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Women Do Not Want Chocolates (said no one ever)

Women Do Not Want Chocolate
Sonja Behnke Festerling

What To Give For Valentine’s Day

A few weeks ago, I saw someone had shared this picture that Women do not want Chocolates For Valentine Day; They want Plants. After laughing and then sharing it on Facebook, I thought I would change it up some! It should be more like PEOPLE do not want ONLY chocolates for Valentine’s Day! They want Plants TOO! Because really? It is not just women that receive on this special day for sweethearts. They give too. Plus, I don’t know about you, but I am not about to give up my chocolate!

Myself? I want a new African Violet for my kitchen window. Out of the three I bought before Behnke’s closed in 2019, only one has survived. My green thumb defiantly needs some help when it comes to this beautiful plant. My grandmother and mother never had any problems keeping them lush and healthy. But I will never give up. I have my grandmother’s Rose Behnke’s African Violet’s Do’s and Don’ts hand-out and will try again. Never say never!

So Many Choices

There are so many choices for you to pick from when you go to your local independent garden center to choose that perfect plant for your true love. You can find miniature roses, peace lilies, and orchids, to name a few. There are so many ways to say; I LOVE YOU with flowers. Plus, it really does not have to break the bank. My plan for my husband is to find a ZZ plant (Zamioculcas zamifolia). I love how easy they are to care for, and I think he will like the glossy dark green unique leaves. I was looking on a few garden centers’ websites and was excited to see how many can show their inventory. Plus, they all have the COVID 19 safeguards in place for you and their staff.
Whatever plant you decide on, don’t forget that box of chocolates!

African Violets
African Violets

Stephanie Fleming was raised at Behnke’s Nurseries in Beltsville. Her Mom, Sonja, was one of Albert & Rose Behnke’s four children. She was weeding from the moment she could walk and hiding as soon as she was old enough to run, so many weeds, so little time. Although she quickly learned how to pull out a perennial and get taken off of weed pulling duty.

This Post Has 2 Comments

  1. Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know you do like the blog.

    Yes, that is how we water our African Violets in the home. My grandmother, who was from Germany, always had a tray on her windowsill with a layer of gravel on which the plants sat. She would put the water in the tray. They could only be watered above in the nursery in the morning so the water could dry off the leaves and stems before nightfall.

  2. I used to love shopping at Behnke’s and I now always enjoy reading your blog.
    Just want to weigh in on the subject of African violets. I grew up in Austria and Germany where this is one of the premier household plants, they are kept on windowsills and they flourish. The one rule that one is insistently told there is that an African violet must never be watered from above, you must only water it from below by pouring water into its saucer. They typically were kept quite damp and they always stood right by a window on the ledge and didn’t seem to mind any drafts.
    Good luck

    Cheryl

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