Garden Talk: Flowers And Plants For Mom

Air Date:
Heard On The Larry Meiller Show

On this edition of Garden Talk, Larry Meiller learns about great options for plants to give as Mothers’ Day gifts. Plus, how to create a colorful garden filled with birds, butterflies and blossoms.

Featured in this Show

  • Flowering Plants Are Perfect Gifts For Mom

    Mothers’ Day is right around the corner and it can be hard to find just the right gift for Mom. Flowering plants can be perfect gifts, both for their own beauty, the time children and parents can spend together co-gardening, and the ease with which they can be moved outside (or composted, if they don’t work out).

    Some years, there are a lot of flowers blooming outdoors by mid-May. After a long, cold winter like this one, though, a flowering or green plant makes an even better gift than usual, and it stays as a pleasant reminder for a lot longer than cut flowers will.

    That’s the take from Melinda Myers, at least. She is a Milwaukee-based garden expert and the author of more than 20 books, including the newly revised “Minnesota and Wisconsin Month-by-Month Gardening.”

    Myers is a mother herself, and she said, “I’m getting to that point where I don’t have room for stuff, I don’t want anything to dust, but there is always room for plants, either indoors or plants for outside.”

    Even if one’s own mom isn’t a gardener, plants can be a nice, colorful fit — albeit one that’s temporary.

    Myers shared that her own mother was not a gardener, but that didn’t stop her from giving her a plant for Mothers’ Day.

    “I would give it to her and say, ‘and when it dies, just put it in the compost pile,’” Myers said. “No guilt attached, and then she was OK with it.”

    There are many great choices for flowering plants that can be enjoyed indoors. Myers first recommendation was a hydrangea. That might surprise some people because, as Myers said, “gardeners tend to think of hydrangeas for outdoors, but a lot of florists force those hydrangeas that we really can’t successfully grow outdoors.”

    Myers explained that the hydrangeas with blue and purple blooms need a lot of additives to adjust the soil pH, which can be hard to do outside of a container or pot. In addition, hydrangeas are only borderline hardy in Wisconsin’s temperatures, so again, the controlled environment of a florist’s greenhouse followed by a home setting is perfect. As temperatures warm up, they can also be put outside for a while.

    Cyclamen are also a nice choice for a flowering plant. “They look like little shooting stars,” Myers said, “and they’re beautiful in white, and pink, and purple.” Another flowering plant that’s being forced for indoor use but can make the transition to an outdoor garden are the Hellebores, also called Lenten Rose.

    Flowers are lovely, but a lush green plant can also be a great addition to a home. Myers thinks that they’re making a comeback after falling a bit out of fashion.

    Myers said that some interesting green houseplant varieties include a range of Chinese evergreens which, despite the name, “look more like a dumb cane, or Dieffenbachia,” she said, adding that “they have pretty green leaves with silver highlights.”

    Begonias are also a lovely flowering plant, but their foliage is often the more striking feature. Myers pointed especially to the Rex begonias, which have “beautiful leaves with swirls and designs in them, so you get that nice benefit.”

    There’s no need to choose just one plant as a gift. Myers said that she likes to line a larger container or pot with plastic, and then place several smaller pots inside. That way, there could be a flowering plant, a trailing plant, one with some height, and more. Myers said that the advantage is that as some get too big, “it’s easier to switch some out.” It also allows for plants that have different moisture needs to be put together, and yet get what they need.

    Beyond the plants and pots, parents appreciate time (and help with chores) spent with their children — whether their “kid” is 5 or 50. Spending time in the garden with Mom taking care of weeding, planting, and mulching is a great gift, and provides memorable time with family.

    Myers said that especially when given by new gardeners, that’s a gift that goes both ways. “If you’re new to gardening and your mom’s an avid gardener, another gift besides the time is allowing her to share her knowledge with you. This is gift for both of you.”

Episode Credits

  • Larry Meiller Host
  • Judith Siers-Poisson Producer
  • Melinda Myers Guest

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