DENVER -- One definition of imagination is the ability to start with nothing, and end up with something. Of course, that's over-simplified, but the basic point is true: imagination is the ability to see how one thing can become another, how one thing is like another, but in a surprising way. Using imagination is a skill that can be taught, and making these simple garden projects with young children is an excellent way to get them thinking along the "what if?" lines that lead both to pleasure and to discovery.

Even though it's only July, we're into the "dog days" of summer, if, by that term, we mean days when it is too hot to do anything but lay in the deep shade of a tree with a tall glass of lemonade. If you've got small children in need of amusement, take them outside with you and luxuriate in a summer afternoon spent creating -- transforming all sorts of plants into creations that will delight.

You may well remember some of these projects from your own childhood and will enjoy passing them on to your own children, complete with stories of who you made the projects with, how old you were, and so on.

Grape leaf hat: Pick several of the largest leaves from your grape vine (any kind of large leaf will do) and use pieces of the vine to carefully attach three or more leaves together upside down. Add a marigold at the peak, and the littlest child can be a garden elf.

Flower lai: Use marigolds or other sturdy flowers and supervise an older child with a large needle threaded with dental floss to string the flowers together through their base to make a strand long enough to easily fit over the child's head. He or she can wear it that night to the "luau," that is, burgers grilled outside and eaten on the patio.

Wood nymph crown: Use some dried grapevines or other flexible foliage to twist into a circle the right size to sit atop the child's head. Tuck petunia ,nasturtium, daisy and snapdragon blossoms in between the foliage. Add plenty of leaves to make the crown lush. A wide ribbon trailing down the back is a nice touch.

Fish in a bottle. Choose a large bottle and take it, along with a pencil or nail, out to the zucchini patch. Scratch a fish shape into the side of a tiny vegetable, then slip the forming squash through the neck, all the way into the bottle. In time, the fish will grow to fill the bottle. Your child will love showing his magical "fish in a bottle" to the other kids.

Hollyhock dolls: Use an inverted bloom, nipped at the bud, for the doll's skirt. Then, a couple of closed buds, speared with a toothpick, attached to the skirt, form the doll's bodice and head. Spear an additional toothpick horizontally through the bodice to serve as the doll's arms. Use a fine point marker to draw eyes and a mouth on the bud that serves as the head. Use a small bloom or a single petal as the dolls hat. Make a group of dolls, all different shades and colors, and spend a little time under a tree with your favorite little girl, staging a hollyhock doll dance.

Faerie Tea Party: Help a little girl host her own tea party using her imagination as a guide. Use fern fronds for place mats, acorn cups fill in as doll-sized tea cups, and serve a choice of birchbark sandwiches filled with buttercup spread and tea brewed from soldier moss. Dessert is, of course, pebbles a la mud.

Daisy Grandmothers: These are made by trimming the daisy's petals into bonnet shapes, leaving two long ones for the bonnet ties. To complete their faces, use a soft pencil to draw two eyes and a smile on the yellow center of the flower. Is it possible these old ladies are the grandmothers of the hollyhock dolls above?

Walnut Boats: To make a boat, fill a half of a walnut shell with mud or a gumdrop. Stick in a toothpick for a mast and use a leaf for a sail. Float in a pan of water or down the gutter. If it is twilight, insert a birthday candle in place of the mast.

Clover Chain: Pick a clover, slit the stem just below the flower head with your thumbnail. Push another clover stem through the slit until its head stops it from going further. Continue as long as you like. A five-foot chain makes a usable jump rope.