Some holiday gift catalogs feature gift baskets or perfect miniature villages in collectable sets. Others feature plants, flowers, wreaths and other horticultural products. Looking through these catalogs is quite an eye-opening experience for any gardening entrepreneur. Their pages are full of one extravagantly priced gift after another. I thumbed through one that featured $45 amaryllises and dried sunflowers priced at $50 for a set of six. To be fair, these did have bows glued onto them, so they weren't just any old sunflowers. Even so, I was a bit incredulous--and, at the same time, was thinking to myself, "Why didn't I come up with that?"

Almost every page gave me a twinge of inspiration. After all, I force bulbs every fall. Why not plant some extra ones to sell? I grow sunflowers too, but this year it seems I let the birds pick them all clean. I suppose I should be kicking myself for not harvesting them, drying them carefully and getting my glue gun out to affix a bow to them.

After perusing a variety of grow-it-yourself gift items, I've selected a few that are simple to grow and make yourself and seemed to me to have excellent potential as holiday money-makers. And if you don't succeed in selling them all, you can give them away as holiday gifts. It's a win-win situation.

Here are my best bets for money-making holiday gifts for a gardening entrepreneur to grow and sell:

1. Amaryllis in a decorative pot.
   These giant, beautiful red, white, pink or striped flowers are second only to poinsettias and Christmas trees when it comes to plants for holiday decor. However, they are much, much easier to grow than pines or poinsettias.
    

2. Mini spruce, rosemary or white pine trees pruned to look like a miniature Christmas tree.
   If you love miniatures or bonsai trees, you might be interested in giving these a grow--their tops, and possibly even their roots, will require regular training to keep them small and shapely, but, if you can get them sold, the effort will be well worth it!
    

3. Crocuses in a holiday-themed oversized mug.
   Crocuses almost never let you down! No matter what your level of gardening expertise, forcing crocuses will be right up your alley. These bulbs have the added advantages of being small, so that you can have lots of them in a small space, and very affordable, so that you can feel free to experiment with them. This gift is a great choice for aspiring gardening entrepreneurs.
    

4. Dwarf holly trees.
   Holly wreaths are very common and very popular during the holidays, but why stop there? There are many varieties of dwarf holly that make good gifts in December and then keep on giving. Hollies are beautiful landscaping plants and will grow very well in many locations and climates.
    

5. Festive ornamental dried sunflowers made into ornaments and wreaths.
   Pretty enough to hang on your indoor Christmas tree, these sunflowers can have a second life a decorative bird feeders on your outdoor trees.