A Welsh eco-group has put out the call for lovers everywhere to go green this year. They've asked us all to make cards out of scrap paper instead of buying new ones, to give potted flowers instead of cut ones. And to choose boxes of chocolates that have the least amount of packaging on. Or preferably, to give a 'waste-free' gift this year, such as a pair of concert or theatre tickets.

And fair play to them for trying to save the planet.

I wouldn't say no to a homemade card and a potted plant, but I certainly can't speak for every woman out there. So guys, please do your research before you risk giving your other half an 'eco-Valentine'.

With all the packaging and paper that we throw away already each year, what difference will another 13 million Valentine cards (in the UK alone) make to the landfill crisis situation, you might ask? On the other hand, there's nothing nicer than a handmade card, even if it is just a red heart-shaped blob of glitter on a white background. Or a paper clip twisted into the shape of a heart and stuck down on a piece of pink card. It's the message inside that counts. Similarly, if your budget doesn't run to concert tickets or a bottle of Chanel perfume or a massive bouquet of hothouse flowers, then maybe you could cook a nice meal or tidy up the garden once and for all? Light some tealights on the patio and set them out in the shape of a heart (this is a really pretty sight and will only cost about £1 but do remember never to leave lit candles unattended). For those men currently in the doghouse, now is a good time to promise to spend less time watching football with the lads and more time taking the kids to the park to play football. It's also a good time for you commitment-phobes out there to get down on one knee and pop the question.

There's only so long a girl can wait before casting around for a better offer. Long engagements are all very well and good, but after five years of waiting for an invitation, everyone concerned will begin to lose interest or forget that you are not actually married yet. If it's the fear of making a spectacle of yourself that's putting you off, then why not consider a 'small but intimate' wedding instead? Perhaps getting wed in a ruined castle or Victorian palmhouse with only 10 or 15 guests? (I still wish I'd done something truly romantic like this and avoided an awful lot of stress.)

But one thing is for certain: you've got to do something for the one you love. For goodness' sake, don't leave it to the last minute and then buy a flimsy card from the petrol station. Put some thought into it. This is your chance to say, " I Love You", and get 2008 off to a great start.

I'll be celebrating 16 years of marriage this year, if I'm spared. And the one Valentine's gift I will always remember is the first one my husband gave me after we were married: it was a shovel from Homebase and a box of miniature shrubs. Because during the eight years of our courtship, I must have expressed my longing for a garden of my own a thousand times.

My grandfather James was an expert gardener and my happiest childhood memories were of pottering about in his Victorian-style formal garden and vegetable patch near Ballygawley. Watching the birds darting in and out of the topiary hedging, cutting scented daffodils in the spring, and picking ripe tomatoes in the ramshackle greenhouse during the summer.

And so, when we got married in 1992 and bought our first home together, I was itching to transform our bare little garden plot into something that would remind me of my grandfather's wonderful garden in the country. That shovel and box of shrubs probably cost £25, but they meant the world to me. I was straight out there, marking out boundaries with a length of string and digging away happily for hours! Now, the garden is maturing and we are still happily married. Well, he hasn't left me yet ¿

So whatever you do this Valentine's Day, please do something nice, won't you?

It's a gloomy time of the year and a little love goes a long, long way.