Call it a luxury, call it a necessity. I almost always have fresh flowers on the table, but lately I have been assembling my bouquets from trees on the street, weeds in the yard, and herbs in my garden. In fact, sticking a sheaf of herbs in a table arrangement is not only pretty, but effective at keeping them fresh, too! Can you spot the herbs in this arrangement?

This particular arrangement has dill and lovage, as well as some flowering radish stems from my (overgrown!) radish patch. Other herbs would look great tucked in among just one or two flowers as well: flat parsley, curly parsley, cilantro, even chives and chive blossoms. Edible nasturtiums are also a great container plant and salad ingredient that you can bring indoors to enjoy.

So if you bring a bunch of parsley home from the farmers market, try sticking it in a glass of water with some flowers. It is the best way to keep herbs fresh anyway: treat them like a bunch of flowers. But if you keep them out on the table along with your actual flowers, then you can enjoy their natural beauty, and have them fresh and well-watered when you need them.

More Flowers in the Kitchen:
• Beautify: Flowers in the Kitchen
• How To: Keep Cut Flowers Longer
• Kitchen Cure Snapshot: Flowers in the Kitchen

(Images: Faith Durand)