The story below appeared in the Austin American Statesman last week.

Everyone knows someone for whom it is impossible to buy a present. Because it only gets harder over time, there’s finally nothing left to give them but tube socks. Where’s the joy?

On the other side of the gift-receiving scale are all the gardeners in the world. When someone else is buying, we’re neither stoic nor frugal, and in this lousy economy, we’re particularly starved for gardening stuff.

I used to buy myself such things. I saw my landscape as a potential garden of unnecessary delights, full of meandering pathways and vine-covered gazebos. These days, however, I’m thinking more like the guy who invented the grain silo. All garden supplies must contribute directly to survival — otherwise, forget it.

I can justify a flat of broccoli seedlings, in other words, but not another rosebush, even though I absolutely crave one, and even though broccoli, no matter how organic, is still a pretty run-of-the-mill vegetable.

But all this is good news for anyone who owes a gardener a present this holiday season. The suggestions that follow are opinionated, but I guarantee they’ll appeal to most gardeners of the non-Martha-Stewart variety.

Start at a plant nursery. Pick one that’s locally owned and staffed with active gardeners, or risk coming home with something that couldn’t grow in Texas even with a full-time nanny.

Tough, beautiful plants: Society garlic, purple fountain grass, Mexican feather grass, trailing lantana, blue plumbago, passion vine, Turk’s cap, bamboo muhly, any ruellia, inland sea oats. Four-inch pots start at $1.99 at Barton Springs Nursery, but buy the biggest size you can afford at your favorite nursery.

Plants to covet: Pride of Barbados, Kieffer pear, Brazos blackberry, Meyer lemon and crossvine (from $10) and anything from the Southern Bulb Co. (www.southernbulbs.com, from $5) .

Finding the perfect gift plant: Ask for help at any independent garden store. Make sure the person who responds has dirt under the fingernails. Describe your gift target, his or her land and tastes. (For example, my yard has a lot of dappled shade, and I hate hot pink.) Ask for a recommendation.

Roses: In the old days, I would have suggested a four-color catalog of gorgeous heirlooms, but my standards have changed. I now expect a rose to live through the same boot camp of neglect as the rest of my flowers have. What I’d really like is any non-hot-pink rose certified by Texas A&M University and Texas AgriLife Extension as Earth-Kind — Ducher and Sea Foam come to mind ($15.99 at Barton Springs Nursery).

Vegetable seeds: Anything from the Botanical Interests company works for me, especially the tricolor bush beans and the collection known as Summer of Squash (botani calinterests.com, from $1.50) .

Watering supplies: A 100-foot length of Submatic pressure-compensating drip hose ($54.95 at the Natural Gardener) would excite me more than anything that comes in a box from Tiffany. I already have a Water Wand, the ingenious hose-end waterer that allows you to shoot a fine spray of water under leaves — a great help in hosing off spider mites and aphids. Available at www.waterwand-usa.com for $24 to $32.

Tools: If you frequent garage sales, keep an eye out for an antique rake or shovel, perhaps with a hardwood handle whittled by someone’s great-grandfather. Or you could purchase a 13-inch King of Spades, the supermodel of the digging genre, at Way Cool Tools (www.waycooltools.com, $88). Harbor Freight Tools carries a full line of tarps (from $4) for filling with leaves or weeds and dragging to the compost pile, eliminating the need for lawn-and-leaf bags. While you’re at it, pick up a six-pack of gardening gloves (from $6).

Mass quantities: This is where truck ownership really pays off, because gardeners love bulk deliveries of rocks (but no pebbles), paving stones or bricks, decomposed granite (for pathways), compost, or pine straw (for mulch). Find these materials cheaply in the American-Statesman’s classifieds (and at statesmanclassifieds.com) and on craigslist.org, or get free recycled glass and wood mulch at the City of Austin Landfill, 10108 FM 812, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Mondays-Fridays. It’s first come, first served, and you do the work, so bring a shovel, gloves and closed-toed shoes. Another gift idea? Believe it or not, manure is a special treat, especially if it comes from a chicken, rabbit or llama.

Good things in smaller packages: Red wiggler worms (500 for $17 from www.unclejimswormfarm.com) accomplish great things in both garden beds and vermicomposting bins. A bottle of liquid seaweed ($8.10 at Barton Springs Nursery) is appropriate for any occasion. A $2 package of hose gaskets shows you care.

Clothes: Callahan’s carries Carhartt and Pointer overalls ($47 and up) that last forever, as well as live chickens and bulk seed. Everyone needs a good no-gimmicks straw hat — no perky floral hatbands or visors, if you know what’s good for you. Thrift shops are the best source for extra-large men’s dress shirts made from the thinnest possible cotton. On 100-degree days, I cinch them with a tool belt to create a strangely attractive gardening frock.

Books: Here’s what I don’t want — a crafty primer that explains how to paint a birdhouse or hot-glue dried flowers onto a Styrofoam wreath. Much better would be something in the survivalist line, perhaps the reissued edition of Bradford Angier’s 1972 classic “One Acre and Security” (Willow Creek, $15.95) or Stella Otto’s “The Backyard Orchardist: A Complete Guide to Growing Fruit Trees in the Home Garden” (Ottographics, $15.95). There’s no orchard in my future, but I have a rich fantasy life. A copy of Mark Bittman’s “How To Cook Everything Vegetarian” (Wiley, $35) will help any gardener turn bumper crops into remarkable meals.

Frivolous luxuries, in no particular order: Blue bottles for bottle trees. A wildly expensive knife for chopping homegrown produce. A larger-than-life metal sculpture by a local artist. A drawing of the gardener’s own garden by any artist at all, the more primitive the better. A massage to undo the aches of double-digging. A pedicure for battered, sandal-wearing feet. If I had a battery-powered radio, I’d have a way to listen to the Natural Gardener’s John Dromgoole on KLBJ-AM on weekend mornings while actually gardening. I know what you’re thinking, but an iPod wouldn’t work in this situation — I wouldn’t be able to hear birds, the sound of approaching rain or the ice-cream truck.

And finally: You could always offer a bottle of Old World red wine with notes of earth, leaf mold, aged compost and/or crushed tomato leaves. What could be better to drink in the garden? But if you prefer, the gardener will accompany you to Vino Vino for a glass. For that, she’d change out of her overalls.

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