The Augusta Council of Garden Clubs will hold four floral-design classes beginning Jan. 19.

The Saturday classes – slated for Jan. 19, Feb. 2, Feb. 16 and March 2 – will be held from 7:30 to 11:30 a.m. at Georgia State Floral Distributors on Washington Road in Augusta. Participants can browse and purchase from Georgia State Floral Distributors during the sessions, according to ACGC President Judy Kirkland.

Finding the perfect gift for the gardener or outdoor enthusiast on your Christmas list is much easier with suggestions from area gardeners.

Augustan Ginny Allen’s favorite gardening gift didn’t cost a dime.

“My favorite gift was a rooted gardenia cutting from a corsage,” said Allen. “The librarian gave it to me when I was in junior high working in the school library in 1961.”

Allen has moved the bush with her through the years and said she often thinks of the librarian who gave it to her.

On a recent weekday morning, several members of the Spade and Trowel Garden Club worked in the gardens at the Boyhood Home of Woodrow Wilson, a historic house museum. The club adopted a plot in the backyard as a civic improvement project in November 2007.

While regular maintenance means clearing the garden of brush, adding amendments to the soil, pruning plants and weeding, this week’s efforts included planting narcissus – or daffodil – bulbs that will bloom in the spring. Last month, club members planted violas and snapdragons to give the garden some color during the winter.

Preparations for the Augusta Jewish Community Center’s annual Hanukkah latke and salmon dinner begin early, with volunteers preparing desserts and other dishes days in advance.

“The Hanukkah dinner has been in existence for as long as anyone can remember,” said Leah Ronen, the executive director of the 158-year-old AJCC.

This year’s dinner will take place at 6 p.m. Dec. 9 at the AJCC’s Weinberger Way campus in Evans, off Furys Ferry Road. Reservations must be made by Tuesday, Dec. 4.