ‘Fusion White’, and Peperomia prostrata (String of Turtles).

• Wrens Nest Aerium:This hand-blown glass world comes alive in a kit for her to build a unique Aerium all her own. Shaped like a wren’s nest it is a unique gift for our mama birds. Inside the vessel she will find: moss, lichen, rock, sand, and Tillandsia "Air Plants" to arrange her nest with. This hanging aerium is versatile and ideal for small spaces.
• Black Walnut Flower Press: Give her the gift of an eternal bouquet by pairing this flower press with her favorite flowers. Designed by Pistils and handmade here in Portland, our take on the classic flower press is handmade with Oregon Black Walnut wood and patinaed solid brass hardware. Inspired by childhood flower foraging and engraved with hand-drawn pacific northwest flora this press is a functional art piece to last for generations. 

We hope these ideas have sparked some inspiration for gift giving this Mother’s Day.

During this pandemic, our Mother’s Day celebrations might be a little different, but what matters is that the plant moms and mother figures in our lives feel celebrated and loved, knowing just how important they are to us now and always.

Words by Brittany Oxford

Please Note: Our Mother's Day Gift Box ships separately, and is guaranteed to arrive by Mother's Day (5/10). Place your Mother's Day Gift Box order by Saturday, 5/1 for delivery by Mother's Day. Gift orders for other items are not guaranteed to arrive by Mother's Day. [More Info]