Thanksgiving is Monday, October 12. I’m Darrell, from DH Garden Centre in Kitsilano. If you’re going to someone’s place for dinner, or you want to thank a person who helped you this year, these are the Thanksgiving gift ideas I’d point you to from our shelves. Each one comes with what it’s for and what it says.
The short version, if you only read this far: a living plant already sitting in a good pot. It’s small enough to hand over at the door and asks nothing of the host while dinner is on the stove. After that it just keeps growing in their home.
Why give a plant in a pot for Thanksgiving in Vancouver?
A potted plant has long been one of the standard host gifts, because the host doesn’t have to do anything with it on the night. Here it does a second job. Environment Canada’s climate normals for 1981 to 2010 put Vancouver at an average of about 56 hours of sunshine for the whole of December. That’s under two hours a day.
So through November, December and January, when it’s dark by five and the garden outside is bare, that bit of green on the table is often the only thing in the room still growing. A plant in a good pot is the one piece of decor in a home that changes a little every week. That’s really what you’re giving.
10 Thanksgiving gift ideas that mean something
Most of the meanings below come from feng shui or older folk traditions. Take them as the stories people tell about these plants.
1. A hoya in a glazed pot
The wax plant. It grows slowly, stays tidy, and once it has settled in it puts out clusters of small waxy flowers. In feng shui it’s sometimes given for protection and steady fortune. The ASPCA lists Hoya carnosa as non-toxic to cats and dogs, which is a big part of why it’s the one we suggest first when you don’t know their home well. If they want to read up on it, our hoya care guide on light, watering and blooms covers the basics.
2. A prayer plant
The leaves fold up every evening, a bit like hands in prayer, and open again in the morning. That’s why some people give it as a thank you, and it fits the day. It’s happy in a spot out of direct sun. The ASPCA lists the prayer plant (Maranta) as non-toxic to cats and dogs too.
3. A ZZ plant
Some people call it the fortune tree. It often goes to someone starting in a new home or a new job, because it’s said to stand for growth that doesn’t need much fuss. This is the one for the person who forgets to water. Most ZZ plants that die were watered too often, so a busy person often does better with it than a keen one. The ASPCA lists it as toxic to cats and dogs.
4. A snake plant
In feng shui it’s the plant that guards the house. It stands tall in a slim pot and takes up very little floor, so it suits a condo or a narrow hallway, and it puts up with lower light. The ASPCA lists it as toxic to pets.
5. A goldfish plant
Little orange flowers shaped like fish. For the person who wants a bit of colour in a grey season.
6. A monstera
In some traditions the big split leaves stand for long life and respect for elders, so it can be a nice one for a parent or a grandparent. This is the gift with some presence in a room. The ASPCA lists it as toxic, so it’s for a house without pets.
7. A fig tree
Figs have stood for plenty and peace for about as long as people have written things down. A tall ficus changes a room. Go up only a modest pot size with a fig. I moved my own Ficus Amstel into a much bigger pot without even touching the roots, and it dropped leaves for about four months. Also on the ASPCA toxic list, so same rule as the monstera.
8. A glazed pot on its own
For the friend whose plant has outgrown its home. You pick the pot, and when they bring the plant in, we repot it at the counter. Our glazed pots are picked by hand in Vietnam, and the pot is the part that stays for decades, long after the plant has been divided or given away. If you’re curious about the craft, we wrote about Binh Duong ceramics and the potters behind Vietnamese glazed pots.
9. A pot of hyacinth bulbs
Nothing to see yet. Hyacinths need a long cold spell before they flower, and as I tell people at the counter, they’ve got to be outside in the cold to bloom. Planted now and left outdoors until after New Year, they usually flower in February or March, when the city has been grey for weeks. Hyacinth has long meant spring coming back, and of all the fall bulbs it has the strongest scent. It’s a gift that arrives later. The ASPCA lists hyacinth bulbs as toxic to pets, so the pot stays outside or out of reach. We sell them online, with free pickup at the shop: packs of four big hyacinth bulbs in several colours on our bulb page.
10. A card in your own handwriting
Three lines is enough. What they did, and thank you. People keep those, often longer than the gift itself. Turn it over and write the care on the back: how often it wants water and which window it likes.
What if they have a cat or a dog?
Of the plants on this list, the ASPCA lists two as non-toxic to cats and dogs: the hoya (Hoya carnosa) and the prayer plant (Maranta). It lists the ZZ plant, snake plant, monstera and fig as toxic, and hyacinth bulbs as well. For anything not named here, look it up on the ASPCA site before you buy, wherever you buy it.
The ASPCA also points out that eating any plant can upset an animal’s stomach, including plants on its non-toxic list. Non-toxic means it isn’t expected to poison them. So even a hoya goes up on a shelf the cat can’t reach. If you don’t know whether there’s a pet in the house, the hoya or the prayer plant is the easy choice.
How do you pick a plant for someone else’s home?
Two things decide most of it: how much light their place gets, and how likely they are to remember the watering can. A bright window with someone who likes to fuss over plants suits the hoya, the goldfish plant or a fig. A darker room or a forgetful owner suits the ZZ or the snake plant.
For watering, the line I give most people is this. With most indoor tropicals, let the top quarter of the pot dry out before you water again, while the bottom stays a little moist. That keeps the roots from rotting and keeps fungus gnats away. In winter, let it go a bit drier than that. ZZ and snake plants can go drier still.
What people don’t expect is how dry the air gets indoors once the heat comes on, even in a city this wet. Most tropicals like bright indirect light, more of it in winter, and a light misting while the heaters are running.
What happens when you buy the pot at our shop
If you buy a pot from us, we repot your plant at the counter at no additional cost. The soil is on us too, up to 5 litres, and past that we only charge for the extra. Then we’ll tell you how to water it, and you can copy that straight onto the card.
On the way home, keep the leaves off the car windows, because cold glass marks a leaf wherever it touches, and drive straight home. We don’t ship plants or pots, so this part is for anyone who can come in.
No idea what they’d like? A gift card in any amount works. They come in and choose the pot themselves, and that’s the surest way it suits their place.
We’re open every day, Thanksgiving Monday included. Come by our shop on West 10th Avenue in Kitsilano, a short trip from Point Grey, Dunbar, Kerrisdale and UBC. Tell us who it’s for and how much light their place gets, and we’ll help you choose.
Thanksgiving gift questions we get at the counter
What is a good Thanksgiving host gift in Vancouver?
A small living plant already in its pot is one of the easiest. The host can set it down with one hand and it needs nothing from them while they’re cooking. In a city that averages about 56 hours of sunshine in December, it’s also something green that keeps growing through the dark months.
Which houseplants does the ASPCA list as non-toxic to cats and dogs?
Of the plants we have in for Thanksgiving, the ASPCA lists the hoya (Hoya carnosa) and the prayer plant (Maranta) as non-toxic to cats and dogs. It lists the ZZ plant, snake plant, monstera, fig and hyacinth bulbs as toxic. Any plant can still upset a pet’s stomach if it gets eaten, so keep it out of reach.
What plant should I give someone who kills plants?
A ZZ plant or a snake plant. Both get by on little water and lower light, and most of the ones that die were watered too often. Write “water when the top quarter of the soil is dry” on the card. If there’s a cat or dog in the house, give a hoya instead.
Is DH Garden Centre open on Thanksgiving Monday 2026?
Yes. We’re open every day from 11 am to 6:30 pm, including Thanksgiving Monday, October 12, 2026, at 3742 West 10th Avenue in Kitsilano.
Can I bring in my own plant and pick a new pot?
Yes. If you buy a pot from us, we repot the plant at the counter at no additional cost, and the soil is on us up to 5 litres. We’ll also tell you how to water it.
Do you deliver or ship plants and pots?
No, plants and pots are for pickup at the shop. If you can’t decide in time, a gift card in any amount lets them come in and choose the pot themselves.
Keep reading
Have a plant question? Bring it to the counter.
DH Garden Centre is at 3742 West 10th Avenue in Kitsilano, Vancouver, open 11:00 to 6:30 every day. Bring the plant, or a photo of the spot you want to fill, and we will look at it with you. If you buy a pot here we repot the plant at the counter, soil included up to 5 litres.
