When it comes to flower garden ideas, many garden enthusiasts recommend the use of cuttings instead of seeds as planting materials for flower gardens. Growing plants from seeds may take a long time. You will need to wait for a few weeks or months before your plants will grow and start to bear flowers. Unfortunately, a huge percentage of men do not have the patience to wait for months to see a blooming flower garden. If you want to fill your home with plenty of colorful flowers, consider using cuttings as planting materials for your flower garden. Cuttings are easier to grow compared to seeds and they also bear flowers a lot faster.

Looking For Stem Cuttings In Flower Garden

Before you throw a lot of energies into looking for stem cuttings for your flower garden, you need to know that not all types of ornamental plants can grow from stem cuttings. Some flowering plants have to be grown from seeds rather than cuttings. To get ideas as which types of flowering plants can be grown from cuttings; you need to read a few books about ornamental plant growing. Find a book in the library on this topic and familiarize yourself with the different species of flower plants. Once you have some ideas as to which types of plants can be grown from stem cuttings, you may now start looking for stem cuttings for planting. The best place to look for stem cuttings for your flower garden is your local nursery or garden shop. If you have some friends who also have gardens, you may also ask them if they can give you some stem cuttings for planting. It might happen that you get a few stem cuttings from your friends for free. You can save a lot of money if you get some of your planting materials for free.

Planting Your Cuttings In Flower Garden

You need to prepare your flower garden plots well in advance. Remember that some types of plant cuttings deteriorate fast and if they are planted on the soil within a given period of time, they may dry up and die. To reduce the level of mortality of your cuttings, you need to plant them as soon as possible. You should also see to it that you water your cuttings regularly. Cuttings need water to grow roots. However, you should not put too much water into your flower garden. Too much water can make the soil soggy and inhospitable. Just put enough water into your flower garden to keep the soil moist and fertile.

I’ve lived in the city all my life.  I’m talking fast-paced, crowded, loud, apartment dwelling, city living.  Don’t get me wrong.The controlled madness of city life is something I always enjoyed.  I love the access to all sorts of activities and entertainment at my fingertips.But, I so love the color and frangrance of lovely flowers and picking up a bouquet of them before going home each night just isn't cutting it any more.  

 Recently, I’ve wanted to make some changes in my life.  Slow things down.  Stop and smell the roses, if you will.  Things have gotten too hectic at work and I want my home (yes, apartments are “home” for many of us) to be a relaxing, safe-haven for me to return to after a hard day at work. 

When I said, “Stop and smell the roses” earlier, I meant that literally.  I am very jealous of those people who have enough room in their yards for an outstanding flower garden.   This started me wondering why I can’t have it all.  Living in the city and tending to a flower garden. 

What to do, what to do!?  Then it came to me.  I could create my own flower garden out on the balcony of my apartment.  Don’t laugh!  This is do-able!Now I want to do some research, getting some help turning my drab balcony into a Garden of Eden.   

Now, I’m like many other single people today, who carefully budget their income, and I understood what an investment transforming my balcony would be.  I had to find pots and seeds that were cheap yet pots and seeds that added beauty.  I did a lot of scientific research to find the best flowers for the climate I live in, that would grow in the blazing sun of morning and shade in the afternoon, and would re-flower each spring … oh who am I kidding?I selected flowers, right off, based on my favorite color choices.  The Purple Coneflowers and Foxgloves both have beautiful shades of purple.  I made sure they both grow all summer and even into the early fall.  Luckily, they are easy to care for (the Coneflowers are even drought resistant).  After all, I don’t have a well developed “green thumb” yet.  I am just getting started. 

I found some really cool wrought iron planter brackets to place my pots into.The brackets I purchased can be hung right off of my balcony, which is made of wrought iron as well.  There is room for about five pots in it or space to just plant the seeds directly into the planter.Adjustable mounts for the flower pots I purchased are available in case I decide to add more single pots or hanging baskets in the future. 

There are so many choices out there!  I am thrilled it is springtime and I can get started on my new “garden” soon. 

A flower garden is a place of serenity where you can just get away from it all in your own backyard. There's nothing comparable to breathing in the soft fragrances of rose, jasmine and hyacinth, with the sun and wind working together to spread warmth onto your face. Blue skies and the soft rustle of leaves in the trees can bring a little bit of comfort and paradise to your life. Imagine, then, a splash of color catches your eye: a beautiful, dainty butterfly has found its way into your floral arrangement! This unexpected, yet pleasant surprise can become a daily occurrence if you plan and plant the flower varieties just right.

The flower varieties you choose will make a big difference. Planting larger groups of flowers will help butterflies notice them. Many gardeners start with a purple or bicolor butterfly bush and surround it with perennials. Consider the purple coneflower, black-eyed Susan, Brazilian verbena, daylily, catmint, lavender, phlox, goldenrod, ironweed plant, aster and sedum. Annual favorites for a butterfly-magnet flower garden include zinnias, marigolds, cosmos, sweet alyssum, cleome and lantana. These are the beauties of your garden, but you'll need to also be considerate of your larvae hosts. They like to snack on parsley, dill, bronze fennel, milk weed and nettle.

Once the flowers for your plant habitat are in place, take other environmental factors into consideration. Your precious butterflies want a floral wonderland, but also a place that is safe from wind, rain and predators, so try adding hedges and small, dense shrubs like honeysuckle or butterfly bushes; trellises or fences covered in passion vines or hops. Generous brush piles of bark, logs, rocks and leaves allow for hiding during winter months or stormy days. Even "organic" pesticides agitate the sensitive butterfly, so keep your guests protected from any chemical sprays or dust. Be sure your butterfly habitat has at least six hours of full sunshine, with flat rocks where they can bask in the sun to warm up before taking their early morning flights. Just like humans, bachelor butterflies also want a place to drink after work: mud puddles, shallow pans of damp sand and gravel or wet dirt all make ideal gathering spots. Rotting fruit, watermelon rinds and seeds are delicious nutrients that create a true butterfly nirvana.

Once you have the flower arrangement to entice butterflies, you may want to jumpstart the process by purchasing a few butterfly kits with live caterpillars. At www.butterfly-gifts.com/live-butterfly-kits.html, you can find painted ladies. At www.wardsci.com you can buy packages of swallowtails, sulphurs and fritillaries. Live monarch and swallowtail kits can be found at www.swallowtailfarms.com as well. In some cases, you may need a USDA permit to order in bulk. Fertile fall is a good time to begin planting your flower garden in anticipation for a lovely spring and summer.

Whose heart is not gladdened at the sight of a flower? A bouquet of roses can immediately brighten up a day, cheer a gloomy face, lift a depressed heart, even cause friendship to sprout and love to flourish.

In the spring who can pass a body of water, its surface glistening with the beauty of the water lily, without some appreciation of life itself? Or in the fall who can walk through a field decorated with the brilliance of purple asters and gleams of the goldenrod without feeling enriched? What window has not been beautified, or kitchen enhanced, or living room transformed by the presence of lovely, delicate flowers or plants?

For the majority out there, be they men or women, flowers are a lot more than just creations of decorative beauty. They represent a lot more as they excite the imagination of all. Even more, flowers are a lot more than the being the epitome of naturally occurring beauty, rather they are nature's display of life, they give one a great feeling of relaxation and provides the human soul a splash of freshness for the times that a fine presentation of floral arrangement is placed before their eyes.

Certainly, simply seeing floral presentations make a person particularly happy. What more happiness could a personally tended floral burst could give a individual knowing that he or she is the one who have had placed much effort in creating the said display of beauty? Certainly, as experts themselves claim it, floral burst actually brings a different kind of relaxation to human individuals, and much better satisfaction is even given by the blooms and burst of colors from tended floral plants. For this reason, it is highly suggested that people be interested in handling their own chances of creating a flower garden design that would best fit their satisfaction.

If you yourself are planning to create your own flower garden, it is very important that you take into consideration the first hand procedures that you must give attention to. One of which is the concern that you are supposed to give on the kind of flower garden design that you would likely install in your house or in your backyard. Through this particular process, you would be able to plan how the flower garden design that you chose could actually work for the best of your satisfaction.

Whether it may be a perennial flower garden design or something better in your own choice, it would best be a source of satisfaction and relaxation for you and the people living within your home as you consider putting the right kind of flowers together in a wonderful landscape that would best work for your interests.

Flower gardening is one way to make a huge difference in the yard and raise the value of any home.  There are so many different choices in flowers that a flower garden can change every year or even every month!In addition, there are ways to green garden, which means that all of the products used in the garden are organic, so that pesticides and fertilizers are not used which can be harmful to humans, pets and the environment.  

The first choice in flower gardening is what types of flowers to plant, since that will determine where the garden should be located.  If there is only one option for where the flower garden can be placed, then the plants chosen for the garden should be based on how much sunlight is available in the garden and what the overall climate is where the person lives.  That way the flower garden will be more likely to be successful, and the gardener will not get frustrated with plants that will not grow or that die after a short amount of time.

Roses?

There are many people who would like to have a rose flower garden but are afraid to do so because they have heard that roses are temperamental flowers and are difficult to grow and maintain.  However, there are some tips that can be used to successfully grow a rose flower garden in any climate.   

The first tip was mentioned above – choose the flowers according to the climate.Roses are tougher than they look and were found naturally in every climate.The trick to planting a rose garden is to choose the types of roses that enjoy the type of weather the person lives in.Also, roses enjoy sunlight, so a flower garden composed of roses should be placed where they can get direct sunlight.

When planting rose bushes in a flower garden, they should be planted apart from one another so that they can get air between the different plants.  They also should be pruned regularly so that the bushes do not get too thick where they cannot get air within the branches of the plant.Roses also like to be watered regularly, but not in the way other flowers are usually watered.Roses need to be watered at the roots so that they can more readily absorb the water.

If all of these instructions are followed, then a beautiful rose flower garden should be blooming in no time.  Keeping the roses well fertilized with healthy mulch from compost will also help them to stay healthy and strong.

For more about gardening please visit www.organicgardeningzone.com

Since tulip mania (or "tulipomania") reached its height in the Netherlands until the present day no one group of plants has acquired such a firm hold on popular passion as the orchids. Believe it or not, though, today's orchid craze hardly compares to the fevered devotion that the plants inspired in our Victorian forebears, especially in England and the United States.

Certainly, of course, many other plants were greatly admired in the Anglo-Saxon world of the latter half of the 19th century.Among these were ferns, cacti, chrysanthemums, palms and roses. But orchids to a much greater degree represented the height of horticultural respectability in the 19th century garden. So highly were the tropical epiphytes held that on May 12, 1885, the first huge orchid conference was held in London. This event brought together both commercial and amateur cultivators to exhibit their prized specimens and to discuss such vital questions as the culture and nomenclature of these fascinating flowers.

At the time of that great conference in London, the exotic tropical orchids had been known to most of the world for only around a hundred years. The Spanish botanist Francisco Hernandez casually mentioned a few orchids as curiosities in his account of his 16th-century voyage to Spanish America. Almost two centuries later, naturalist Engelbert Kaempfer and botanist Georg Eberhard Rumphius, both working for the Dutch East Indies Company, described some of the Asian orchids. It was not, though, until just prior to the opening of the 19th century that many Europeans became aware of these exciting, mysterious plants.

By the early 19th century, botanists were attempting to cultivate a handful of specimens at such places as London's famous Kew Gardens. Until 1820 orchids were looked upon as curiosities in botanical gardens, but about that time some showy Cattleyas and other species produced some stunning flowers, piqueing greater interest among the public. By the middle of the 19th century, new orchid specimens were making their way to Europe from all around the globe. Additionally, more and more people were attempting to cultivate orchids at home.

The first great orchid craze was going full throttle by the late 1800s and continued undiminished for many years to come. Somewhat suprisingly, a solid scientific understanding of orchid botany and what was needed to be consistently successful in growing orchids did not arrive until the 1920s.

Nowadays, of course, we have an abundance of good information on the proper way to grow orchids. The most accurate and clear guidebook to contemporary orchid care, it is widely acknowedged, is Orchid Care Expert by a Mr. Nigel Howard, which may be downloaded online. Mr. Howard's guide is a full education in itself, wonderful for novices as well as the more experienced. Also, visit the Orchid Secrets website, which is publishing a growing library of information on many aspects of orchid care.

Do you have an orchid that continues growing, one year after another, but that never produces more than one blooming pseudobulb. If you desire to increase the number of blooming growths, you can accomplish this by a method of cutting with a knife in order to produce back shoots. With luck and a suitable type of plant (those from the Cattleyas family are best), you will eventually have a really spectacular orchid.

Proceed as follows: Take a plant that has several back pseudobulbs, say four or five. Cut the rhizome in two between the bulbs, being careful not to otherwise disturb it. That's basically it, but here are some things to keep in mind:

• The best time to cut most orchids is during their resting phase, usually fall or winter. When they again enter their growing phase you may then observe them producing two growths from one pseudobulb where you have cut it.
• Cutting should not be attempted on an orchid that is not in good health. Cutting as described above will not harm a healthy plant, but could be stressful to a weak or sickly one.
• If you cut the same plant for back shoots every year, you will eventually have an orchid that is both bigger and more stunning that it would have been without the knife. This is how some of the amazing specimens are produced that you come across in orchid showings.

There is more that can be said about the art of cutting to produce more blooms, as well as the process of taking cuttings to start more plants. To learn more about these and other secrets of orchid cultivation, a respected guide such as that written by Nigel Howard is highly recommended.

The most complete guide to contemporary orchid cultivation, I have found, is Mr. Howard's Orchid Care Expert, which is available to be downloaded online. Mr. Howard's ebook is a full course of study, helpful for novices and the more experienced cultivators alike. Also, be sure to visit the Orchid Secrets web site, which has a growing library of postings on many facets of orchid cultivation.

The Cattleya fly is one of the most potentially damaging pests that canfind their way to your precious orchids. In fact, this pest is closely associated with orchids rather than any other type of plant, as you might guess from its scientific name, Eurytoma orchidearum.

Cattleya flies deposit their eggs in the orchid plant's young growths. The eggs hatch and then nymphs (or maggots) hatch and begin to feed voraciously. The nymphs quickly swell to a grotesque size within the bulbs. One signal that these maggots are doing their dirty work is that the bulbs themselves will swell becoming club-shaped at the location where the pests are feeding.

Finally, the nymphs turn into flies, which munch their way to the outside by chewing through the flesh of the bulbs. Adult flies are deep black, have clear wings, and are about a quarter inch in length. Sadly, by the time you see them, it could be too late to salvage many of your plants. Nonetheless, you should try to kill the flies before they get a chance to inject their eggs into your remaining good plants.

If you have plants that are already infested, the best remedy is to slice away any bulbs that you notice are swelling more than is natural. Then just drop the nymph or maggot into some water to drown it. It's disheartening to have to cut away your plant's young growth, but this is better than leaving your other plants open to being attacked by this pest. With luck, the plant that you had to do "surgery" on will grow a new bulb in place of the old one.

Now for the good news about Cattleya flies. They are fortunately not especially common, and most orchid growers will never see them. Regardless, it is just good practice to inspect every new orchid for the signs of these flies and their maggots. Besides looking out for abnormally swollen bulbs where the fly's nymphs might be feeding, inspect for tiny holes where a female fly's ovipositor might have inserted eggs into the orchid. If you don't see these signs, you are probably safe from Cattleya flies.

To be really successful growing orchids it is vital to know how to deal with all the various threats to your plants, including insects. It isn't as hard to grow orchids as many people apparently believe, especially if you read up on how to properly care for these wonderful plants.

The most accurate and clear guidebook to expert orchid growing, I have found, is Orchid Care Expert by a Mr. Nigel Howard, which is available to be downloaded from the web. Howard's wonderful guide is a comprehensive education all by itself. And, it is suitable for beginning gardeners as well as more seasoned orchid cultivators. Also, visit the Orchid Secrets site, which is publishing an ever-growing database of entries on all aspects of orchid care.

Orchids require resting time every year. The particular time for this depends on the Variety, but for most orchids it should start some time in the fall and continue through most of the winter. You must treat plants differently at this time than you would during their energetic growth periods (spring and summer usually). This is an often-overlooked part of growing orchids successfully.

A good general practice is to give your orchids rest from November through the middle of February. You should lower the temperature of your orchid room and you should reduce the amount of water you give the plants.

For tropical orchids, keep the air temperature at around 60 or 65. Cooler-origin orchids can tolerate temperatures as low as 45 degrees Fahrenheit.

At this time, give your plants just enough water to keep them from shriveling. The bulk of the moisture should be supplied by misting or by taking steps to keep the air humid. Occasionally, though, you should poke down into the soil and examine the stem, roots and rooting medium of your plants. If these are beginning to dry out you can water them directly.

Some species will continue to grow during the winter. These will demand somewhat more water than those that truly go dormant. If you see new shoots emerging, though, try to avoid wetting them or they else they could rot.

Some orchids are deciduous. This means they will drop their leaves after they have finished their growing for the year. You need to give these as much sun and light during their resting time as you can. This is to allow their pseudobulbs to ripen, letting them grow stronger and flower more freely.

Caring properly for orchids during their rest is not that difficult. Avoiding all problems, though, requires a good bit more information than can be covered in a short space. The most up-to-date guide to today's orchid cultivation, I have found, is Orchid Care Expert by Nigel Howard, which may be downloaded from the Internet. Mr. Howard's ebook is a full course of study, useful for beginners as well as more experienced growers alike. Also, check out the Orchid Secrets web site, which has an ever-growing library of information on all aspects of orchid cultivation.

Of the incredible array of flowering plants on our earth, orchids easily exert the most fascination. Not only are they aesthetically pleasing, but their life stories often have a bit of mystery and wonder clinging to them. Although distributed widely, many can only be found in isolated or exotic locations--misty jungles, the sides of volcanoes, mucky swamps, as examples.

Beginning most earnestly in the nineteenth century, orchid enthusiasts have devoted years and even careers to discovering as well as breeding new types of these flowering wonders. Although most orchids are acquired these days from nurseries that specialize in cultivating the plants, many of them being developed through hybridization, it is good to understand a little of their natural origins.

Orchids are herbacious plants encompassing tens of thousands of known species, with still more being discovered.  They exhibit a startling range of color and form, which has contributed greatly to public interest. Master gardeners often delight in growing a wide range of orchids to demonstrate their mastery of the arts of cultivation.

Orchids grow everywhere in the earth except for the desert and polar regions. Some 85% of all orchid species originate in the tropics or subtropics, but this still leaves a large number that come from colder regions. In some parts of the Himalayas orchids constitute the most abundantly represented family of plants in terms of sheer number of species.

By far the greatest number of orchids occur in three large tropical belts:

• Tropical Africa (including islands to the east in the Indian Ocean). These mostly belong to the genera (families) Angnecum, Bulbophyllum and Disa. Orchids from this region are not so widely cultivated as ones coming from other tropical lands, but Africa nonetheless has many interesting species.
• Tropical Asia. This region, which includes Indonesia and other islands as well as the mainland countries of Southeast Asia, is considered especially rich in orchid genera. Typical of the region are the large genera Dendrobium, Eria and Bulbophyllum and many smaller ones as well.
• Tropical America. This region embraces Mexico, Central America and the tropical parts of South America. Isolated from the rest of the world for millennia, this region contains an unusually high number of indigenous orchid genera, many of which contain hundreds of individual species. Among the large indigenous genera are Epidendrum, Pleurothallis and Oncidium; many smaller genera found here also contribute more than their share to orchids that have found favor among cultivators the world over.

In the temperate zones of the southern hemisphere may also be found many orchds, though not in so abundant number as in the tropics. In southern Africa the Disa and Calanthe genera furnish a few species judged valuable to cultivation. Australia contains many genera in common with the tropical Asia. Southernmost South America boasts many temperate-zone orchids, but they are unfortunately overshadowed by those
from the vaster tropical-zone part of the continent.

in the norhern hemisphere's temperate areas, we should take note of the United States, particularly the New England/norhteastern region, as well as Canada. There we find about 20 native genera, whose member species grow mostly in swamps and moist grounds. The most famous of these are the Cypripediuins or Lady Slippers.

Europe also has many native orchids, but undoubtedly the most famous and showy is the Bee Orchid (Ophrys apifera). The Bee Orchid grows on dry or semi-dry turf, often in open areas within woodlands. Bee Orchids are common near the Mediterranean coast of Europe, and grows (albeit less abundantly) as far north as Germany and the UK.

Orchids differ greatly in the ease with which they may be cultivated, but by and large they are not the difficult plants that folk wisdom would have it. The most up-to-date guide to today's orchid care, I have found, is Orchid Care Expert by Nigel Howard, which is available to be downloaded from the Internet. Mr. Howard's ebook is a thorough course, useful for novices as well as more experienced growers alike. Also, visit the Orchid Secrets web site, which has a growing library of information on all facets of orchid cultivation.

Orchid culture is so widespread today that it is diffcult to imagine a world without these wonderful flowers. Yet, not so very long ago, the people of the so-called civilized world were completely ignorant of the overwhelming majority of species of orchids.

Europeans of course knew about their local orchid types, such as the lovely Bee Orchid. But knowledge of the many gorgeous tropical orchids had to wait on the results of explorations into the jungles and mountains of South America and the eastern Indies. Even then, orchid specimens were slow to make their way back to England and other European countries.

Perhaps the first living orchid to find its way from the tropics to England was an Epidendrum cochleatum, one of the more showy of its family. It flowered in London in the year 1787. Another species from the same orchid family was brought in to England in the year 1778. It took a decade for its caregivers to bring forth flowers from the plant.

Admiral Bligh, of Bounty fame, took 15 species of epiphytal orchids to England from the West Indies some time in the early 1790s. These were planted at the well-known Kew Gardens in London. For many years the West Indies, along with India, were the primary sources of tropical orchids for Europe. In 1793, though, a species of Oncidium was transported to England from Panama, followed several years later by orchids from Uruguay.

By 1818, Brazil in partcular was contributing to what had become a steady stream of orchids back to England and other European lands. By 1830 the Royal Horticultural Society had sent representatives traveling throughout Brazil looking for unusual species.

The orchid trade quickly turned into a serious profit making enterprise, with businessmen in Brazil negotiating deals with their opposite numbers in London to ship plants to England to be resold there. William Harrison, a merchant in Rio de Janeiro during the 1830s and 1840s, sent many beautiful orchids to his brother Richard in Liverpool. Richard's house soon became a magnet for orchid fanatics who pilgrimaged there to see the latest arrivals.

Of course, it was one thing to import orchids into Europe, but another thing to get them to thrive and reproduce. For more than half a century England was known as the grave of tropical orchids. The plants that survived did so in spite of rather than because of the treatment they received. Growers continuing experimenting and making mistakes until, by about 1850, they had largely figured out the art of orchid cultivation. That's when the orchid craze really took off, because now the knowledge was available by which even non-botanists could grow these stunning plants.

Knowledge of successfully growing orchids has greatly expanded during the intervening years and today we know so much more than did those Victorian enthusiasts. We also have, of course, better technology to assist us in the greenhouse and garden.

The most complete guide to modern orchid cultivation, many agree, is Orchid Care Expert by Nigel Howard, which may be downloaded from the Internet. Howard's wonderful guide is a complete education all by itself. And, you will find it suitable for beginners as well as more seasoned orchid growers. Also, be sure to visit the Orchid Secrets web site, which has a growing database of postings on all topics of orchid cultivation.

The means to grow great orchids is now available to just about everyone, unlike in past ages. This happened as a result of studying these plants both in their native habitats and in greenhouses, gardens and even the laboratory.

A crucial discovery was the finding that some of the most ornamental species need less heat and less elaborate growing equipment than previously thought necessary. This understanding opened orchid gardening to everyone who would take the time to read up on the subject.

In the 1800s, when the mania for orchids really boomed, many would-be growers were initially discouraged by one huge problem. World travelers sent home one exotic species after another, but often without any notes at all as to their local growing conditions. Orchids vary greatly in their requirements. They need widely differing amounts of ight, heat and water. Ignorance of a plant's unique needs could and often did lead to disaster. "The want of some such information has been a source of extreme vexation to many lovers of these plants," complained one orchid enthusiast complained in 1885.

Nowadays we are much luckier with respect to understanding the orchids entrusted to our care. We can stand on the shoulders of previous orchid enthusiasts who meticulously jotted down all they learned about each type and species of the plants that they encountered.

Yes, it is important to understand the habitat and climate from which an orchid comes. But having said that, let's inject a cautionary note. It is not generally a good idea to try to strictly imitate the natural conditions in which a plant might be found. To some degree it is possible to grow more impressive orchids than nature produces by carefully tweaking its environment. This is an art as well as science.

Again quoting that Victorian orchid authority: "We admit that we should by all means take nature as our guide for the production of good plants but it should be nature in her best garb only and then looking as we do upon cultivation as a help to nature the result can only be an improvement if success in the object aimed at has been attained."

So, what should a just-starting-out orchid grower to do? Can one strike a balance between imitating nature and trying to improve on it? The answer: Brush up. Educate yourself. Immerse yourself in the subject. You can successfully grow orchids if you know what you're doing up-front.

Among the best and most complete guides to modern orchid growing is Orchid Care Expert by Nigel Howard, which may be downloaded online. There are many books on the subject of orchids, but Mr. Howard's guide is a complete education in itself, suitable for beginners as well as the more experienced. Also, be sure to visit the Orchid Secrets web site, which has a growing library of articles on many aspects of orchids.

There is a tremendous variety of plants available these days to ornamen our houses and to touch our rooms and offices with green freshness. Further, we never tire of having them around us--we in fact seek more of them and want to add new ones to our surroundings.

Flowers, in particular -- cut or potted or growing in the garden -- have great appeal to human beings. Many people are especially smitten with that most regal flower, the orchid.

Orchids have been named "conquerers of the light" by both horticultural and literary writers. They amaze us when we first encounter them, and they continue thereafter to draw us to them in admiration. Mother Nature has shown particular partiality to the orchids. Their flowers are elegant and bright. Their fragrant odor is generally described as sweet, yet most people do not find it cloying in the least. Their texture is then, which misleads many into assuming they are delicate. Yet they can last longer after being cut than many another ornamental bloom. Really, the only thing they "lack" from the standpoint of aesthetics is thick foliage. But this is not a serious deficiency: one can always fill the space around them with fern leaves for an attractive arrangement.

For a long time, people assumed taht these wonderful flowers were too delicate to grow with ease. This was mistaken. Orchids are actually rather simple to cultivate, and many amateur growers can consistently raise some of the most extraordinarily beautiful specimens anyone has ever seen. The key is to study up first, using a good modern guide to the art and science of orchids and orchid growing. To assure success, you must educate yourself first; skip this preparation and you may be dooming yourself to failure.

One prevalent myth about orchids is that in order to thrive, they must have high heat. That's not true, though! Yes, it's true that orchids are a "tropical" plant, if you mean by that they originate between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. However, quite many of them, in their homelands, group high up the mountainsides, where it is crisp and cool. It would be a mistake to subject these coolness-hardy plants to high temperatures -- if the heat didn't kill them, it would at least stunt their development.

Whether or not you think of yourself as a skilled gardner, you can grow these wonderful flowers. Imagine surprising a friend or loved one with an orchid you grew yourself. Envision yourself culitvating gorgeous orchids that are so good they win prizes. Picture yourself going so far with your orchid growing hobby that it becomes a business, perhaps one big enough to provide you with a living. These things are all possible to you, even as an orchid newbie.

One of the best and most complete guides to modern orchid growing is undoubtedly Orchid Care Expert by Nigel Howard, available online. Now, there's tons of information out there about orchids. But Howard's is the most complete all-in-one reference that I've ever seen. You might also want to visit the Orchid Secrets web site, which has a growing database of articles on all aspects of orchids.

Here's to a great orchid experience!