Cut flowers

This year the National Garden Bureau is featuring summer snapdragon, Angelonia spp., as their annual plant of the year. The genus Angelonia encompasses about 30 species, native to tropical and subtropical regions from Mexico to Argentina. In the wild, they are often found in damp areas but once established, they can be quite drought tolerant.  

Valentine's Day is only a few days away! If you're planning to send the traditional red roses, the sooner you order them, the better. But be aware; the laws of supply and demand mean they'll be rather pricey at holiday time.

Even when it's not a holiday, flowers are such a special treat - especially in the middle of winter – so you really want to make them last as long as possible. Follow these easy tips to get the most days of enjoyment from those beautiful Valentine blooms.

Winter days may be gloomy and dull, but you can give your home a touch of spring by forcing landscape branches to bloom indoors. Spring-flowering trees and shrubs set their flower buds the previous fall. Once the buds have been exposed to cold for several months (usually by mid-January), branches can be cut and forced to bloom early indoors - giving you the opportunity to enjoy a touch of spring.

Flowers blooming in your garden may be dried for use in arrangements this fall and winter. Drying methods are very easy and the results will surprise you if you have not tried your skill at preserving flowers before. For your efforts you can have an excellent collection of materials for making arrangements, wreaths, and decorating your home long after the flowers in the garden are done blooming.

Adding color to cut flowers is a fun project for adults and kids. You can add color to white carnations by making a simple dye solution.

Purchase several white carnations from your local floral outlet.

To make your dye solution, dissolve one ounce of food coloring in one pint of warm water. Then add one teaspoon of sugar. Place the dye solution in a clear glass vase.

Immerse the fresh cut flower stems in about three inches of dye solution.

This year the National Garden Bureau features the sunflower as its annual flower of the year. Sunflowers originated in the Americas and domestic seeds dating back to 2100 BC have been found in Mexico. Native Americans grew sunflowers as a crop, and explorers eventually brought the flowers to Europe in the 1500s.

Monarda is a genus that has a long history of being used as a medicinal herb. As the common name Bee Balm implies, it has also been used to soothe bee stings. 

But did you know the Oswego Indian tribe used this plant to make an herbal tea and they taught the early American settlers how to do so as well? This just happened to come in very handy following the Boston Tea Party. As the settlers revolted against the British tax on tea, they drank tea made from Monarda instead, thus thumbing their noses at the British and their taxes. 

All-America Selections (AAS) announces three flower award winners – ‘ Profusion Red Yellow Bicolor ’ zinnia , ‘ Kelos Candela Pink’ celosia and ‘Sweet Daisy Birdy’ shasta daisy . To see pictures of these and other great plants visit the All-America Selection website.

Maybe you’re like me, in that you work all day and aren’t around to enjoy your landscape and gardens much during the day. Or maybe you’re a night owl and, when the weather is nice, enjoy the hours after sundown in your gardens. Whatever the reason, there are ways to increase your garden’s appeal during the nighttime hours.

This year theNational Garden Bureaufeatures Snapdragon, Antirrhinum majus, as its annual flower of the year. Snapdragon is often thought of as an old-fashioned flower, evoking childhood memories of a grandparents’ garden. But snapdragons are an easy to grow, multi-purpose plant, which add great color, fragrance and pollinator habitat to any garden. If you haven’t used snapdragons in your gardens in recent years, give them another try. You’ll be happy you did.