Wrap a small twig wreath around your homespun napkins.

Fill a chipped or cracked teacup with fresh or dried flowers for a centerpiece.

Tie old twigs together to make a primitive picture frame.

Through the ages, plants have taken on many meanings.  Use the language of flowers to compose your own messages: Crocuses for mirth or cheerfulness Ferns for sincerity or fascination Forget-me-nots for true love or don't forget me Pansies mean you occupy my thoughts Marjoram is for blushes Periwinkle is for friendship Red roses are for love Stock is for lasting beauty Sweet William for gallantry Tulips are a declaration of love and Violets for faithfulness and modesty

Why not celebrate Valentine's Day all year by planting a garden full of plants with heart-shaped leaves?  In partial shade, plants like wild ginger, Serbian bellflower, red epimedium, "Frances Willaims" hosta, and woolly blue violet will put some "heart" in your planting.

Why pay for expensive dried arrangements when you can make your own?  Create a lovely arrangement by starting with globelike alliums and spiky delphiniums to define the overall shape.  Then add brightly colored globe amaranths and silver honesty seedpods.  Finally, fill in with airy baby's breath and textured grasses like pennisetum.  You can grow all of these plants in your garden and air-dry them for later use.

Color Easter eggs the natural way this year.  Use beets or cranberries for pink, onion skins for yellow to light brown, purple grapes or red cabbage for purple, and blueberries for blue.  For yellow dye place 5-6 layers of yellow onion skins in a covered glass or stainless steel pan.  Add 1 cup of water and boil for 5-10 minutes.  For an olive-green dye, do the same with red onion skins.  For a pretty blue dye, use half a head of red cabbage, shredded.  After boiling add 2 tablespoons vinegar to every 3/4 cup liquid to set the dye.  Cool slightly and strain into a container large enough to hold one or several eggs.  Place a hard-boiled egg in the dye and allow it to steep for 15 to 30 minutes, turning several times if the dye does not cover the egg completely.

Paperwhite narcissus can be forced easily.  Fill a clay saucer with pebbles, nestle the bulbs in among them and add water.  Set in a dark closet and keep the bulbs constantly moist.  Bring them out into the light once sprouts appear.

Luffas are grown like other members of the squash family.  Pick the dark green fruit when no more than 7 inches long for eating.  They will grow to be about 2 feet long and will turn yellow when ready to harvest for sponges.  To make your own luffa sponges, soak the mature fruit in water until the skins peel off easily in large pieces.  Take out the seeds, shape the sponges, wash them well with soap and water, and dry them in the sun for several days.

What a handy way to keep garden tools within easy reach. Use old mailboxes around the garden to store small tools in for convenience, like a hand shovel, pruners, a weed digger, etc.  If you are feeling creative, you can make an attractive mailbox by painting it with garden designs and planting vines and flowers around it.

Make a herbal pillow by sewing 2 muslin pieces together on 3 sides.  Add dried herbs to the muslin bag and sew closed.  Cut 2 pieces of cotton print fabric the same shape as, but slightly larger than, the muslin pieces.  With right sides together, sew 3 sides, then turn the pillowcase right side out.  Place the muslin bag inside.  Turn the seam allowances on the open side of the pillowcase to the inside and slipstitch the opening closed.

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