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W e d n e s d ay, F e b r u a ry 18, 2026
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Don’t simply stop and smell It’s the time of year to not only buy roses, but also to prune them
Valentine’s Day brought roses to mind, and for gardeners, that’s a good thing. This holiday serves as a reminder that it’s time to prune many of the roses grown in Louisiana. Pruning between late GARDEN January and NEWS mid-February is one of the most important things gardeners can do to ensure a splendid display of rose blooms this spring. The procedure triggers a growth response and encourages new leaf and branch development. (LSU AgCenter horticulturists recommend doing the same thing in late summer to promote fall flowering.) A winter pruning also is the perfect occasion for reining in overgrown shrubs. Everblooming roses such as hybrid tea, grandiflora, floribunda, miniature and shrub roses all benefit from being pruned around Valentine’s Day. Gardeners will want to leave once-blooming varieties like old garden roses as well as climbing cultivars alone for now, though. These roses should be pruned after flowering wraps up in early summer, and only if needed. Climbers do occasionally need to be tamed or have their growth redirected.
STAFF PHOTO BY ROBIN MILLER
Marc Chagall’s lithograph, ‘Wedding Feast in the Shrine of the Nymphs,’ is No. 40 in a folio of 42 lithographs he created to illustrate Greek writer Longus’ story ‘Daphnis and Chloe.’ The piece, from the collection of the Park West Gallery, is featured in the LSU Museum of Art’s exhibit, ‘Daphnis and Chloe and Other Lovers.’
LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT
Marc Chagall exhibit celebrates affection at the LSU Museum of Art
A
BY ROBIN MILLER
h, to be loved the way Marc Chagall loved love. Yet saying he was in love with love would be an understatement. For him, love was something more — something that couldn’t be contained by words. So, he expressed it in art, where pictures speak their own language of love. And Chagall’s pictures spoke loudly on Feb. 12, when the LSU Museum of Art opened “Daphnis and Chloe and Other Lovers: Lithographs by Marc Chagall.” The show, presented by the Park West Foundation, runs through May 24. “We planned it this way, because the show not only opens in time for Valentine’s Day, but it’s
LSU AGCENTER PHOTO BY RANDY LABAUVE
Sharp pruners make clean cuts, which is important for efficiency as well as the plant’s healing process.
The goal for winter rose pruning is to reduce both the height and width of the plant by about one-third. If dealing with large shrubs, one can safely cut away up to twothirds of the plant’s height and width to reach a more manageable size. Clean, sharp bypass pruners are crucial for this job. Sanitize them with a 10% bleach or rubbing alcohol solution before starting to prevent spreading diseases to other plants. And be mindful that dull blades will not make clean cuts — leading to frustration for you and making it harder for the plant to heal. When trimming the plant, make each cut right above a node, or the joint on a stem where a leaf once was or where a new bud is seen forming. Ideally, cut above a node that faces outward to help steer the new growth that will emerge away from the center of the plant. One also will want to take this opportunity to look for
ä See ROSES, page 1G
Staff writer
‘DAPHNIS AND CHLOE AND OTHER LOVERS: LITHOGRAPHS BY MARC CHAGALL’
WHEN: Through May 24. Hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, with extended hours to 8 p.m. on Thursday, and 1-5 p.m. Sunday. WHERE: LSU Museum of Art in the Shaw Center for the Arts, 100 Lafayette St. ADMISSION: $5 age 13 and older. Children age 12 and younger are admitted free. ALSO: The museum will kick off the exhibit with a ‘Champagne & Chagall’ reception featuring special guest Rodolphe Sambou, consul general of France in Louisiana. Tickets are $20. Attendees must be age 21 and older. VISIT: lsumoa.org. also up during the spring,” said Michelle Schulte, the museum’s senior curator and director of programming. “When you see Marc Chagall’s work, it’s so
PROVIDED PHOTO BY THE COLLECTION OF THE PARK WEST GALLERY
Marc Chagall’s lithograph, ‘Midday in Summer,’ is among 42 of his lithographs featured in the LSU Museum of Art’s exhibit, ‘Daphnis and Chloe and Other Lovers.’ The show runs through May 24. The piece is from the collection of the Park West Gallery.
ä See CHAGALL, page 1G
BR bakery relocating to new downtown space Les Amis Bake Shoppe’s King Cake Balls
PROVIDED PHOTO FROM LES AMIS BAKE SHOP
BY MADDIE SCOTT Staff writer
Les Amis Bake Shoppe is relocating from Coursey Boulevard to downtown’s II City Plaza. Since opening in 2013, Les Amis Bake Shoppe has served cakes, cupcakes and cheesecakes to Baton Rouge at 11826 Coursey Blvd. In 2024, owner Stephanie Hansen delivered Todd Graves’ surreal 52nd birthday cake — complete with chicken fingers, fries, coleslaw and Cane’s sauce dripping down the side of the cake.
On Dec. 12, 2025, the bakery announced on its Facebook that it would temporarily close starting Christmas Day so that it could relocate to II City Plaza at 400 Convention St. II City Plaza is inside of a 12-story building with over 250,000 square feet located in downtown Baton Rouge. According to Hansen, the bakery has been moving into the new spot since the second week of January and is hoping to grand open at the new location on March 2 of this year. She plans to announce more details closer to the opening date.