Plant a topiary with heart in a new or collectible pottery urn. Choose a thriving ivy with long tendrils, then place it in the urn with potting soil. Anchor an 8-inch-tall wire heart-shape wreath form into the center of the plant. You may need to stake it with bamboo skewers hidden in the soil. Then wrap the ivy around the wreath form, trimming as necessary with garden snips.

Matthew’s Secrets
Make a similar topiary using an oval or square wreath form to give as a teacher gift at other times of the year.