Flowers

THE ROLAND PARK Second Presbyterian Church looked absolutely stunning last Saturday for the wedding of Natalia Pia Melanie Sommer and Richard Matthew Dohler. Thousands of wildflowers, miles of lace ribbons and tulle, and window sills decorated with Singapore orchids set the stage for the nuptials of the daughter of pop music star Donna Summer and her first husband, Helmut Sommer,and the son of Dick and Bonna Dohler, he's an Ellicott City builder.The church was filled with the music of German trumpeteer Langston Fitzgerald and selections of Bach, Beethoven and Vivaldi, played by the church's music director Margaret Budd on the organ.

Flowermart, the official start of spring in Baltimore, is as much about food as it is about flowers. So it makes sense that among the women wearing hats covered in blooms there would be a guy dressed as a slice of pizza. Antoine Hays of Baltimore — he was a slice of pepperoni — was at Mount Vernon on Friday to promote an online food delivery service, as another edition of the century-old city tradition got under way. Even the plants eat at Flowermart. Carnivorous Plant Nursery, located inf Derwood in Montgomery County, was featuring a hanging basket of tropical pitcher plants that are guaranteed to attract, trap and eat your stink bugs.

Thank God for Joan and Don. Without their lunchtime escape from the office, replete with witty, sexy banter, this episode, the worst of the season, would have been pointless. Nothing else quite worked here, in what clearly was a transitional throwaway leading up to the final few episodes this season. I, for one, do not care about Lane's financial issues (though, surely him forging Don's signature on a check to pay debts will come back to bite him). Anything involving Harry is sort of blah, even though his subplot this week brought back and old friend, Paul Kinsey, who has, ahem, gone through some changes.

With spring here, lots of green things to do this weekend. Baltimore Green Week wraps up on Saturday, with a flurry of activities: 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., there'll be tours and workshops at Real Food Farm , where the group Civic Works is growing produce on six acres in northeast Baltimore's Clifton Park, 2801 St. Lo Drive. Go here or call 410-366-8533 for info. 8 a.m. - 9:30 a.m., there'll be a guided bird-watching walk for all ages through Patterson Park. Led by the Audubon Society's conservation director.

Q.I've always had good luck with my blueberry plants, but early this spring some of the new shoots wilted and turned brown. Now I'm noticing that the berries are shriveling up and dropping before they've had a chance to ripen. What could be the problem?A.You're describing the classic symptoms of mummy berry, a common fungal disease that affects blueberry foliage and fruit. Next year's crop will also be infected unless you pick all of the shriveled fruits off the plants and off the ground and dispose of them.

When do I put down grub killer in the spring? Spring grubs are big, but they are barely eating now and not damaging your lawn. Don't waste your money on these grubs. Also, applying grub killer in spring sickens wasps that are predators of grubs. You've probably seen these beneficial wasps hovering over your lawn, looking for grubs to attack. Natural controls usually keep grub populations under control. A few grubs are normal and keep the predators around. Rarely is lawn damage caused by grubs.

At Tiffany Square in West Baltimore, the flowers were gone and the ground was barren yesterday.Little was there except a red sign to remind passers-by that the triangular island at Rosedale Street and Bloomingdale Road is dedicated to 6-year-old Tiffany Smith, killed nearby last July when she was caught in the middle of a gunbattle between two men.But around the corner, in a rowhouse in the 3000 block of West North Avenue, her family remembers and mourns.And...

Fish, Fowl and Flowers: The Golden Age of Cloisonne is a weekend exhibit at the Walters Art Museum in which floral arrangements by such local garden clubs as Crofton Greenery and Town and Country are displayed alongside Japanese enamels done in the cloisonne style of metalwork formed with ridges to contain fired colored enamel. The display is presented by the Women's Committee of the Walters Art Museum and the Japanese enamels are from the Stephen W. Fisher Collection.

A street lined with villa homes in the Harford County community of Bulle Rock appears unremarkable, with exteriors that at a glance appear pretty much alike. It is only upon closer look that Bulle Rock residents' personalities shine through gardens, flags and lawn adornments. At Valerie Matricciani's villa home, the front yard is a botanical feast for the senses and, visitors soon realize, a mere taste of what's to come beyond the door. The walk leading to her home is lined with dwarf bushes, impatiens, large coleus plants and a gracefully blooming crepe myrtle.

Long after the growing season has faded, these flowers won't. The high-style and emotionally appealing arrangements of dried flowers such as these reflect the latest in international floral design. The bouquets are custom-designed by floral maven Karen Lock of Flower Markets Inc., and priced from $50 to $100 according to the accessories used.

When do I put down grub killer in the spring? Spring grubs are big, but they are barely eating now and not damaging your lawn. Don't waste your money on these grubs. Also, applying grub killer in spring sickens wasps that are predators of grubs. You've probably seen these beneficial wasps hovering over your lawn, looking for grubs to attack. Natural controls usually keep grub populations under control. A few grubs are normal and keep the predators around. Rarely is lawn damage caused by grubs.

A developing drought across the eastern half of Maryland could worsen without a few periods of soaking rain, and drizzle like that seen Wednesday won't be enough to cut the rainfall deficit. At Carter and Draper Farms on the Eastern Shore, John Draper is used to dealing with a summer drought once every few years. But rarely has he been in his current predicament: There has been so little spring rain, he fears if he plants 225 acres of corn as planned, it quickly will die. A few inches into the sandy soil, there is moisture.

Art is good for the soul, but it's also good for the soles in the Columbia Art Center exhibit "A Walk in My Shoes. " Speaking of good, this show is co-sponsored by Howard County Promotion and Tourism's Blossoms of Hope and Cherrybration. Proceeds benefit the Claudia Mayer Cancer Resource Center of Howard County General Hospital. This thematically oriented exhibit has two main categories of subject matter: flowers and shoes. Sometimes they appear in the same artwork, as in Sally Stevens' photograph "Happy Feet.

A mosaic of multi-colored flowers spilling out of a silvery vase fills a wall at the entry to the new Green House Residences at Stadium Place in the city. Tiles of varying hues and textures form a perky yellow sunflower, a brilliant red rose, delicate pink blossoms and splashes of green and lilac. When Gina Rozier last saw the piece, it was a jumble of glass, granite and stones. Rozier, who will be working in the four-story senior-care center, was one of about 100 volunteers who put the mosaic together over the past several months.

The setting was more than a century-and-a-half old, but the flowers were fresh Saturday, March 31 at Whipps Garden Cemetery's fifth annual Daffodil Day. "We had a lot of people, and we sold lots of flowers," said Aleta Gravelle, director of the Friends of Whipps Cemetery and Memorial Gardens. The daffodils were past their peak she said, but the grounds had plenty of Virginia Bluebells and celandine poppies. Located on St. John's Lane, in Ellicott City, Whipps dates back to 1855, and the last burial there was in 1915.

So many questions await Buster Posey this spring. They hover in the air like a series of foul pops, subject to the whims of wind and spin. Will his repaired left ankle respond when he hops out of his crouch to throw? How will it feel when he wakes up the following day? Will his timing at the plate be an issue after the longest layoff of his baseball life? Will he be the ebullient rookie of the year who led the Giants to a World Series title in 2010? Or will Posey's career be more about concessions than celebrations?

On June 24, 2005, CAROLYN FLOWERS, devoted wife of John Dave Flowers Jr., loving mother of Kathi Lynn Pendleton, Shelley Lorraine Flowers, Barbara Leslie Wongus, John Dave Flowers, III and Eric Scott Flowers. She is also survived by 1 sister Barbara Porter, 2 brothers, Elmer and Stewart German and a host of other relatives and friends. On Monday friends may call at VAUGHN C. GREENE FUNERAL SERVICE (EAST), 4905 York Rd., where the family will receive friends from 4 to 8 P.M. On Tuesday, Mrs. Flowers, will lie in state at Vaughn C. Greene Funeral Chapel, 4905 York Rd., where the family will receive friends from 2 to 2:30 P.M. with services to follow.

On February 22, 2007, JOSEPH FLOWERS; devoted husband of 45 years to Estelle Busey Flowers and a professional golfer. Friends may call at the FAMILY OWNED MARCH FUNERAL HOME WEST INC., 4300 Wabash Avenue on Thursday after 8:30am. The family will receive friends at Pennsylvania Avenue AME Zion Church, 1128 Pennsylvania Avenue on Friday at 11:00am. Funeral services will follow at 11:30am.

There's a lot you can do on Valentine's Day. There's the classic romantic dinner, the chocolate candy, the flowers. There's crying as you watch "Love Actually" home alone (we've just heard about this one). How about a live serenade? The Valentonez are here to help, in their words, "butter up your special lover friend or cheer up a lonely heart. " Peabody Conservatory -trained singers Melissa Wimbish, 28, and Britt Olsen-Ecker, 24, came up with the idea and enlisted their guitarist friends Paul Diem, 32, and Aldo Pantoja, 28, to form a singing group offering singing valentines from Saturday through Tuesday (packages start at $40; go to valentonez.com for details.)

How can I have better success starting flower seeds indoors? Few of my seeds sprout, and those that do die of fungus. I'm determined this year, so I'm starting them super-early in January. Whoa! When starting any transplants, check the seed packet of each species to calculate the planting times. Most seeds should be planted indoors six to eight weeks before planting in the ground. If you plant extremely early, your plants may get very tall and spindly from lack of light or require lots of repotting as they outgrow their flats.