Everybody loves to have some fresh flowers inside our house or apartment, especially if we've grown them ourselves. While almost any flower will make a nice bouquet in the house, some flowers such as most perennials, some annuals, all spring and summer bulbs, and of course roses are particularly popular,

Outstanding Flowers for Cutting

Here are some good candidates if you want flowers that work well as cut flowers:

Aster, China
Black-eyed Susan
Cock's-comb
Columbine
Cosmos
Dahlia
Gladiolus
Indigo, false
Marigold
Peony
Sage, Mealycup
Snapdragon
Yarrrow, fernleaf
Zinnia

Nancy's column for February 7, 2009

Trim back on cut flowers for Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is right around the corner and that usually means a flurry of last-minute gift shopping. When I was young, roses and chocolate-filled hearts were the gifts of choice, but today, most of us are on diets and long-stem roses cost a fortune.

Back then, love was supposedly measured in numbers, so more was better. A dozen pricey long-stem red roses was the rule of thumb, but two dozen was over the top. The sad reality was these gorgeous flowers were more often than not shoved into containers that were too small, leaving an awkward-looking display. The flowers, lacking water, usually wilted overnight.

But Sally Furguson, director of the Netherlands Flower Bulb Information Center, has come to the rescue of all frustrated gift givers trying to figure out how to please the loves in their lives without spending a fortune.

The Netherlands Flower Bulb Information Center has launched www.savedby thebuds.com, a site devoted to showing clueless guys how to use flowers to impress girls. It includes a section on buying and putting exciting floral gifts on a budget. But this site is not limited to men. It's filled with creative and fun ways to use tulips and daffodils for giving and decorating.

Savedbythebuds.com shows how one or two wisely chosen stems can be just a cool a gift as a dozen. Using a special container, such as a teacup selected from granny's collection stored in the basement, turns an inexpensive purchase into a treasure, and Sally shows us how to do it.

The site also includes lots of information on flower arranging and treating flowers to make them last. Here are some quick tips.

• Cut daffodils give off a substance that's toxic to tulips, so don't try to mix them in an arrangement.

• Even after cutting, tulips will quickly turn their heads toward the light, so take that into consideration when placing them a room.

• Tulips like to bend downwards in a vase, but that look is perfect in today's relaxed atmosphere.

• Remember, fresh flowers are Mother Nature's smiles and a breath of sunshine during the long cold winter.

Gardening books always make great gifts for any occasion, and a great place to shop for them is at Goldner Walsh Garden and Home Nursery in Pontiac, www.goldner walsh.com, (248) 332-6430. Their new book department is filled with more than 60 titles of the best in gardening, cooking and home decor.

Nancy Szerlag is a master gardener and MetroDetroit freelance writer. Her column appears Saturdays in Homestyle. E-mail her at Szerlag@earthlink.net.