Candles: Decorate candles with ferns, leaves, or flower petals. Melt some paraffin over a pan of water on low heat, watching carefully so it doesn’t overheat. Use dabs of the melted wax to attach the leaves and petals to the candle, and then gently paint the wax over the entire surface of the plant material. Allow the wax to dry, then buff it with a cloth.
Making herbed vinegars couldn’t be easier, and they make impressive gifts, especially if decanted into decorative bottles. Use your favorite culinary herbs and vinegars, or experiment with blends. Try pairing strong-flavored herbs like rosemary and sage with cider or red wine vinegar; use milder rice wine vinegar for more delicately flavored herbs like tarragon. Basil, cilantro, fennel, mint and thyme are all good candidates for herb vinegars; toss in a few chili peppers for heat or some strips of lemon or orange rind for a citrusy note. Adding a few chive flowers, nasturtium blossoms or purple basil leaves will add a nice tint to the vinegar.
1. Place the clean, dry herbs and other flavorings in a clean glass jar and then fill the jar with vinegar, making sure herbs are submerged. Shoot for a ratio of about a cup of fresh herbs for every two 2 cups of vinegar.
2. Put the lid on the jar and place it in a cool, dark place for about two weeks.
3. Pour the vinegar through cheesecloth and into a clean jar to remove the soggy herbs.
4. Store it in a big jar or decant it into pretty bottles and seal tightly. Although the vinegar’s acidity acts as a preservative, to be on the safe side, it’s a good idea to store the vinegar in the refrigerator and recommend the recipient do so as well.
I always thought primroses were difficult to grow, but I’ve found them to be super easy as long as you provide shade and moist soil. There are 425 species of primula. They come in every color of the rainbow and range in size from little 3-inch dwarfs to 4-foot giants. The photo at right shows Primula denticulata, also known as the drumstick primula. Colors range from white through lilac, pink and deep red.
Place fresh plant material between two sheets of paper, and then place something heavy over the paper — a few big gardening books, perhaps. Choose relatively flat plant material, such as leaves and ferns, as well as flowers that aren’t too bulky — pansies, for example. Once they’re pressed flat, you can use them right away or store them flat between sheets of paper.
Create a collage by tacking the leaves and flowers to a sheet of paper with small dabs of glue. You can frame the collage as is or photocopy it to make multiple notecards or framed prints. I’ve found that photocopied pressed flowers look very real and they won’t dry out and fade like the real plant material does.
You can use dried herbs to create all sorts of “giftable” items, including culinary herb mixes, herb teas and potpourri. Dry herbs the same way you dry flowers — gather the stems into small bunches with rubber bands, and hang them upside down in a warm, dry, dark place. Cover them with a paper bag to keep the dust off. If humidity makes air-drying impossible, dry them in a warm oven or use a Food Dehydrator.
Following are a few ideas for transforming dried herbs into gifts. Package the herbs in an airtight container or plastic bag, listing the ingredients on a label. Include a recipe card with suggested uses.
A bouquet of dried flowers in a pretty vase is an easy gift. You can also use dried flowers adorn a grape vine wreath base. My favorite flowers to dry are tall ageratum, amaranth, celosia, hydrangea, lavender, ornamental oregano, salvia, strawflower and yarrow.
These flowers have strong stems and dry quickly. Just strip off the leaves, gather the stems into small bunches with rubber bands and hang them upside down in a warm, dry, dark place.
When water falls on this plant’s pleated leaves, it beads up into dazzling little jewels. The flowers, which appear in early June, are yellow-green and make a fabulous filler for bouquets of almost any color. A very long-lived and trouble-free plant. The standard-size plant is Alchemilla mollis. For small spaces, look for Alchemilla erythropoda, which only gets about 6 inches high.
The beautiful, burgundy-leaved Euphorbia dulcis does self sow, but the seedlings can be easily removed (and given to appreciative visitors). I also like Euphorbia polychroma (shown at right), which is a dome of chrome yellow in late spring. In zones 5 and warmer, try Euphorbia polychroma ‘Bonfire’, which has three seasons of color. There’s also a new introduction called Jessie, which grows up to 4 feet tall.
Unlike most grasses, this one grows best and looks best in partial shade. It’s short (12-15”) and clump-forming, and the narrow leaves have a cascading habit. Depending on the variety, its foliage is golden green, lime green or variegated. Some turn red, orange or purple in the fall.
Most foxgloves are biennials, which means they spend their first year growing foliage, their second year flowering and then they die. This may sound troublesome, but the plants usually reseed and sort things out so you wind up having flowers every year. I find Digitalis grandiflora the easiest and most reliable of the bunch.
