A bulb, when purchased, is an underground root structure in its dormant state. Made up of layered flesh, like an onion, it holds a shoot inside. Once planted, a bulb stays dormant until the Spring sun warms and softens the soil, causing the roots to grow. The roots take in nutrients and water from the damp Spring ground, and the shoot pushes up through the bulb’s papery top layer. (Bulbs also contain “lateral” buds, which eventually form new plants.) After the flower blooms and fades, the dying leaves feed the bulb, which makes the bulb strong for the next year. When the weather tuns cold, the bulb goes dormant again.
( As seen in October 2011 issue of Real Simple magazine- written by Madaline Sparks– Illustration by Wendy Hollender)
For more information on bulb plants, including forcing different varieties, please see www.realsimple.com.
Mistletoe, or Phoradendrum Seritonum, has been a symbol of love and fertility for thousands of years, having once been used in Druid ceremonies and then evolving into “kissing balls” in 18th century England - under the mistletoe kissing ball, it was bad luck for a lady to refuse a gentleman’s kiss.* While we don’t advocate forcing your object of affection to kiss you under the threat of a years’ worth of bad luck, hanging mistletoe in doorways is a long-standing tradition. Tack sprigs of it outside your front door on New Years’ Eve to welcome the new year and guard against evil spirits like the Celts, or hang it above a newborn baby’s crib to prevent fairies from snatching him and putting a changeling in his place – new holiday mamas take note!
Trick or Treat!! As Halloween approaches, beware the goblins lurking … in some of the more unique flowering plants out there!
The Titan Arum, which grows in the rainforests of Sumatra, is a flowering plant with the largest unbranched inflorescence in the world.
Due to its odor, which is reminiscent of the smell of a decomposing mammal, the titan arum is characterized as a carrion flower, and is also known as the “corpse flower”, or “corpse plant”.
A native to Northern California and Oregon, the Cobra Lily was discovered in 1841 by the botanist William D. Brackenridge at Mount Shasta.
This plant is designated as uncommon due to its rarity in the field. A carnivorous plant, it is also called the California Pitcher plant, or Cobra Plant, and it is the sole member of the genus Darlingtonia in the family Sarraceniaceae.
The name Cobra Lily stems from the resemblance of its tubular leaves to a rearing cobra, complete with a forked leaf—ranging from yellow to purplish-green—that resemble fangs or a serpent’s tongue.
The genus Tacca, which includes Bat flowers and Arrowroot, consists of ten species of flowering plants in the order Dioscoreales, native to tropical regions of Africa, Australia, and south-eastern Asia.
Several species are cultivated as ornamental plants for their bold foliage and large flowers. The well-known T. chantrieri goes by the names of Black Bat Flower, Bat-head Lily, Devil Flower or Cat’s Whiskers. Tacca integrifolia is known as the Purple or White Bat Flower.
References include Wikipedia and the Daily Mail Reporter-UK
This informative article by Daniel DiClerico in the March issue of Garden Design explains the diversity and complexity of the Rhododendrons genus.
def: Rhododendron (from Ancient Greek rhódon “rose”, and déndron “tree”) is a genus of over 1000 species of woody plants in the heath family, most with showy flowers. It includes the plants known to gardeners as azaeleas.
Floral designers sometimes employ a design technique using gravel in clear glass to create a Modern or Urban style floral arrangement. We commonly refer to the ingredient used by the generic term “river rock”.
If you have ever been curious about the “river rock” used in your gift, check out this informative article from March 7, 2011 issue of Garden Design, www.gardendesign.com.
Greg Campbell of The Garden Distrist in Memphis, TN, www.gardendistrictmemphis.com, demonstrates how to create a simple, elegant monobotanical topiary arrangement in the Winter Issue of Flower Magazine, www.flowermag.com.
Member Statue of Design in San Antonio, TX, www.statueofdesign.com, features a simple and elegant standing sympathy spray in the corporate photos section on their website. Suspended in the center of a tripod made of 6 foot Bamboo Poles, the soothing combination of yellow Cymbidium, white Dendrobiums, white and green Calla Lilies and varied tropical leaves is a lovely variation on the usual Sympathy presentation.
With care, this living 12” wreath of mixed echeveria can last for a very long time. Soak in an inch of water whenever the leaves start to pucker. It can hang ornamentally for months or be taken apart for the plants to be replanted into pots. To find this lovely creation see, vivaterra.com. As seen in December 2010 issue of Real Simple magazine.
We discovered this nifty innovator in the Sept/Oct Australian Vogue Living issue. Joost Bakker of Urban Crop provides Melburnians with living, breathing flowers and herbs planted in a nutrient-rich soil that is mostly organic waste. His bagged-in-soil beauties come with their root systems intact – they still have their life source with them – providing the recipients with clean air and nutrient- packed leaves. Bakker’s underlying message is to make cities worldwide work as crop sources. Currently, his product can be found in Melbourne’s bars, cafes, book and bike shops. His ultimate goal – deliver the message to the world!
San Franciscco Radio station KALW’S Katie Jennings went to the San Francisco Flower Mart, the biggest of the five remaining flower markets in the country, to talk with growers about their changing business.
Ms. Jennings spoke with Nick Neve,who, like his father before him and his grandfather before him, is a rose grower. He lives and works on his family’s land in Petaluma.
With care, this living 12” wreath of mixed echeveria can last for a very long time. Soak in an inch of water whenever the leaves start to pucker. It can hang ornamentally for months or be taken apart for the plants to be replanted into pots. To find this lovely creation see, 
