Arranged by season, 60 easy but impressive projects provide wonderful ideas for gift-giving and home decorating throughout the year. Spring is the time to make violet jelly, or a bride's book of flowers, or a dollhouse garden. In summer create bath bags and oils and baby baskets. Fall projects include peach bread, vegetable strings, and scented potholders, and for winter there are corn-shuck dolls, wreaths, and miniature terrariums. A special chapter tells how to plant a "useful" crafts garden. Each project is so well-illustrated and clearly described that even a novice will be rewarded with lovely results. And more experienced crafters will benefit from the author's sensible advice and helpful shortcuts. Handmade Gifts from a Country Garden is a classic example of what a crafts book should be. The text is charming without being cloying, the photography is exquisite, the crafts are lovely and unique, the directions are clear and simple, and the various appendixes and indexes are truly helpful. Moreover, Laura C. Martin has a pleasant and encouraging voice, like a cross between a sincere homeroom mother and Martha Stewart. The 60 projects are arranged seasonally, and time, cost, materials, difficulty, and shelf life are given for each one. The projects run the gamut of complexity, from small pots of herbs (rated one pair of scissors--the easiest) to a lacy bridal-flower album (rated four pairs of scissors). It's not necessary to actually grow the ingredients--all can be purchased. Several pages at the beginning of the book detail what is needed to start out, and a section at the back gives relevant information for growing the various plants used. Handmade Gifts from a Country Garden would be a marvelous gift for anyone who has a bountiful garden or simply loves plants and crafts. Used Book in Good Condition