Two months later, he began ordering the flowers and plants so that growers could begin forcing blooms by late December.

It behooves gardeners to read the plant descriptions in catalogues carefully when they are ordering new plants.

Early every winter I order plants from catalogues - usually too many plants - out of pure whim or curiosity.

Ms. Secor, an avid gardener, had ordered plants from a distributor in the Midwest.

Utilities would be reluctant to order new plants until they have a clear idea of what their costs would be, these experts said.

It can easily be started from seed, though I've ordered plants this year from White Flower Farm, www.whiteflowerfarm.com.

The booming, fuel-hungry nations across the region are ordering and building nuclear plants at a rate not seen in decades.

Plant shopping with some knowledge helps, even when ordering plants by mail.

In the meantime, finish ordering any seeds or plants that you can't live without this year.

And if the time comes when utilities want to order new plants, opponents will argue that there is still no place for the wastes.