For answers to your tropical plant questions: http://www.TropicalFlowersForums.com

A lot of gardeners provide seeds and suet to backyard birds during the winter months, but few make their feeders as attractive as Karen Goss.

She created a tiered cake sure to attract the attentions of humans as well as birds.

Her inspriation grew from the need to create an outdoor design for the annual Christmas Tea put on in early December by the members of the Suburban Garden Club.

Karen said: There are so many talented women in the club and I don't feel like I'm one of them.

She woke up in the middle of the night and thought her outdoor arrangement should be, literally, for the birds.

A big red dish she already owned was perfect for the base, but a slab of wood would be just as good for bird cakes not on display. Goss moved hers to a bird bath after the event and said the birds have already eaten most of the seeds, especially from the top layer. She also scattered lose seeds around the base.

She bought a moss covered wreath at a craft store for the base and then covered a smaller disk with a bird seed mix for the next layer. The seeds were adhered to the layer with hot glue. I'm not sure how that appeals to birds or if it could even be detrimental. Honey or corn syrup might be a sticky alternative but beware: I haven't tried it.

Another moss covered tier came next and then a bell-shaped form already covered with seeds purchased at Wal-Mart.

She added another layer by sticking some fresh cranberries on toothpicks into a foam disk. Then she topped the cake with some feathers.

When it comes to gifts, gardeners are easy because there are so many things will help them pursue their hobby ranging from $10 or less to as much as your pocketbook will stretch.

Affordable choices include a wonderful house plant, a special tool or a gift certificate from local garden centers or specialty mail order nurseries.

Because there is so much to learn about cultivating plants, most gardeners also love books. But before you buy one that is too general or too complex, you might ask the receiver if there are any gardening books they have wished for but never bought.

To make your task a little easier, I polled some lovers of specific plants to get their recommendations.

Many of the books described can be bought at amazon.com through a click of the mouse at this site.

Recommending a book for cactus lovers is easy for Don Klotwog, president of the Memphis Cactus Society: The Complete Book of Cacti and Succulents, by Terry Hewitt, published by DW ($20)
Klotwog said: It is great.

It’s almost impossible for Chris Spindel to keep her recommendations on fern references to one book. A founding member of the Memphis Fern Society, Spindel is regarded as the area’s most knowledgeable person on all things ferny.

For a general overview of ferns available in nurseries and a guide to selecting and growing them, she likes Ferns for American Gardens, by John Mickel, published by Timber Press.

For the serious fern gardener, she suggests The Fern Grower’s Manual, the revised and expanded edition, by Barbara Joe Hoshizaki (cq) and Robbin C. Moran.

A Natural History of Ferns, by Robbin C. Moran, published by Timber Press ($59.95), is for fern lovers who want cutting edge science so well written that each chapter is like a short story with a fern or ferns as its protagonist, Spindel said.

Mike Chambers, past president of the Mid-South Hosta Society also has a few recommendations.
The Color Encyclopedia of Hostas, by Diana Grenfell and Michael Shadrack (Timber Press $49.95) is his No. 1 choice.

It has wonderful pictures from Mike Shadrack, who was our guest speaker at the Dixie regional meeting in Memphis in 2005, Chambers said. It has hundreds of great photos with comments on each. The forward was written by Prince Charles.

For beginners, he suggests Diana Grenfell’s book Hostas: A Gardener’s Guide to Growing Series, or Paul Aden’s The Hosta Book.

No arms are wide enough to get around all the orchids in the world. With more than 25,000 species and 100,000 hybrids and cultivars, it is the largest and most diverse group of plants.

Fenwick Chappelle, an award winning grower and member of the Memphis Orchid Society, said three inexpensive books distill a lot of information, especially for beginners.

Orchids, A Golden Guide is the least expensive and most geared to beginners. Two others are Simon & Schuster’s Guide to Orchids, by Alberto Fanfani and Taylor’s Guide to Orchids, by Judy White.

All have lots of pictures and general information about taking care of orchids.

Fred Nowak, a member of the Memphis Bonsai Society, has a couple of recommendations for those who want to collect the miniature trees of the Orient.

For beginners, he suggests Bonsai Basics, by Christian Pessy and Remy Samson (Sterling Publishing, $12.95).
For more advanced hobbyists, his nod goes to a two-volume set, Bonsai Techniques I and II, by John Yoshio Naka, published by the Bonsai Institute of California.They are $50 to $60 each from used book dealers at amazon.com.
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For iris lovers, Caroline Nave has a couple of recommendations starting with $1.50 pamphlet, Basic Iris Culture, from the American Iris Society. It can be ordered from AIS website at http://www.irises.org/storefront.htm

The Magic of Irises, by Barbara Perry Lawton, is a book with lots of plant lore and legends and history of irises.

Nave, who is also an accomplished flower arranger, has two book recommendations on that subject:
Creative Floral Design – Step-by-Step, by Carolyn Hawkins and Jeanine Row, published by the Garden Club of Georgia, $35 (http://www.ffgc.org/sales/giftshop.html),
and Basic Floral Design, by the Redbook Floral Service which is now part of Teleflora.

Members of the Memphis Garden Club once again turned the Dixon Gallery and Gardens into holiday heaven by takingfull advantage of the hollies, boxwoods, magnolias, cedars and junipers on the 20-acre site in East Memphis.

The current art exhibit at the Dixon is all about artful duck decoys and hunting so club members decided their decorations should be all about nature.

With dried red amaranthus and grape bunches hanging on its branches, a tree in the Catmur Foyer evokes the feeling of being in a vine-covered southern forest. Birds in nests, bunches of dried wheat, pine cones, various berries, curly willow on top and a burlap tree skirt continue the theme.

In the dining room, branches of deciduous red holly and greenery make a striking centerpiece.

In other rooms, club members used potted bulbs and plants with greenery and berries to make appealing arrangement. Paperwhite narcissi, white and red amaryllis, white cyclamens and white kalanchoes pair with evergreens to make subtle yet effective holiday statements.

“Everything is organic and natural this year,” said Greg Francis, the floriculturist at the Dixon who cut all of the greenery and berries used in the decorations.

The tree in the room housing the Warda Stout porcelain collection is the only exception. It is makes a nod to contemporary notions and child-appeal with its bold purple and red ornaments.

If purple and red seem shocking, consider Betty Thompson’s notion that purple, red AND bright pink are this year’s hot holiday colors.

She combined purple liatris with red and pink carnations in a centerpiece she made during a demonstration last week at the Memphis Botanic Garden.

An award-wining floral designer from Decatur, Ga., Thompson completed several unique designs in a program sponsored by garden clubs in District 1 of the Tennessee Federation of Garden Clubs.

Thompson collects and configures bold containers such as a set of three tall tubes made from mailing tubes and covered with white textured wallpaper. She was delighted to have some white orchids, her favorites, clipped from the botanic garden’s collection to place in the tubes. Set into the top of the tubes was an empty yogurt cup fill with wet floral foam to hold the stems.

In the center of a gold metal Christmas tree form, Thompson worked wonders with a few sprigs of greenery.
She also passed along some great tips:

* If you aren’t in the mood for a traditional Christmas tree, take a sturdy branch with numerous twigs and spray it gold. Place it in a pot (also sprayed gold) filled with floral foam for dried materials. Hang ornaments from the twigs.

* To condition tulips, place cut stems in a little vodka and count to 10. Then put the stems in warm water.

* If you want to make an arrangement in a tall vase with a small opening, place the top part of a two-piece plastic champagne glass in the opening. Place a piece of wet floral foam in the bowl of the glass and secure it with floral tape. The foam will allow you to use more stems in the design.

* Gently blow into a carnation or alstroemeria bud that is too tight. The warm air will cause the flower to open.

* Use plumber’s goop (adhesive) to attach paper tubes to a base. It forms a tight clear seal.

* Thompson likes to put foliage into an arrangement last. “Some people do it first,” she said. “But I find I use entirely too much if I add it at the beginning.”

(I'll post more photos on holiday decorating a little later)

Diane Meucci, co-owner of Gardens Oy Vey in Arlington, received the 2006 Award of Excellence from the Memphis Horticultural Society earlier this week.

Meucci, a third-generation gardener originally from Chicago, was praised for the way she selflessly shares her gardening talents with the community through numerous public lectures and design work. The new hydrangea garden at the Memphis Botanic Garden is one of her projects.

She was commended for these contributions:

* Introducing and educating Mid-Southerners on new and innovative native gardening;

* Establishing with her husband, Wolfgang Marquardt, one of the area’s most unique retail nurseries;

* Inspiring gardeners with her passion for plants and gardening, which is reflected in the lavish landscaping at the nursery;

* Donating plans and plants for landscaping at several Habitat for Humanity homes.

Congratulations Diane!