Valentine's Day

And now, a few gift ideas for that cranky, grubby little person out hacking away at the shrubbery. You love him or her; you know you do. But what to buy? A few ideas; some self-serving (for me, not for you), some less so.


First, for the backyard poultry lover--what better than a charming little baby picture of Eleanor and Abigail? (yes, those are my girls.) Get them here on a t-shirt or just about anything else.



And, along those same lines, you can also visit Earthworm Emporium for the very latest in wearable earthworm art.


Then there's Organic Bouquet for gorgeous organic roses, chocolates, and the like. Their products are either organic or certified in some way, so you can rest assured that the workers and the environment are treated well. (for more about certified and organic flowers, stay tuned for my next book, due out in about a year--how'd you like that hint? Or read the short version here.)




And finally, if you're in the UK, please do check out the new roses from David Austin that Marks & Spencer is selling and let me know if they really do have both a lovely scent and a long vase life. This could represent a real breakthrough in the floriculture industry, but I'd love to hear a firsthand account. I noticed that the bouquet I found on their website included lots of highly fragrant Oriental lilies, which would tend to overpower the roses anyway. On David Austin's UK website, you can order them directly. Miranda and Juliet are the newer, fragrant-with-long-vase-life roses. Oh, and they're gorgeous. Here's what David Austin's company is saying:

"Tony Slack, director of licensing for David Austin, said they had reached the "Holy Grail" in rose cultivation. "We finally have managed to develop roses that marry all the best qualities of old and new varieties," he said. "They arrange themselves beautifully in the vase rather than having straight stems and standing erect, like some other roses."

and see the whole story here.