Gib's Farm

General rules that will help you make your wreath last:

• Hang the wreath indoors on a cool wall out of direct sun. Avoid excessive heat. 
• If you mount your wreath on a door, attach it in at least two places so the wreath doesn't bounce when the door opens or closes.
• The wreath will shed; this is normal. To minimize shedding, don't move the wreath once it has been hung.

Care of Cut Flower Arrangements

It's so sad to see a beautiful arrangement begin to wilt and droop. Follow these simple rules to make your flowers last longer: 

• Get flowers home and into water ASAP
• Rinse the stems, recut, and remove any leaves or blossoms that have fallen.
• Check the water level in the vase and replenish it frequently.
• Keep your vase as clean as a teacup.
• Flowers that go limp are not drinking well and should be recut.
• Always discard wilted blooms.
• Keep flowers away from drafts and direct sunlight.
• Keep flowers away from ripening fruits, which emit ethylene gas, a substance that causes buds to remain closed, petals to have poor color, and flowers to have a shortened vase life.

We think so much of Deborah Madison's work. "Vegetable Literacy" is a delightful book. Beautiful pictures, delicious recipes, and thoughtful writing on food. She groups vegetables into families (meet the Brassicaceae: radishes, cauliflower, broccoli, turnips, wasabi, bok choy, kale, et al) and shows how the same cooking techniques apply within that family. She removes the uncertainty about how to prepare little known members of familiar vegetable families. Better yet, she describes how they enhance and strengthen one another when you combine them.

http://tinyurl.com/chkxr9a