Garden Plot

Get Ready for Valentine's Day

MEET MIKE! Montgomery County Home & Remodeling Expo Saturday February 13th; 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Conference Center at the Universities at Shady Grove; Rockville, MD Mike will answer your toughest garden questions; try and Stump the Chump! Click here for more information.

Capital Home & Garden Show Sunday February 28th Dulles Expo Center; Chantilly, VA Mike will appear at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. on Sunday only. (The show itself runs from the 25th through the 28th). Click here form more information.

Guys! Next Sunday is Valentine's Day! Do you Know Where Your Flowers are?

Valentine's Day is only a week from tomorrow, GUYS! (Subtle hint; subtle hint.) I specify ‘guys' because every woman out there already knows this, but half of the men listening just went, "Oh really?", making this one of the most important gardening tips they'll hear all season!

Get Orchidly Inspired at the USBG—For Free!

One great way to get ready for St. Valentine is to visit the U.S. Botanic Garden's new orchid exhibit, which opens today and runs through April 11th. "Orchids: A Cultural Odyssey" will feature a mythological Sri Lankan creature made entirely of orchids, a ‘living wall' of Phalaenopsis (the easiest orchid to care for in your home; hint, hint) and other dazzling displays incorporating the Botanic Garden's collection of over five thousand of the fetching flowers.

The U.S. Botanic Garden is open 10 to 5 every day, admission is always free, and they only put on their orchid show every other year—so make plans to see it now. (It may even help you forget the cold and snow for a few hours!)

Then Maybe Give an Orchid!

(Be Brave Guys—this one is a tough little plant) If you'd like to do something floral other than the traditional dozen roses, consider arranging an orchid. I say "arranging" because you don't want to wait until the day before St. Val's, when everything will be well picked over. So choose a nice phalaenopsis, or moth orchid, soon. Moth orchids are beautiful, the easiest orchids to care for, and the longest blooming type. Pick a plant that only has a few flowers fully open at the top and lots of big unopened buds below and all of those buds will slowly open up in sequence and provide months of beautiful bloom. That's right, months! Don't kill it and a flower or two could still be open in August. (Conversely, you should pass on a plant with all open flowers and no buds; that orchid is way past its peak, and will only be in bloom another week or so.)

If you can't bring it home without ruining the surprise, see if the store will put a ‘sold' tag on it and hold it safely for you. (Be sure to specify that you want that exact plant, not a lesser-budded one of the same type.) Or find a ‘sitter' and just put it on their kitchen counter or dining room table until the big day. Don't put it in a draft, near a heater or in direct sunlight. You don't even need to water it yet, although the plant would love a morning misting of its leaves.

Even later on, don't fuss with it! After Valentine's Day, just soak the pot in a bowl of water once a week, mist the leaves (every morning if you can) and keep the plant in normal room light. Really! I'll explain why next week—and what to do when it tells you its ready to re-bloom.

Red Tulips = "I Love You"

Before you reserve that fifty buck bouquet of cut roses for Valentine's Day next Sunday, be aware that roses only mean ‘love' in general in The Floral Code, ‘the secret language of flowers' that conveys hidden meanings without the use of actual words. Red TULIPS are the Floral Code for "I Love You", and were often used to express those feelings in instances when the words themselves would have been forbidden.

You'll see plenty of cut tulips for sale, but you can often find potted live tulips as well at this time of year, with their bulbs still attached underground. Keep the flowering plants cool and out of direct sunlight indoors to prolong the show. Then move the pots outside after the flowers fade and feed the greenery once or twice with a gentle organic fertilizer over the next month or so.

Keep the pot watered until the greenery dies down naturally. Then put the pot somewhere you'll find it again in the fall (don't water it) and plant the bulbs outdoors after Halloween. Red tulips are pretty reliable at perennializing, and so your love may return every Spring!

Yes Virginia, there are GREEN Red Roses

(and Tulips, and...) If you and/or your rose-ee are of a green-minded bent, consider Eco-Friendly posies for next weekend. Here's three kinds of flowers that do good as well as look good. Organic cut flowers, of course, are grown without the use of man-made chemicals; the plants are fed and any pests and diseases controlled or prevented using naturally occurring materials. Organic Bouquet is one big mail-order supplier, and they'll be taking orders until the 11th.

"Veriflora" certification signifies that the plants were sustainably grown, with respect shown for the environment at all stages. You'll find more info about their programs at www.veriflora.com/.

And finally, the "Fair Trade" label certifies that that the workers and growing communities benefited financially from your purchase of those posies. Fair Trade flowers are available at several big chains, likes Whole Foods and Sam's Club (now there's an odd couple!). Here's a link to some good ‘flower specific' Fair Trade info that contains all the retailers.

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