Browning Flower Shops

Browning MT News

Nov 9, 2019

It's not too late to plant flower bulbs in your garden - Record Searchlight

If choosing from a bin, look for big, firm clean bulbs that don't show any evidence of browning or rotting (soft spots). The larger more-mature bulbs usually produce more flowers than small ones. Some of the easiest bulbs to find and plant now include anemone, allium, freesia, hyacinth, tulip and narcissus. When choosing bulbs pay attention to bloom time listed on the package so that you can create a continuous display over a longer time in the spring and early summer. Once you have decided which bulbs you are going to plant, spend some time preparing the site. Soil preparation matters; like most plants, bulbs prefer well-drained soil. Plant in raised beds, containers or on a slope if you have dense clay or compacted soil. Amend the planting area with good compost or other organic material before planting. Don’t just amend the hole you are planting into. University of California studies have shown that amending soil in just the hole you dig for the bulb doesn’t do much good in the long run. If you’re going to amend, do it in a larger area, like an entire garden bed. And don’t forget the fertilizer. Bulbs need an adequate supply of phosphorus, so adding bone meal, super phosphate or fish meal at planting is important to getting healthy plants in the spring. Another thing to consider is protection from gophers. Some bulbs, such as narcissus and daffodils, the gophers leave alone. To keep gophers from snacking on your other types of bulbs, you may need to plant them in cages made from hardwire cloth.

Jan 12, 2017

Art Notes: Looking Back at the Garden From Afar

Contemporary Mosaics: Grid Variations”; Burlington artist Clark Derbes exhibits a kind of folk art based on wood in “Post-Vernacular”; James Browning, a Lebanon photographer, brings the now relatively-rare photo technique of dye transfer prints to the galleries in “Color Brought Forth” and Woodstock artist Margaret Lampe Kannenstine will exhibit “Collages: Reuse, Recycle.” All four artists will give gallery talks that are free and open to the public. In order, they are: Browning will speak next Thursday at 5:30 p.m. Kannenstine will give a talk on Saturday, Jan. 21 at 3 p.m. Fradkin will speak on Saturday, Jan. 28, at 3 p.m. Derbes will give a gallery talk on Friday, Feb. 3, at 5:30 p.m. The exhibitions at AVA run through Feb. 3. There will be a reception today from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Osher at Dartmouth art gallery for the exhibition “Reality to Abstraction — A Photographic Journey of Perception.” The photographer Mary Gerakaris, a Canaan resident, has shown her work previously at the Library Arts Center in Newport and at AVA Gallery. The show runs through Feb. 24 at the Osher office at 7 Lebanon Street in Hanover. Hours are: Monday through Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Fridays, 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. “Tibetan and Himalayan Lifeworlds,” an exhibition at Baker-Berry Library at Dartmouth College, surveys the history, politics and religion of the “Roof of the World.” It has been curated by Senior Lecturer Kenneth Bauer and Associate Professor Sienna Craig. As part of the exhibition, Tibetan artist Tenzin Norbu will be on cam... (Valley News)

Dec 8, 2016

Gardening for the Record: Houseplants enhance our lives, hold memories

I fertilize the garden. And a new experiment — just as exciting — is Madagascar dragon tree. A friend passed along a sad-looking floppy plant with browning leaves. I divided it and cut off the tops and placed them in a vase. They made a nice bouquet, after I trimmed the brown tips off the leaves. Within a few days, large white roots began to appear, so I transplanted them. And then new leaves began to appear on the original plants. So I ended up with a really nice houseplant and half a dozen to pass along. According to Gertens.com’s History of Houseplants, “Houseplants have been a documented part of human existence since the days of the Egyptian Pharaohs. Nature did not create houseplants. Humans did this by taking plants that thrive in nature and bringing them indoors, where we have made them a part of our lives.” Houseplants offer more than beauty and fashion statements. Many have cleaning qualities. Research by NASA found that some plants remove indoor air pollutants. At the top of the list are chrysanthemum and peace lily (spathiphyllum), followed by spider plant, aloe and weeping fig. Others add aroma, from the sweet smell of geraniums to the fragrant blossoms and later the citrusy scent of fruit on lemon and orange trees. No houseplant discussion would be complete without the African violet. Remember those African violets your grandmother grew on her windowsill? Well, they are more popular than ever today with thousands of cultivars in a palette of colors ranging from lavenders, blues, pinks, to red and white. And once you get the hang of growing them, they are easy to propagate by cuttings. African violets are so popular that there are societies devoted to the plant. Others that must be mentioned are Rex begonia with its unique leaves, corn plant, rubber and fig trees (especially my favorite — fiddle leaf fig), crown of thorns, and a multitude of ferns. Many of these await your selection at local garden centers. My newest houseplant was passed along from a fellow gardener at the Times Record’s recent Senior Expo. It is a wandering jew (tradescantia fluminensis) that she had purchased at an estate sale years ago. Although this fuzzy cultivar has been around for years, it’s a first for me, and I look forward to seeing it wander and branch in its new home. As the holidays approach, one plant that may not be great at purifying or perfuming the air is an incredible mood enhancer. It’s the poinsettia — the all-time favorite Chri... (Charleston Express)

Oct 13, 2016

Bring your flowers inside — freezing temperatures are on the way

October 10th to 12th,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Josh Doustead. “It usually depends on the location.” Sarah Browning, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension educator in horticulture and urban agriculture, said this is the time to cover or remove plants and vegetables so they're not damaged.  "You want to focus on the plants that are most sensitive to temperatures," she said.  That includes tomatoes and peppers, and pumpkins should be harvested now. In flower gardens, annuals are the most sensitive. Browning said the traditional method to keep plants safe during freezing temperatures is to cover them with a blanket or a box.  Randy Wolff, garden manager for Campbell's Nursery, suggested plant and vegetable growers not cover plants with plastic or tarps because frost can easily get through.  "Anything you can bring inside, you want to," he said. "Normally when we bring these plants in, it's a good time to hit them with some insecticide so we're not bringing in plant pests." He also had advice for those who want to pick their tomato gardens clean and ripen green tomatoes indoors.  "Keep them in a dark place or wrap them in newspaper," he said. "They'll ripen over the next few months." Wolff said this is the perfect time to wrap small trees and shrubs with sheets to protect against rabbits.  "They'll feed on the bark during winter and it's something we may not notice until spring and the damage is already done," he said. Thursday’s short cold snap will be followed by much warmer temperatures. Doustead said dryer conditions on Friday will bring temperatures into the 70s, and there should a slight chance for showers and thunderstorms before 1 p.m. Saturday, with a high near 77. (Lincoln Journal Star)

Sep 28, 2016

Pressing flowers preserves summer's delicate beauty

Drying flowers takes time, but the goal is to dry them as quickly as feasible to preserve color and avoid browning. The idea is to layer the harvested flowers — and greens — between sheets of wax paper and cardboard, then press the "flower lasagna," as Capley calls it, until the plant materials are dry. Although a flower press is ideal, it is possible to use a heavy book weighted down with a brick or any improvised technique that puts adequate pressure on the plant materials. The simpler and flatter the flower, the better the results. Pansies, forget-me-nots, dianthus, poppy and lobelia dry the fastest, in two to three weeks. Meatier flowers such as roses or Gloriosa daisies take longer. Ferns dry in as little as 10 days and add interest to arrangements. Dried flowers and greens can be used in a variety of craft projects, including making bookmarks, paper, ornaments and more. Now a convert and hobbyist of the art, Capley credits her volunteers with sparking her interest. “I have been fortunate to work with Joan and Mary Ellen, who taught me the skills I needed,” Capley said. “I now keep my NOBG flower press full and ready.” MAKE YOUR OWN FLOWER PRESS You will need: 2 wooden boards, 6 by 12 inches 4 3/8-inch carriage bolts with wing nuts 4 3/8-inch (or slightly larger) washers Wax paper Cardboard Drill with 7/16-inch bit Drill holes in the four corners of each board. Insert a carriage bolt and washer through the corners of one of the pieces of wood, then place a sheet of cardboard and a sheet of wax paper on the board. Put the flowers on top of the wax paper, then cover them with another sheet of wax paper and a second sheet of cardboard. "Layer your flowers according to type or size so that they will dry at the same time," advises Susan Capley. "Make sure that the flowers do not touch, and keep layering cardboard, wax paper, flowers, cardboard, wax paper, flowers, like a flower lasagna. Don't forget to use a Post-It note to label the flowers on each layer." Place the second piece of wood on top by inserting the carriage bolts through the holes in its corners and screw the wing nuts tightly. Delicate, small flowers and ferns will be dry in about 10 days. Thicker flowers can take up to two months. (The Advocate)

Sep 28, 2016

Graves: Don't dump your wedding flowers, ReBloom them

She or her volunteer, Cathleen Fagan, then pull apart the centerpieces and huge displays, snip the stems and pull off any browning vegetation and reassemble them into their own works of living art. And while they save dozen of flowers, some still end up in the dumpster because stems are too short to re-vase and some, if a venue hasn’t put them in a cooler overnight, have already started to wilt. But most recycled arrangements look great for at least three to five more days, she said. Her little business makes only enough money to pay for her gasoline, supplies and the thrift-store vases that she refuses to pay more than 69 cents for by the way. She operates out of a corner of her garage. And that’s how she likes it./... (Cincinnati.com)