A wonderful tropical plant that can be found in many fresh markets or florists is the Bird of Paradise. Oftentimes when we find these in a cut stem format the bud is tightly held, it almost looks like a corn husk. If you need them to be in flower for a party and don't have time for them to open, sometimes it can take several days, one can separate the top and fan the petals out. This is just mechanically forcing them into bloom. Inside there are as many as four different, unique flowers, Eric separates them out, gets them ready for the arrangement. It's a quick and easy way to have the bouquet ready without having to wait the extra days for it to come into full bloom.
A ten-gallon pot on a sunny patio can outproduce a full garden bed - if you pick the right tomato variety. Park Seed has narrowed the field to 13 varieties proven to work well in containers. Click here for a listing of four varieties that solve specific container issues.
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