From Miranda Hopkins, author of Amaryllis, Paperwhites and Poinsettias: Growing, Propagating and Reblooming Your Holiday Plants... Irises and daylilies are outstanding choices for almost all hardiness zones, and they offer interest during most of the growing season. Their history, whether from the beginnings, or how they spread throughout the world is very interesting, and thanks to their continued popularity, botanists and hybridizers are preserving old species and creating new ones to share with future generations. They are also well-suited to a range of growing conditions - including soil pH levels, climate and growing region. Each of these perennials will expand over time, and their divisions will make it possible for you to fill existing beds or develop new ones - without having to spend money on buying more starter plants of the same variety. In Daylilies and Irises: Growing and Caring For 2 Easy-To-Grow, Colorful Perennials, Miranda Hopkins takes the reader through the history of both of these beautiful perennials and provides us with an understanding of their history, hybridization and their proper care.

From Miranda Hopkins, a guide to saving, growing, propagating and reblooming your own holiday plants... Once winter hits and bare trees and bushes remove all vestiges of the growing season, many families opt to bring a bit of the outdoors inside. One fun and very easy way to do that is by adding live plants to the holiday decorating scheme. The bright red, white or coral color of poinsettia flowers always reminds people that the winter holiday season is here. You can force bulbs indoors so that your house bursts with the white flowers of Paperwhite Narcissus bulbs, or the many varieties of color combinations of different amaryllis species. If you are looking for a gift for someone who is hard to shop for, or a token gift to give to a host or hostess when you attend a holiday party, maybe these winter holiday plants will fill that bill. In Amaryllis, Paperwhites and Poinsettias: Growing, Propagating and Reblooming Your Holiday Plants, Miranda Hopkins takes the reader through the history of each of the beautiful plants and provides us with an understanding on caring for them before, during and after their respective blooming periods. Miranda also describes how to propagate and get these plants to rebloom.