Beautiful, delicate orchids scare away many indoor flower lovers. Myths abound about how difficult they are to grow and care for. The orchid family is large and includes many varieties. While some are quite finicky and difficult to grow in the average home, one group, the Phalaenopsis, is simple enough that many novice orchid enthusiasts can grow them successfully.

Vegetable gardeners have long depended on grow lights to start vegetable seedlings indoors and get a jumpstart on the gardening seasoning, but they are an often overlooked tool for both houseplant flower lovers and those who grow ornamentals outdoors. Yet when poor interior lighting, short winter days or a long stretch of cloudy weather results in poor blooming, grow lights can rescue your plants.

In the Victorian era ladies and gentlemen gave flowers a variety of different meanings. These meanings, known as the language of flowers or floriography, allowed young lovers to send each other little romantic messages without the fear of prying eyes finding out the couple's intentions. Today, you can carefully select flowers to share your feelings with your lover instead of giving just a plain Valentine bouquet.

Valentine roses fall into two categories – a heartfelt, romantic gift or a quicky, no-thought gift from the local gas station. I find it interesting that such as stately, history-imbued flower can sometimes seem tacky and thoughtless. Much has to do with the presentation, as well as the intention behind it.