By Sharon Cohoon, Sunset senior garden writer

I hope friends who have bought me plants as presents in the past will either not read this or forgive me.  But, please, don't buy your gardening friends any more plants.  (Orchids or temporary indoor ornamentals excepted.) 

Shopping for and finally selecting what to buy from the candy store of plant options available to us is the very best thing about being a gardener today.  So, please, don't deprive us.

But, yes, yes, yes, every greedy gardener I know--and we're all greedy-- would be absolutely thrilled to get a gift certificate to our favorite seed catalog or nursery.  Or yours.  We're always happy to explore new sources. There's always room to tuck in one more plant--we just want to be the one to pick it.

But, if you think that's too easy, tuck the gift certificate into a gift box instead of a holiday card.  And top it with a tillandsia instead of a bow.  Though tillandsias qualify as plants, they're really more like little pieces of sculpture.  Fun to sit on bathroom counters after they stop being bows.  Just as is or mixed in with a bowl of sea shells perhaps.