To Carol with love: notes on a special daphne

I fell in love with Carol Mackie almost from the day she arrived here. True, she was nothing special to look at early on, but she always had a becoming daintiness.

New blooms, veggies and more debuting for 2013

Whoever believes there's nothing new under the sun hasn't seen the plants being introduced for the 2013 gardening season.

Ask a Designer: style in a small outdoor space

Design magazines and home decorating catalogs tend to feature sprawling backyards with big wooden decks and room for everything from decorative fountains to artificial ponds.

New trail and learning center open at National Lakeshore

GARY | John Lawicki, of Portage, is helping his late father's love of the Indiana Dunes grow and spread to future generations.

Stiletto "Twiggy" Pen by ACME Studio

Designed specifically for women, by a collection of all-female designers, the Stiletto pens by ACME Studio are feminine and vibrant, and made specifically to fit a woman's more slender grip. With fun designs, like the "Twiggy" flower pattern, wrapped around its thin barrel, they are a conver…

New Products for Thursday, March 28, 2013

Better with bubbles

Arquiste Boutonniere No. 7 Fragrance

Arquiste has unique scents that come with a story taken from the pages of history, including newest scent, Boutonniere No. 7. It's a masculine gardenia inspired fragrance based on the "opera flower" that men wore on their lapels in 1899 Paris. This bright, green floral contains notes of lave…

Decorating year-round with roses

Floral fads may ebb and flow, but the rose's appeal remains constant, well beyond a Valentine's Day vaseful.

Decorating year-round with roses

Floral fads may ebb and flow, but the rose's appeal remains constant, well beyond a Valentine's Day vaseful.

FTD Expressions of Love Bouquet

Developed by the FTD floral expert team, The FTD Expressions of Love Bouquet features romantic red roses, stunning Asiatic lilies, and pink and burgundy mini carnations. Not only is it delivered in a keepsake red glass vase, it also includes an attached dangling silver "Love" ornament as an …

Thomas Kinkade-Teleflora "Winter Wonder" 2012 Floral Keepsake

Thomas Kinkade-Teleflora traditions continue with the "Winter Wonder" 2012 keepsake fresh floral centerpiece. It's built around a light-up cottage accented by red spray roses and million star gypsophila nestled with pine cones, birch and tips of white pine along with noble fir and holly. Sel…

New flower varieties excel at overwintering

"Overwintering" plants usually means deadheading, dividing, pruning, mulching or bringing them indoors to protect them from the cold. Increasingly, though, varieties are being introduced that flower into winter and rebound in spring. They need no special care and deliver more blooms for the buck.

Teleflora Peppermint Christmas Bouquet

The Teleflora Peppermint Christmas Bouquet is bursting with red, white and peppermint florals and topped off with real candy canes and sells for $49.95 at your local florist or teleflora.com.

Minor bulbs should get more attention

Fall planting is in full swing. As you nestle tulips, daffodils, hyacinths and crocuses into the soil, don't neglect to also plant some minor bulbs — "minor" only because they aren't well known, not because they lack quality.

Cutting gardens can yield beauty inside and out

Cut flower gardens are attractive options for those who don't like removing the best blooms from their borders and beds for indoor display.

Bouquets to save: flowers made of recycled stuff

Glynis Abapo knew just what she wanted her dream wedding cake to be: simple. Three or four tiers. A rich, white confection with white peonies and peony petals cascading down the middle.

FTD College Rose Collection Notre Dame Arrangement

The flower experts at FTD have just added new schools to their officially-licensed FTD College Rose Collection, which includes Notre Dame. The line offers striking, fresh floral arrangements, which feature bi-colored roses in official school colors that represent universities across the coun…

Pies, flowers take center stage

Elise Smith, 10, of Schererville, creates a floral arrangement Tuesday for the Bloomin' Kids Contest at the Lake County Fair.

Pies, flowers take center stage

Sydney Shingle, 13, and Amelia Shingle, 10, of Lindenhurst, Ill., create floral arrangements Tuesday for the Bloomin' Kids Contest at the Lake County Fair.