This holiday season, give gifts made with love from the garden to fellow gardeners. Save and give flower seeds, dry herbs for potpourri, and give dried culinary herbs in herbal gift baskets.
Easy Flower Seeds to Save and Give
It's easy to save seeds from many common flower garden plants. Seeds collected in the fall can be packed into decorative tins, boxes, or homemade seed envelopes and given as gifts.
- Marigolds: Marigolds produce tubular-shaped seed pods. Once the seed heads are dry, simply pluck them off with your fingertips or a sharp pair of garden pruners. Save them in a coffee tin or bucket. When ready, spread paper towels over a work surface. Roll the seedpods between the fingertips until the pod breaks open and each little seed drops to the paper towel. Seed resemble small match sticks. Gather up the seeds and place them in decorative tins, boxes or a small envelope. Label with the date and type of flower.
- Morning Glories: Morning glories produce abundant seeds in clusters like black peas hanging from the vines. Once the seeds are dark and feel dry to the touch, pluck them off the vines. Save in a container, and take out only as many as you need for the gift envelope.
- Echinacea: The cones from purple coneflower or Echinacea produce abundant seeds. Gather as soon as seed pods are dry, and shake them over a paper towel or pluck them out with the fingertips to remove seeds from the dry flowers. Few seeds simply mean the birds beat you to it!
- Sunflowers: Dry sunflower heads in a sheltered yet bright location or in full sunshine to prevent mildew. Use the fingertips to pluck out the seeds. Use the seeds for homemade bird seed or place in a container to give as gifts.
Dried Herbs for Potpourri
Many herbs and flowers can be dried to create homemade potpourri. Lavender flowers should be snipped during the summer months and dried in warm, sunny conditions to prevent mildew. Store the flowers for use in potpourri. Roses can also be sun dried, with the petals crumbled into homemade potpourri.
Dried Culinary Herbs as Gifts
Many herbs dry well and no special equipment is needed. An old baking sheet or baking pan suffices as a solar dryer. Snip the herb leaves such as basil, oregano or mint, and spread one type out in the bottom of the pan or try. Place in the sun until it dries completely. Crumble the herbs with fingertips and store in a small glass jar. Be sure to label the jar to identify herbs.
Assembling the Garden Gift Basket
Choose the best seeds, dried flowers and herbs on hand to assemble a holiday garden gift basket. Use clean mason jars for seeds or purchase small containers at garage sales, yard sales, dollar stores or other discounters. Create original labels on the computer and label each item. Place in a gift basket with a holiday-themed dish towel lining the basket to add yet one more useful item. Wrap and give a gift from the heart, a garden gift basket made with love.
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