OK, so 2004 is definitely underway! This time last week, I was running around the kitchen like a mad thing, baking breads and cakes and toasting seeds ready for Bride's Day, and this time next week, Valentine's Day will have passed as well. Traditionally, that date is sacred to Juno, who embodies all three aspects of the Goddess. I think that makes this weekend a great midpoint. It's a balance between, on one hand, an observance of the transition from Crone to Maiden and, on the other, a reminder of the eternity of all three incarnations. Of course, it's also a breather during which I can worry about what's happening in the garden!

The tomatoes, aubergines and peppers sown in early January are coming on well, and the effort put in on improving soil structure over the winter seems to be paying off - even if more manure got tracked over the kitchen floor, via doggie paws, than ever got dug into the garden! Due to said dogs, I don't grow daffodils or narcissi, as the bulbs are poisonous to them, but if you do go in for spring-flowering bulbs, you should be experiencing a glorious flush of colour over the next few weeks. However, as the Scottish proverb goes, 'If Candlemas Day be dry and fair, the half o' winter's come and mair' and - here at any rate - the weather stayed good on the day, so perhaps it's a little early to think about turning down the heat on the propagators…

Still, there is a whole host of plants and herbs associated with the Imbolc/Valentine's period. The most common are, of course, roses (rosa sp., red, naturally, and preferably in dozens!), lilies (lilium sp.), and carnations (dianthus caryophyllus). Less well known associations include angelica (angelica archangelica), bay (laurus nobilis), tansy (tanacetum vulgare), coltsfoot (tussilago farfava) and violets (violaceae sp.).

Of these, angelica and bay are best bought as young plants in March or April. Roses, if you have them, may be starting to show some enthusiastic new growth; if you don't, they can be propagated or sown in autumn.

Tansy - otherwise known as bitter button, wormwort or parsley fern - may be sown under protection or propagated by root division during the next six weeks, but most areas would be advised to wait for slightly warmer weather. It is well worth growing tansy from seed, especially if you have fruit bushes or trees, as it acts as a "medicine plant", and repels flying pests, hence its popular use as a medieval strewing herb and - in a more macabre usage - as an infused oil, smeared on corpses and shrouds to deter maggots.

On a lighter note, tansy has uses as a bitter flavouring in meat and fruit dishes, although only very small amounts are needed. It is superb in the eponymous Tansy Pudding - a C16th English recipe that is simply a steamed sponge, flavoured with 2-3tbsp chopped herb, and served with a lemon sauce. A similar recipe, for tansy cakes, was once eaten at the beginning of Lent, with the idea that the herb's bitterness reminded the eater of Jesus' agonies on the cross. As the accompanying rhyme goes:

"On Easter Sunday is the pudding seen
To which the Tansy lends her sober green."

Sweet violet (viola odorata) is probably one of the most popular violets, and can now be propagated from parent plants' runners. It benefits from semi-shade, with a rich, moist soil, and has uses as a mild laxative, or for insomnia, coughs and bronchitis, as well as its better-known cosmetic properties.

While most lilies are recommended for planting in September-November, many varieties can be planted now, in deep containers or prepared beds. There are any number to choose from - through Asiatic and Oriental hybrids to species varieties - and plants can be found to fit almost any garden conditions. Protected from hard frosts, heavy or wet soils, and standing water, you can be assured of a great display of summer colour and scent, whichever variety you choose.

Some of my favourites include lilium 'con amore' (appropriate for this time of year), which produces sprays of pink-tinged white flowers with a medium scent; l. speciosum, var. rubrum, a striking, dark red species lily that grows to around 5' (1.5.m), with heavily-scented, spotted flowers; lilium 'King Pete' and lilium 'Connecticut King', which has a wonderful aroma and huge, deep yellow flowers that last well through the summer season.

With all of these lilies, the bulbs should be planted in loam-based compost, or a good, sandy soil (mix your own if you need to, avoiding any excess weight in the structure), at two or three times the depth of the bulb and at equal spacing between each one. Generally, they all appreciate full sun, with shade at the base - 'hot head, cool feet', as the saying goes.

If you like a challenge, sharpen your claws on some of the varieties above and, in early autumn, try establishing a Madonna lily (lilium candidum). This medicinal and aromatic steadfast of Graeco-Roman herbalists bears beautiful, trumpet-like white flowers with a heady and striking scent; in a well-drained alkaline soil, with plenty of sun, it will reach about five feet (1.5m) in height. Unlike the other liliums, the Madonna (or should that be 'prima donna'?) roots only from the base of the bulb, and needs to be grown in a sandy loam covering no more than two inches over the tip. It's more prone to botrytis than many lilies, but if you can get it to grow, it is worth it - the bulbs, collected in late summer after growth diminishes, contain a mucilage that is even better as a cosmetic fixative, or treatment for burns and corns, than mallow root. The flowers, macerated in alcohol, make a soothing application for bruises and sprains, and provide - in my opinion - the best lily scent to add to ointment perfumes and unguents, such as the famous Egyptian recipe, which we call Kyphi.

These solid balls of perfumed ointment were made by boiling clarified beef fat in sweet wine - although I use oil thickened with beeswax - and infusing this base with scented leaves, flowers and spices, before adding myrrh as a fixative. Popular ingredients included lily blooms, lemongrass, pistachio nuts, cinnamon, mint, myrtle wood, marjoram, cardamom and sweet flag and, instead of being applied directly to the body, the unguent was burned in a censer, allowing the fragrance to permeate the skin and hair.

According to Plutarch, the slow-burning perfume smells firstly of mint and lemon, and then a little like juniper berries, as the scent matures. Hmm… could be just the thing for Feb 14th!