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It's About Buds, Not Bucks For Valentines

Photo by Monica Brandies

Instead of a bouquet, try an amaryllis for Valentine’s Day. It’s best to buy one already growing but not yet in bloom.

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MONICA BRANDIES

Tribune correspondent

Published: February 11, 2009

BRANDON - The global economic downturn that has touched so many areas of society now threatens romance.
Valentine's Day approaches, the day when Cupid meets commerce, and even the poorest of paramours is expected to come up with a present.

Valentine's Day can be stressful, especially for men. Not all are experts in hearts and flowers. Finding the right gift can be difficult. The current economic climate won't help the situation. If it's tough to choose wisely when the economy is good, how much worse is it when the economy is bad?

There is a Web site, www.savedbythebud.com, that's devoted to helping clueless guys use flowers to impress women — and helping them buy exciting floral gifts on a budget.

"Flowers are always a great choice," the site says. But it's not necessary to "blow the bankroll to find a girl-pleasing gift."

I've sifted out some of best of the ideas and adjusted them to Florida. The site says, and it is true, that "it's the buds, not the bucks that count." Actually, it is the thought put into action that counts most of all.

Tips include choosing one fabulous, perfect flower over a bulked-up bouquet. Properly presented, "one or two wisely chosen stems can be just as cool a gift as two dozen — if your presentation is charming."
Using containers you already have is another good way to stretch a gift budget.

By not spending money on a new container, you can put more into flowers or dinner. Anything that holds water can serve as a vase. Vases, of course, are superb in this role. A pitcher is also perfect. So are coffee mugs, drinking glasses, beer steins and broad-based glass or plastic containers of all sorts.
The best finds might be found cruising the aisles of hardware stores, vintage shops, junk shops, thrift stores, flea markets and import shops.

To convert other containers that are not water-tight into vases, slip a vial, jar, can or thick plastic bag inside. Consider small glittery evening purses, old-fashioned creamers, cloth or leather satchels, old glasses, flour or tea bins and anything enameled - buckets, pitchers and teapots.

The suggestion to raid mom's or grandma's house for cool, economical vases is certainly a good one, as long as you check with the owner for a final OK. Most of us grandparents are glad enough to pass on some of our excess treasures.

Better still, in our area, you can harvest some fresh flowers from mom's or grandma's garden. Again, asking permission is essential, but most of us would help the giver find the best blooms — and that would apply to children giving gifts to parents, as well as beaus giving to their girls.

Using found objects as creative containers for floral gifts is another good idea. The site has some creative ideas, from baked-bean cans to small rooted plants in a muffin tin.

"It might take some arts and crafts efforts. What's the problem? You're a kindergarten graduate. Right?" the site says.

Well, some of us aren't, and some of us have gathered too many inhibitions in the decades since, but s

Savedbythebud.com offers extensive information on buying and caring for cut and potted flowers. It also has how-to videos, so even the most horticulturally challenged can learn the ins and outs of floral gifts.

The site was created by the Netherlands Flower Bulb Information Center/North America of Danby, Vt., at www.bulb.com.

Most of the cut and potted bulb flowers offered for sale in the United .States. and Canada are domestically grown from Dutch bulbs.

Today's Pick

African or cape daisies, Osteospermum, are considered basic freeway daisies in Mediterranean Mediteranean climates such as in California, where they spread by root runners and are self-seeding.

There are about about 50 species and many hybrids. We don't often see them in Florida, but I found some in a local Home Depot next to the Shasta daisies. Because daisies are one of my favorite flowers, and we seldom find plants for sale, I got one of each.

I brought mine home and planted them side-by-side, but I later moved the Shasta because the African daisy clearly out-bloomed it, and the flowers were prettier with their dark-blue centers and white rays with undersides shaded a light lavender.

Both plants lived through the January frosts uncovered and kept on blooming. The flowers on the shasta last a bit longer. I keep deadheading both to keep them looking neater. I expect they will keep blooming until the summer rains do them in.

The African daisy has succulent leaves, and I plan to take some cuttings. It comes in many colors and blooms best when nights are cool.

Give them full sun. They like desert conditions. Don't overfeed or they'll stop blooming. They will die in pots if underwatered, but are more likely to rot if overwatered. Mine has been happy in the ground since early January.

African daisy also is sometimes used as a common name for Gerberas and Arctotis species.

Now's The Time To ...

•Let you know that I had a nice list of gardens to visit before the freeze, but most of the gardeners want me to wait now for recovery. If you have a garden that came through the freeze without damage, we all need to learn from it. E-mail me about it.

•Although I've advised you to wait before pruning away frost damage, if you have plants that needed considerable reduction in size before the freeze, go ahead and prune. On most plants, it is best to only remove one third at a time, but I took much more from the Turk's cap bushes that were crowding the back yard path and am working on the huge jasmine that was 12 feet tall and wide and doesn't need all that room. I've still left some extra in case of further frosts.

Monica Brandies can be reached at monicabrandies@yahoo.com.

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