How someone in the US can give a good gift to someone in France?

March 5, 2021 5:57 AM

I'm in the US and I have a friend in France who is feeling down. I would like to send her a gift. I would like gardening-related gift certificate recommendations and how to info, if you have it!

My friend has a house in the country that she is selling. She will miss her wonderful garden terribly. She will have to move to a temporary home for a few months until she can make her more permanent move. So, she will be without a garden for a while, and won't have a good place to take cuttings either.

I want to send her a gift, but I don't want to send anything that will be clutter because she's a minimalist and because of the temporariness of the move.

Is there a way I (in the US, with US debit card) can buy a gift certificate that she can redeem in France for either gardening supplies, plants, or art supplies?

Any recommendations on places to buy from, how to do it, or even better gift ideas?

posted by banjonaut to Home & Garden (10 answers total)

This was quite a few years ago, but I (in the US) had a vase of flowers delivered to a sick friend in Amsterdam by ordering them online through FTD (I believe it was) -- it was like $50 and she said the flowers were gorgeous, apparently the local Amsterdam florist who filled the order had higher standards than what the FTD picture showed. Not sure if cut/"dead" flowers fit the bill, but I believe florists deliver live plants too.
posted by AzraelBrown at 6:35 AM on March 5, 2021

Truffaut is a big plant and gardening chain here, and this is their gift card page.
posted by ellieBOA at 6:45 AM on March 5, 2021 [1 favorite]

It would be easier if we knew more specifically where in France, but there's one thing you can find across the country: Carrefour (the walmart of europe). You can get digital gift certificates here which I think you should be able to just send to your friend via email and which they can redeem online or "dans plus de 2900 magasins Carrefour, Carrefour Market, Market et de nombreux magasins de proximité sous enseigne du Groupe Carrefour", many of which definitely sell gardening supplies (but also belgian beer!).
posted by dis_integration at 6:53 AM on March 5, 2021

This is an online shop i really like, they have wonderful plants and caladium bulbs, they offer a gift certificate option. (also a woman-owned, independent store, if that matters to you).
Because of the current lockdown restrictions, i would opt for an online store instead of an in-person store option.
posted by PardonMyFrench at 7:36 AM on March 5, 2021

We aren't locked down in France, we have a 6pm curfew, some places have a weekend lockdown, but shopping malls are closed which can affect some stores.
posted by ellieBOA at 9:08 AM on March 5, 2021

Response by poster: Beautiful suggestions everyone, thank you! Lots of choices to cheer up a friend!

I have an ignorant-American follow-up/extension I need to add to my question. With my USA debit card, can I buy a gift card in Euros? Does anyone know?
posted by banjonaut at 10:58 AM on March 5, 2021

Permit to step outside the brief and suggest a book?
http://weemersee.com/books/155373/Lettres-illustres-de-Manet
Amazon.fr link
Edouard Manet wrote a lifetime of letters and was in the habit of doodling in [gorgeous] paintings of flowers and fruit. This book is only 80 pages long [so not toooo cluttery] and has facsimiles of 30 of the great man's letters. FWIW, I recently contacted a bookstore in the town my grandkids live in foreign. I do a bank transfer and he hand delivers any book in print. Maybe google up a similar place in your French pals location?
posted by BobTheScientist at 1:04 PM on March 5, 2021

If your card is VISA Debit, then yes it should work. If it is a card from your bank then no.
posted by strasbourg at 2:41 PM on March 5, 2021

Yes almost all modern banks allow cross currency transactions with credit card and debit cards. Check as some banks in the US may be consumer unfriendly and charge both a commission and a forex fee on top of having poor exchange rates.
posted by turkeyphant at 5:18 PM on March 5, 2021

A couple of the bigger chains of gardening stores are botanic and Gamm Vert (links to the store finder so you can see if one is close to her) where you can get supplies, house plants, outdoor plants, etc.

In general, your US debit card should work, though can issues if the site doesn't support a US address as the billing address or with the security procedures (often you need to receive a text with a code to then enter and verify your card).
posted by orchidee at 12:56 AM on March 6, 2021