• Plans for pretty spring flowers in containers

  By now, some of the plants in your early spring pots are looking a little bedraggled; the kale has bolted, the bulbs are done. Many of the annuals that will survive the brutal heat of July and August may not yet be pot-worthy. Bridge the gap with plants that love the milder temperatures and long days of late spring.

  Plant a pot from scratch or just pop in replacements for the spent plants in your late-winter containers. Most annuals don’t grow much beyond the original root ball during winter and early spring, so they can be wiggled out pretty easily. Thoroughly wet the root ball of the new plant and squeeze it to fit into the remaining hole, removing extra soil from the pot if needed.

  Leave the snapdragons, alyssum, dianthus, pansies and violas in your container if you have some. These plants are more widely available in the fall because they survive our winters. But they really shine in late spring and early summer, growing taller or fuller and spilling over the pot’s edge.

  tags: life_travel, snapdragons, pansies, violas

• Send mom flowers and a gas card

  Next week, thoughtful sons and daughters will discover that expensive gasoline has found a target they can’t afford to scrimp on: Mom. Some florists have increased delivery fees for flowers because of escalating gas prices. It’s a repercussion that goes beyond the pump - from banner planes soaring in the sky to mulch tamped in the ground.

  Rising gas costs act like a tax embedded in the prices of goods and services, said economist Joseph Seneca, a Rutgers University professor at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy.

  “It affects us as consumers; it affects us as employees and as taxpayers, and it becomes the lightning rod for problems with the economy,” he said.

  Mix in higher food costs with falling employment and home sales, and the combination worries consumers, he said.

  “All the big, powerful, macro forces come down to the effect on flower deliveries - absolutely,” Seneca said. “They’re all related.”

  tags: flowers, mom

Posted on May 2nd, 2008 by Smell The Roses
Filed under: flowers | No Comments »

• Fruits, flowers and fresh air help one gain eternal youth

  A university graduate joined our office recently. She is a sunny, youthful and beautiful girl. As her surname is Yang (sun), we call her Angel Sunny. Within a month of joining, Angel Sunny had launched a campaign to “freeze one’s youth”.

  At first, her other three young workmates - Liu, Deng and Wang - were skeptical. One day, we had lunch much later than usual. Before Director Yao had emptied the bottle of beer with me, Angel Sunny had finished a small bowl of rice with vinegar-fried cabbage. She then took out a big apple from her handbag and chewed on it.

  “A woman is like an apple - if you don’t store it in the fridge while it’s fresh, it will be too late in just a few days. No super-fridge can make a dried apple fresh again.”

  I paid little attention to her apple theory. But the other women urged her to go on. She continued: “To freeze our youth means to store our youthful face in the fridge, so that it will come out fresh as new many years later.”

  She sounded like a cosmetics agent. But she had her friends’ full attention. What was their exact plan? Of course, none of the men bothered to listen.

  The next day, it was apparent that the project was no longer Sunny Angel’s private business. Liu, one of the ladies, arrived early to boil water and fill the glasses for the others. When all the ladies had arrived, they took out a banana and munched it slowly with the boiled water, which had now cooled.

  Next, Director Yao’s cigarettes were banned. Barely a second before the director lit his first cigarette, Deng protested: “Director, obviously you don’t know how much harm your smoke is doing to our delicate skin. Our efforts will be wasted if you don’t find another place to smoke.” The director walked out, leaving the ladies very happy.

  tags: fruits, flowers, youth, fresh

• Celebrating 20 years of art, flowers

  The Art League of Hilton Head Island will be host 20th annual Art & Flower Festival, and a special retrospective celebration is planned. This year, Sea Pines Country Club will host the event with a luncheon at 1 p.m. April 27. It was the innovative idea of Nancy Wittke in the 1980s to combine art and flowers because she felt flowers brought art to life.

  Walter Greer has been chosen as the honored artist. Many years ago Greer had the vision to become Hilton Head Island’s first resident artist. He enticed artists to visit, and thus pioneered the first art colony on the island.His featured painting is a serene landscape titled “The Path to Mullet Hole.”Mary Hunter Crose will create his floral display.

  Other participating artists will be Evelyn B. Ballantine, Terry Brennan, John Diamond, Wendy Dixon, Jo Dye, Ray Ellis, Sheri Farbstein, Charles Gruppé, Ted Jordan, Vickie Jourdan, Dolores Johnson, Ann Light, Louanne Laroche, Candice Lovely,Betty B. Luntey, Judy McElynn, Joyce and Don Nagel, Lynn Parrott, Suzanne Plowden, Tom Ratliffe, Doris Shay, Sara Tiffany, Kathy Tortorella, Irene Williamson and Wittke.

  Most of the paintings will be for sale. The Shore Notes will perform, and Palmettoes will introduce spring fashions interspersed with retro fashions by Joanna. There will be a raffle including a giclée print by Ray Ellis.

  tags: art, paintings, festival, flower, hilton

Posted on April 17th, 2008 by Smell The Roses
Filed under: flowers | No Comments »