STOKES BIRDING BLOG: How To Do A Backyard Birding Big Year

STOKES BIRDING BLOG: How To Do A Backyard Birding Big Year

Rose Selections for Romantic Valentine's Day Gifts

Rose Selections for Romantic Valentine's Day Gifts
By Sudhir Aggarwal
Red roses symbolize Valentine's Day. So, while it's completely natural for you to go ahead and choose a red rose to express your sentiments, what other choices do you have? You will be surprised to know that over one-third of the roses sold on this day are of another color than the ubiquitous RED!
When it comes to romantic Valentine's Day Gifts, a staggering 62% of women worldwide have shown preference for different shades such as White, Yellow, Peach, and Pink. According to the recent trends, other emerging choices are bi-color, orange, and lavender roses. In keeping with the high demand of roses, enthusiasts are growing close to 120 different color varieties to choose from with enhanced features, which includes,

• Enhanced Fragrances
• Better Bloom Size
• Improved Shape
• Great Stem Length

Whether you are going for a standard flower delivery or same day Valentine's flowers to desired destination, your choices today are immense. Some new shades of red to choose from include majestic scarlet, bright raspberry, orange-kissed hues, or velvety-dark red. Similarly, bridal traditional pink, corals, apricot, peaches, and hot pinks are some of the modern choices in the gorgeous pink shade. Those who want can choose roses in buttery or crisp lemon hues, trendy two tones and golden yellows.
For that, special man in your life women can always make the best impressions with bold yellow roses or something delicious in white especially if it is your very first romantic gift. Nowadays, there is an emphasis on neutral tones especially in home interior decor. In this regard, lush cream or lush white roses prove to be a perfect gift. Choose from, ivory, ultra white and champagne lineages for Valentine's Day roses delivery. Do you know what makes roses so special?
These flowers are like a fine wine delightful to cultivate and savor! So immanence is the color choices related to roses today that it has become quite difficult to track the inherent meaning associated with every shade. Now it is your sentiment related to the gift you are sending that makes the inherent meaning clear to the receiver. Your emotions and feelings matter today above everything else and this is the only criterion that they need to concern yourself with!
Besides the much in demand roses whose popularity refuses to go down, fresh mixed arrangements is also a great choice by modern standards. Are you looking to order flowers online for delivery next day? So why don't you go for a great combination of tulips, irises, or lilies. Compact blossom clusters consisting of open garden and sweetheart roses, freesia, hydrangea, hyacinth, with the rich texture make great impressions. Turn on the heat this Valentine's Day with red infusions right from bright red to scarlet and amber. Also popular are pink shades from hot magenta's to soft pastels.
If you want to follow the latest trends and flower gift giving here's what you should do,

• Experiment all you want with colors
• Indulge the senses for best choice
• Try fusion arrangements

So just, go ahead take your pick..
Same day Valentines flowers with popular and reliable online store of DelhiFlora. So,order online Now!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sudhir_Aggarwal
http://EzineArticles.com/?Rose-Selections-for-Romantic-Valentines-Day-Gifts&id=8851574

Zombie Gnomes: Apocalypse in your garden - CNET

Came across this article looking around.

Zombie Gnomes: Apocalypse in your garden - CNET

Reminded me of my own post from a few years back. Should have bought some of theses to throw in the garden and take pictures and change the name to Rose Garden Zombie Apocalypse!

Rose Garden Apocalypse?

Roses For Christmas - Gift Ideas For Rose Lovers

Roses For Christmas - Gift Ideas For Rose Lovers
By David Leach

It is said that one of Cleopatra's gifts to Mark Anthony was a bathing room full of scented rose petals, strewn across the floor to a depth of three feet! Personally I'm not quite that extravagant or possess such a large rose garden to produce so many fresh petals but I do appreciate the sentiment.

Christmas in the northern hemisphere means we look out over our rose beds of bare canes and some of us miss the summer blooms, the vibrant colors and the delicate scents.

Christmas gifts for rose lovers can help maintain the sentiment and bring joy to an otherwise heavy heart. To help you with your gift giving plans, here are a variety of gift ideas for the rose lovers on your 'nice' list.

Use Your Own Roses

If you have had the foresight to save and dry some of your own roses, why not use them to create a summer memory? A dry rose bud centerpiece or small door wreath both look nice, or how about using a variety of dried petals and a cinnamon stick to make up a potpourri which can easily be presented in a small wooden box topped with a rose bud.

Use Your Rose Hips

These wonderful little berries can be the source of many an unusual and welcomed gift. Boiled they can become a rose hip tea, rich in Vitamin C or added to your door wreath of dried rose buds they complete the Christmas color theme. My Aunt has the best idea however, she uses them to make rose-hip jelly. Now wouldn't a pot of that go down well at Christmas time?

Get Crafty with Petals

Dried rose petals, your own or purchased, can be used in paper-making, candle-making and soap -making. They bring color and some scent to all these crafts and their value can easily be enhanced by adding a card with dried and pressed rose buds. Gifts like these become even more poignant if the card noted that the petals being used had been cultivated in your own rose bed!

Crystal and Glass

Okay, so your not into crafts and you forgot to collect and dry your own roses this year. No Problem. What about a single rose made in crystal or a small tiffany style lamp with a rose design motif or, my favorite, a crystal rose shaped pendant? There are some stunning designs available that incorporate rose shapes and colors and these would be perfect for your rose loving friends.

Books and Stuff

Actually I really like to receive a yearly calendar full of rose photographs at this time of year. Books such as '100 English Roses for the American Garden' or any of the Peter Beales books make good choices. How about 'A celebration of Roses - An Illustrated Anthology of Verse and Prose' if you prefer a more lyrical outlook, or 'And Roses for the Table - A Garden of Recipes' for the budding chef on your list. Don't forget the notepaper and envelopes with printed rose buds or the yearly subscription to the 'American Rose Society'. Then there is another favorite of mine, a yearly subscription to my favorite magazine 'The Rose'.

Dabble in Oils

Not painting so much, although a nice framed picture of your favorite bloom would be a great idea, but rose oils. It's worth considering for it embraces both ends of the spending spectrum. Rosewater is both useful, fine scented and rather inexpensive, while rose attar (true rose oil!) is both exotic and costly. Who wouldn't like to receive even a small gift in this category?

Small Tools for the Spring

How nice to be reminded that spring will be around again and you will have a new tool to help you produce those superb blooms. My most used small tool is a water probe which is both inexpensive and invaluable. How about small pruners or a sharpening kit for old pruners? The ultimate gift in this category however is a pair of rose gardening gloves, the ones that are thorn proof and have long sleeves, covering the lower arms from scratches. These would really bring a smile to your rose lover friend.

When I was a child I always envied our relatives in Australia at Christmas time, because they got to spend Christmas at the beach, but now I envy them because they have a full rose garden of blooms at Christmas while I, living in the Northern Hemisphere, stare out at bare rose canes. I know the spring is coming so I go hunting for Christmas gifts for my rose loving friends and somehow this bridges the winter gap. Hopefully these ideas can help you with your gifts for your rose loving friends.

Oh, and don't forget, reminding them to get a tetanus shot every ten years is probably the most useful of all gifts, but of course it is a little difficult to wrap!

You can learn all about the crafts mentioned above at: http://www.rose-works.com

Crystal, Books, Oils and Small Tools can be seen at: http://www.rose-works.com/rose-works-store.html

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=David_Leach
http://EzineArticles.com/?Roses-For-Christmas---Gift-Ideas-For-Rose-Lovers&id=1676126

Winterizing Roses

Winterizing Roses
By Adolf Moser

Winter protection for roses starts in late summer early fall.

About six weeks ahead of the first frost date in your region you have to stop encouraging your roses to grow.

Otherwise, new tender, soft shoots are caught by the frost and will easily be killed.

To slow down growth in late summer, you can do that in two ways

• Stop feeding your roses six weeks before the first frost date
• Stop deadheading the roses and let hips develop

These actions slow growth and encourage dormancy. The plants will start to prepare for hibernation.

Winter Care For Roses

When temperatures reach 10 degrees F or less, most of the roses need some kind of winter protection. The harsher your winters, the more you have to think about it. Choosing and planting roses in a proper way will protect your flowers upfront.

• Selecting winter hardy roses will reduce frost damage even in very cold regions
• Planting roses with bud unions 2 inches beneath the soil level will protect the roots and the bud union
• Securing roses against cold and wet winds will protect them against rocking loose
• Mounding soil, mulch or other insulating materials over the base of the plants will protect them from freezing

In areas with dependable snow cover less winter protection can be used than in areas with less snowfall. Snow is a superb insulator.

Winter Protection For Roses

Mounding soil may be too much work for some gardeners. That is why we should talk about some other methods of winterizing roses.

Winter rose collar: One of the best winter protection for roses is to use a winter rose collar. It eliminates die back by drying out of the canes, is easy to install and can be used season after season.

Landscaping blankets, frost covers: Frost covers are installed in seconds and stow easily. They come with several different sizes and are perfect to protect tender shrubs and hybrid teas.

Other methods to protect your plants would be to apply sawdust, pinewood-spray or Styrofoam cones on the base of the plants. Personally, I prefer the easy rose gardening way and use a winter rose collar or frost covers.

Dormant oil spray: I recommend spraying the rose canes with an organic dormant oil spray. This will kill pests and diseases. Otherwise they will overwinter with your roses and bother your plants in spring again.

Hope I could help a little bit with my easy rose gardening tips.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Adolf_Moser
http://EzineArticles.com/?Winterizing-Roses&id=8837498