Gifts That Keep On Growing

(CBS)  Looking for a last-minute Mother's Day gift? Steve Orr says that plants are the way to go — at the 11th hour or anytime!

Orr, who is a contributing editor at Domino magazine (dominomag.com/magazine), points out that plants last much longer than cut flowers, can be much more special than roses or daisies, and look beautiful with very little effort.

On The Early Show Friday, Orr spotlighted two different categories of plants: ones that can be ordered online and still arrive to Mom in time, and inexpensive ones you can get at the hardware or grocery store and easily dress up yourself to make them look great. All the plants he showed are easy to care for and none is too picky.

PLANTS TO ORDER ONLINE

These can be bought via the Web on Friday and delivered to Mom on Saturday, just in time for her big day. This is a nice option for procrastinators and people who don't live near their mothers. Of course, you don't have to order these online, you can head to a nursery or specialty store. Online or not, all represent great gift ideas — different from the average houseplant, but still easy to care for.

Bonsai trees
Bonsai, Japanese maple, $65 from OrganicBouquet.com.
Bonsai are not only evergreens, they have many other varieties, such as cute mini-trees. Care tip: This tree actually likes to be outside. You can leave it in the pot, or put it in the ground.

Tangerine bonsai tree, $65 from OrganicBouquet.com. Order by Friday at 2 p.m. EST to ensure Saturday delivery. A beautiful AND tasty choice! All fruit plants have flowers first (and the citrus flowers smell amazing — very tropical), then you can actually eat the fruit off them. Care tip: Water once a week, and check for pests (white fly and scale); if you have them, put the plants in the shower and run water on them for one minute to the knock bugs off.

Orchids
"Lady Slipper," $58 from RedEnvelope.com; Order by Friday at 12 p.m. EST to ensure Saturday delivery. Orchids used to be very rare and hard to find, but now you can buy them almost everywhere, and they're truly easy to keep happy. Care tip: Don't over-water; make sure the pot the orchid comes in has a drainage hole at the bottom. If it doesn't, warn Mom to move the plant into a different pot.

Topiary
Gardenia topiary, $55 from MarthaStewartFlowers.com. Order Friday by 3 pm EST to ensure Saturday delivery. Topiaries bring an elegant touch to any room or table setting, and gardenias have a wonderful fragrance. Care tip: It's easy to maintain the topiary's shape. Simply snip off any growth you don't want. Surprisingly, it requires very little clipping, perhaps only once or twice a year.


IN-PERSON GIFTS

These are perfect for people who will actually see Mom on Mother's Day and want to invest about 30 minutes in a simple project. Orr showed how to spruce up some simple, inexpensive plants, to transform a plant in a plastic pot into a thoughtful gift.

Mossy Dish Garden
Buy three to five different houseplants (about $10 each from any home center or nursery), such as African violets or ferns. Take them out of their plastic pots and repot them in a shallow dish, or even the watering dish from the bottom of a large ceramic pot. Care tip: Since there's typically no drainage hole in these shallow dishes, just tell Mom to water sparingly when the soil is dry.

Modern succulent garden
This is a great option for moms who don't think they can grow plants or have little time to care for them. These succulents aren't demanding and are hard to kill. They need strong sun and just a little water. Buy sempervivums and echevarias (two common types of succulents). They cost about $3 apiece at most local nurseries. Transfer from original packaging into modern metal low planter. You want to choose something that's clean and simple to compliment the plants' modern look; stay away from ornamented planters. The ones Orr showed are $15-$20 from Jamali.com. Care tip: Use a sandy soil to pot succulents.

Herb garden
This is a fun idea because it's pretty and practical. Simply transfer the plants from their plastic containers into pots or small windowsill box. The plants themselves shouldn't cost more than $5 apiece. Care tip: Don't put fertilizer on herbs because it lessens their essential oils, making them less fragrant and flavorful.

Scented geraniums
Their leaves come in a variety of scents, such as cinnamon, rose, lemon, orange, chocolate and mint. Orr suggests snapping off some leaves and placing them in sugar for a few hours or a few days. This flavors the sugar, which you can then use for baking. For instance, put the sugar in the bottom of pan for pound cake.