Notes from Rose Avenues
How preserved roses are made, and how long they really last
Preserved, dried, gold-dipped and artificial are four different things sold under similar names. Here is how to tell them apart.
A classroom Valentine exchange that works without candy
Most schools now ask for non-food exchanges. Here is how to size a card-and-favor set for a class and get it done without a late-night scramble.
Looking after a preserved rose so it keeps its colour
Preserved blooms need almost no maintenance, but the three things that damage them are all easy to do by accident.
Choosing a gift basket that does not feel generic
Assembled gift sets get a bad reputation because most of them are filler around one real item. Here is how to tell the difference.
Sending a gift straight to someone else without it going wrong
Direct-to-recipient orders fail in a handful of predictable ways. All of them are avoidable at checkout.
Small gifts that work when you need forty of them
Buying one gift is a matter of taste. Buying forty is a logistics problem with a different set of rules.