Southerners love to share the seeds of our favorite vegetables and flowers. That's why many heirloom selections of tomatoes and zinnias are still around. Here's how to pass along the plants you care about most to the people you care about most.

Web Exclusive: Print out a seed packet envelope pattern.

Customized packets are a wonderful way to share seeds. Sunflowers and tithonias are perfect for this project.

Three Steps to Success
The secret to saving seeds is mimicking nature. If left to their own devices, most of our garden plants drop their seeds to the ground and sprout new plants the next year. By saving seeds in the fall, we simply make this process more efficient.

Step 1:
Select a disease-free plant with characteristics you like, such as great taste, pretty blooms, or early yield. Let the plant reach full maturity. If saving seeds from flowers such as sunflowers, let the seedheads turn brown. Vegetables should be completely ripe (for more on saving vegetable seeds, visit www.seedsave.org).

Step 2:
Remove the seeds from the seedhead or the fruit, completely separating the seeds from all the twigs and stems. Let the seeds dry on a screen or a newspaper in a well-ventilated location out of direct sun.

Step 3:
After about four days, the seeds should be dry. Place in an envelope (print out a seed packet envelope pattern) or a glass jar, and label with the name and date the seeds were saved. Put them in the freezer for two days to kill any pests, and then store them in a cool, dark location, such as a closet or refrigerator. Most seeds should be used within three years.