Valentine Gifts for Your Favorite Gardener
For the gardener, Valentines Day can be a creative way to say I Love You. All things Valentine can be found in most stores and is usually a repeat of last year. From the chocolates to the heart-shaped gummies to the boxed chocolates….absolutely BORING!! If you have a favorite gardener, here is the opportunity to show your love. I have a few things that just might go over very well for that gardener in your life.
If your favorite gardener loves chocolates, a gift of Botanical Interests Gardener’s Scrubbing Soap could be the calorie-free answer. In fact, there is a Chocolate Collection offered by Botanical Interests that includes the soap as well as seeds. Offering Chocolate Flower, Nigella Love In A Mist, Ipomoea Chocolate, Helianthus Shock-O-Lat and a Chocolate Cherry Tomato. A unique mix of chocolate for the gardener in your life!
I have never met a gardener that didn’t love to read. Well among the many new books that are available, one particular book comes to mind. A longtime friend and cut flower farmer Lisa Mason Ziegler has a new book called Vegetables Love Flowers. This book is a must-have on your shelf as you prepare to garden in the coming season. Lisa instructs the reader on how to incorporate vegetable gardening alongside your cutting garden. Answering the questions any gardener might have including learning how to grow and enjoy a pesticide-free garden. Lisa has always had products that were easy to use, seeds that really grow well and growing systems that work. The soil blocker is another loved item offered by The Gardener’s Workshop, Lisa’s business. The Gardener’s Workshop is a wonderful resource for unique seeds and garden related items any gardener would love!
As winter lingers, most plantaholics are studying catalogs.The opportunity for a gardener to pick out their “dream” plants or even pre-planned gardens is the perfect gift! Bluestone Perennials has both of these offerings and more. Known for growing their own plant material in 100% biodegradable pots, Bluestone Perennials is the gift that keeps on giving. The love of your life will learn to look for that email with the weekly specials and coupons. With a 100% guarantee, gifting bluestone perennialsis like introducing your loved one to a family member.
Who doesn’t want roses on Valentines Day? After all it is the symbol of love and passion. Not just any rose but a perfect rose for gift giving. If you are looking for a rose with a natural growth habit, highly resistant to disease, clean foliage, and a wonderful scent, consider a David Austin Roses Known for the quality of his superior breeding practices, David Austin roses truly say you care. A gift like this is more than just a vase of cut roses. It is a day spent with your loved one choosing the proper site, digging the proper hole, amending the soil, and planting the rose bush. Talk about romance in the garden that keeps evolving, David Austin roses just keep on giving!!! In lieu of a week’s worth of roses, your loved one could enjoy a season’s worth of bodacious blooms!!
Think outside the heart-shaped box for your Valentine this year.
byDad, My Favorite Gardener
Dad, My Favorite Gardener. How many people can call their favorite gardener, Dad? A gardener in so many ways, he was more than just your average guy. Dad was a man who was thoughtful, firmly kind and always desired that we be the best we could be in whatever we chose to be.
Dad wanted me to “be a lady” so he reinforced the seeds of genteelness that my Mom sowed into my life. When he was fertilizing the hydrangeas to change the color or pruning the roses, I had to stand back and listen – instead of helping. Dad said “This is not something a Lady should do. You can water when I am done.” I was not amused, to say the least. In my mind, I just knew that one day, I would be fertilizing and pruning in my own garden. One day I would know more. I would understand the techniques and the dynamics behind it. I was expected to be good at whatever I chose to do.
My Mom would say, “Take Care of your Father when I am gone” and we did. Afterall, we honored Our Mom (our parents) and would not think of letting her (them) down.
Dad was a Minister as well as a teacher, and definitely lived what he preached. Sowing seeds of wisdom and his knowledge of the Bible enhanced the lives of many he met along his life journey. In Churches from DC to Maryland, Dad sowed words that continue to linger in the heart and souls of many who knew him. Among his words to us, “Give me my flowers while I can enjoy them”….and that we did. From Orchids to Freesia to mixed bouquets, there was almost never a time when we did not shower my Dad with flowers to enjoy no matter the season.
Dad’s birthday was like a National holiday to us. Everything just stopped in our world. Proud to be a Navy Seabee, we made certain that his birthday cake reflected this achievement. Anything to make him feel and know how special WE felt to have him in our lives. To be able to call him Dad was a privilege.
It has been officially a year. As we have spent this year closing down my parent’s house and preparing it for sale, I have realized so many things. Reflecting on time spent while tending his garden, I am more like him than I ever knew.
Dad’s tools are now mine. From the pictures, sketches, and projects he was so proud of, his Tithonia seeds, garden notes, and Mantis tiller are now all mine. While digging up some of the plants, reseeding the lawn, raking up the leaves and sharing the mums he left behind, I realized I had been quiet. I was not writing, nor was I doing or being the best that I could be. I had been feeling kind of lost without my Dad, especially as Autumn neared.
Autumn was the perfect time to shop for more Mums or sit outside in the carport and reflect on the season’s successes and failures. That conversation did not happen this year. There was no longer a way to deny the void was real. In year’s past, after every MANTS, every Flower Show, after every garden journey, I rushed over to see my Dad. I had to share what was new and exciting. Listening eagerly, he would adorn his head with whatever garden related baseball cap I brought him.
In turn, he shared with me what was going to be planted in the pots along the front for the year. Always sharing what he was going to order, he pulled from the stacks of catalogs in his “Garden Office”. His “Garden Office” was the chair beside “his” chair in the kitchen. Starting in early December, the “Garden Office” was filled with the sticky note, page folded catalogs. Easily accessible, right next to his Bible and his blood pressure monitor, Dad was always eager to show me something new.
I miss my parent’s. My Mom, my favorite seamstress and I miss my favorite gardener, my Dad. Life goes on and I must continue to honor them by being the best I can be. To be given the gift of working with my hands has been the best gift ever!
Today I honor my Dad…RIP (I know you are both watching!)
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Houseplants – The Complete Guide
Houseplants…what would we do without them? No matter the season, whether it’s to clean the air or add a pop of green, houseplants are the gift that keeps on giving. Houseplants – The Complete Guide to Choosing, Growing and Caring for Indoor Plants by Lisa Eldred Steinkopf provides a wealth of information. User-friendly, easy to read, and offering tips on tools to plant selections it is truly a great book to have on hand.
Now that the winter holiday season is over, the tree is down and we are settling into nesting, a houseplant is the instant pick-me-up. What kind, how do we care for it, can I report my current houseplant? Lise Eldred Steinkopf covers these topics and more in her new book. If you visit a garden center right now, this is usually what you see…
or tons of these…
Did you know that there are so many more options? First things first. How are your existing houseplants doing? Are the roots protruding out of the bottom? are the leaves yellowing? How is the lighting? Did you consider how lighting changes from season to season? Are you over or underwatering? Is this the right time to transplant or re-pot? Does the bigger is always better rule useful when repotting? If any of these questions have stumped you, this is the book for you.
Lisa explains how to know when to root prune existing plants as well as how t do so effectively. This is one of the first things to consider when reviving existing houseplants. Pot size to enhance and not interfere with the health of existing houseplants is key after root pruning.
Beautiful photos share what to look for when root pruning. Watering can be the life or death of a houseplant, so knowing the how to’s are very important as well. One of the tips mentioned was the act of immersion as a form of hydrating houseplants. I tend to do this once a month during the winter due to the dry indoor air of household heat. My houseplants thank me with beautiful leaves all winter long.
Lisa even shares a great tip on how to keep your plants hydrated and alive while on vacation – and it is so easy! Here’s a tip – save those clear plastic bags.
Fertilize or not to fertilize – that is always a big question when it comes to houseplant health. One of the BEST houseplant tips offered in this book is in this chapter. I will not divulge the secret but knowing your plant is crucial. Lighting is also key to keeping your houseplants alive and well. I have lost many begonias in my life, all because I loved the leaf in the store. Had I paid attention to the lighting needs required for them to thrive, my collection would be quite large!
The author even delves into propagation, grooming and creating awesome environments for houseplant success. This is a great chapter as I for one cannot stand brown tipped leaves – especially in the winter. Knowing what to do about this issue and many others like yellowing leaves are environmental and easily solved.
Know where you are purchasing your houseplants from. It is easy to bring tainted, bug or disease-ridden houseplants into your home. Purchasing from reputable resources is your best bet. Lisa shares what best practices are that help keep your existing plants healthy just in case a pest wandered in on that new houseplant unnoticed. Once again, great pictures that are up close and personal sharing the little things we might otherwise miss. Hint – purchase a pretty magnifying glass…you will want to use it. (I did!)
The best part of this book?
The sections labeled “Easy To Grow “, “Moderately Easy To Grow” and “Challenging to Grow”.
I love a good challenge, so I am trying a plant from the “Challenging to Grow” list. Wish me luck!
If you need a pick me up, have a gift card burning a hole in your pocket. a break from the seed catalogs, or just need confidence in growing as we nest over the winter, you need this book. I highly recommend Houseplants – The Complete Guide to Choosing, Growing and Caring for Indoor Plants by Lis Eldred Steinkopf . A great resource we can use as we nest over the winter months and prepare for our next season.
byBunny Mellon – Lady Gardener, American Icon
Bunny Mellon, a Lady Gardener, American Style Legend and a mysterious jewel box to many. Holding memories of things that would mold her into the iconic legend that she became.
What a wonderful book that details the life and times of Rachel Lowe Lambert Lloyd Mellon, better known to the world as “Bunny” Mellon. Loving flowers and nature as a child, Bunny touched many landscapes, creating magnificent gardens of note. At 51 years of age, President Kennedy asked Bunny if she would create a rose garden for him to enjoy. Initially taken aback, Bunny answered yes and allowed her creative juices to lead her in the right direction.
Bunny Mellon’s grandfather encouraged her to connect with the land. Arthur Lowe provided Bunny with a small plot of land to experiment with her passion – gardening. The two of them created a dialog that shared the joys of gardening and nature. This was a bond that Bunny cherished and one she continued through the written word when she was not by his side. Sketching the latest small bloom or a fallen leaf – it was the simple pleasures that gave Bunny joy.
Known for a few of her eccentric traits, Bunny wanted a crisp, but time-worn look on the things that she loved. This was practiced not just in the house, but also in the garden. In the Mellon Garden, Bunny wanted everything just so…and she made sure that it was. Bunny Mellon was also a sister-friend to Jacqueline Kennedy. They were like two peas in a pod and the external world did not matter when they were together.
Bunny Mellon also cared about people. Aware of the trouble her father’s business caused in Arkansas, Bunny tuned into social issues when she wasn’t embracing gardening. If Bunny liked you, she was your friend to the end. Many stories were shared about her loyalty upon her death. A collector of children’s books and fairy tales, Bunny’s world was colorful, bumpy, and definitely before it’s time. Twice married, Bunny became a step Mom and a wife at just the right time. Paul Mellon, Bunny’s husband was happily envious of the passion Bunny had for nature and gardening. Ever the gardener, no matter what she was up against, Bunny Mellon did it with style and grace.
There are many interesting facts that the award-winning author, Meryl Gordon, shares throughout the pages of this easy to digest book. The Mellon family entrusted Meryl Gordon to share the life and times of Bunny Mellon. Tastefully written, Bunny Mellon comes to life in the pages of this book. Humanizing aristocracy can sometimes be difficult. Meryl Gordon has eloquently shared the good, the mysterious and the questionable that made Bunny Mellon the iconic woman that she was.
Oh to be able to touch the books in her library. At 103 years old, I am certain that Bunny took many things to the grave. I am glad that we at least have more insight on who Bunny Mellon was.
I am giving away 2 copies of this book on Saturday, October 28. Like the Cottage In the Court Facebook page, follow my blog, and comment on the blog why this book would be of interest to you.
Teri, Cottage In the Court
WE HAVE OUR WINNER’S!! Linda and Carol…check your email!! Thank you to all who took the time to read and respond to this #GIVEAWAY! I hope you continue to follow and share, as there will be more #GIVEAWAYS as well as thoughts on all things beautiful.
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