Re: Organic Roses and Flowers

**"* L* B* <S*@cox.net>**

Amy Stewart's book is a wonderful read, informative and entertaining. I
reviewed it in the San Diego Union-Tribune right after it came out:

>>Go ahead, fill your boudoir with candlelight this Valentine's Day, and set
a bottle of champagne on ice. But think twice about strewing your bed or
bath with rose petals, unless you grew them yourself. 

>>According to "Flower Confidential: The Good, the Bad and the Beautiful in
the Business of Flowers," many roses sold as cut flowers have been dipped in
fungicide - a practice that dismayed author Amy Stewart when she observed
it. That, and the fact that workers doing the dipping wore inadequate
protective gear. 

>>Stewart, who is known among us garden writers as outspoken and opinionated
(check out her postings on www.gardenrant.com or her blog Dirt,
www.blog.amystewart.com), delves into such controversial topics as whether
it's OK to create a perfect rose if it loses its scent in the process; how
and why the consumer loses when flowers are bred for the convenience of the
grower; and ecologically questionable farming techniques in Third World
countries. 

>>Thanks to her extensive research, "Flower Confidential" is as laden with
floral info as a pollen-bearing bee. "Almost a third of American adults will
buy flowers or a plant at Valentine's Day," Stewart writes. "Roughly half of
those people will want roses, mostly red roses. Two-thirds of the orders
will come from men... 

To read the rest, go to
http://ww.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20070211/news_lz1v11flower.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Debra Lee Baldwin
Garden Photojournalist
Author, Designing with Succulents
            (Timber Press, 2007)
www.debraleebaldwin.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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