This is a post by Sharon Naylor

Sharon Naylor is the author of over 35 books on family celebrations, including weddings, bridal showers, vow renewals, and more. She is beyond thrilled to be the new guest blogger for The Farm, and she will be posting inspirations and tips for your parties, get-togethers and big family moments throughout the year. Visit her website www.sharonnaylor.net for more on her books and articles.

A Valentine’s Day bouquet makes your sweetheart smile for a few days, but the gift of garden flowers makes that smile last a lot longer. On this holiday of romance and love, our New Jersey customers are shopping not for cut flowers in bouquet form, but for blooming, fragrant potted flowering plants that say ‘I Love You’ for an endless time to come.

You’re likely aware that those Valentine’s Day bouquets of cut flowers cost a lot more than usual at this time of year, with some bouquets reaching a stunningly high price of $60 or more for just a dozen red roses. To make a greater visual impact, romantics might purchase bouquets of two or three dozen cut garden flowers, easily spending $100 to $200.

We have a fresh option for you, a trend that also ties into the organic gardening and green lifestyle interest of many of our New Jersey customers and friends – give a living garden plant in potted form, filled with dozens upon dozens of baby roses or other garden flowers. The gift lasts long after the calendar page turns, there’s no sad-looking wilted bouquet on your table or desk, and the plant grows over time.

We’re also quite thrilled to hear that our customers plant these Valentine’s Day potted flowers in their gardens come springtime, creating an ever-expanding flower garden on their properties, a growing tribute to the many Valentine’s Days the couple has spent together. Every day and every evening, a walk through this flower garden reminds the couple of the beauty of their relationship. That’s quite a gift.

We invite you to The Farm here in Chatham to select a romantic potted garden flower plant, choosing from roses, cyclamen, exotic arching orchids, amaryllis, anemone, camellias, casa blanca lily, cosmos, jasmine, narcissus, ranunculus, star gazer lily, sweetpeas and more. And of course, since not all sweethearts love flowers, potted green plants and herbs say ‘I Love You’ just as well.

Poinsettias that come in a deep vibrant red are a Christmas Classic that we all know and love. The name “poinsettia” derives from Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first U. S. Minister to Mexico who was an amateur botanist. Joel introduced the plant to the United States in 1828. Being poinsettias are a favorite in my home; I send many thanks to Joel Roberts Poinsett!

With Thanksgiving almost here it may seem early to think about poinsettias but these beauties will be showing up in stores across the country for purchase very soon. It is important to purchase healthy poinsettias if you want them to last until Christmas. If you pick your poinsettias carefully, these wondrous plants can last well past the holidays.

Before you set out to find the perfect poinsettia please use these tips that are tired and true. Look for poinsettias potted in larger pots, at least half a foot tall. Larger pots have more soil and allow the plants room to grow more. Look closely at the flowers of the poinsettia, the green or yellow flowers in the center, and make sure they’re tight an unopened. Quality poinsettias require much light and extensive fertilization to produce a quality plant.

Look for color, the plants foliage, store care, temperature, and pest when picking out the perfect poinsettia as well. The brighter in color the better, these beauties fade through time and you want your plants to be perfect for the holiday. Select poinsettias with healthy foliage. Their foliage should be crisp and dark and color. Make sure the plants you chose aren’t bruised or torn. A damaged plant will die sooner. Another sign of disaster is pest. If you notice any webs or crawling critters steer away from the selection of poinsettias you’re evaluating for your perfect holiday center piece.

As long as you follow these tips, your home will be filled with color and beauty for your family and guest come Christmas morning.

Walking into a home come the Christmas season is always a treat, but walking into your own home day after day, awaiting the much anticipated day of Christmas morning, is a whole treat in itself if your home is decorated for the holiday season just right. Many people don’t know where to start in decorating for the holidays. Some people do too much in adding décor to their home for the festivities and some don’t do enough leaving the home bare and cheerless. A little goes a long way and a lot is sometimes way too much.

Adding plants and flowers that represent the holiday best is a great alternative to running out to the store to try and find the latest and greatest nutcracker ornaments or the grandest morning star to top your Christmas tree. Poinsettias, Christmas cactus, orchids, daffodils, cyclamen, azaleas, hibiscus, and holly bring color and life to any holiday celebration and are perfect if you want to ‘wow’ your guest. Some of these plants are obvious additions to the Christmas holiday and some aren’t known as traditional Christmas flowers.

Adding a few Christmas classics with some of these non-traditional beauties will make your home shine and will add a sweet fragrance throughout your home. In creating a balance between different flowers and plants, adding pizzazz to your home for the holidays, you will be creating a fresh and clean appearance that is free of clutter and beautiful for all to see. Some of these elegant flowers will appear as a morning star and some will complement the holiday classics in the right light. You can add these flowers to vases with other ornaments and add Christmas cheer creating a pleasing and welcoming feeling within your home.