Gardening-Inspired Table Centerpieces

Flower Fun

• Arrange six small, footed ice cream dishes around a single clear bowl in the center. Secure floral foam in each dish. Place a small watermelon in the center bowl. Put one sunflower in each dish. When guests are seated at the table they will catch a glimpse of the whimsical flower pattern made by the sunflowers and watermelon.

Colors of the Sun

• Fill a tin pail with an assortment of fresh fruits and vegetables that will give any bouquet of flowers a run for the money. This sunny display is ripe with colors of the sun. Use small orange and red jalapenos along with fresh oranges and lemons. Thread fishing line through raspberries to make several small strands and allow them to spill over the sides of the pail. Fragrant spearmint leaves add just the right touch of foliage to your gardening-inspired centerpiece.

Romantic Flowers

• Pick a few of your fullest hydrangeas and your newly budding white roses. Fill a tall vase with the colorful hydrangeas and surround them with the roses. This centerpiece, using flowers you've grown, adds a romantic touch to any summer evening with the one you love.

Edible Centerpiece

• Put together a centerpiece that will disappear right before your eyes. Invite your friends over for a salad luncheon and serve each of them a bowl of lettuce. Instruct them to pull their fresh vegetables and herbs straight from the centerpieces you arrange in punch bowls filled with fresh produce from your garden.

  Cut all but 1/4 inch of red, yellow and orange bell peppers into slices across the middle. Spiral the pieces on a wooden skewer to give them the appearance of flowers. Stick the skewers into an inverted watermelon rind at the bottom of the bowl. Use slices of cucumbers, snap peas, and banana peppers along with parsley, basil and oregano. Include radishes, curls of carrots, grape tomatoes and red onion pieces to complete your centerpiece.

Herbs

• Line a terra cotta pot and dish with plastic and floral foam. Stick sprigs of parsley and sage around the entire bottom of the pot. Fill the inside of the pot to nearly over-flowing with a combination of rosemary and lavender to create a lush, fragrant herbal centerpiece.