In case you missed his story – it was friday’s posting! http://botanicalbeautiesbeasties.com/off-to-a-garden-party/

His name is Heirloom Charlie and you can read his whole story below. Part of why I am especially proud of him is I have been wanting to figure out a way to “give back” a little for all The Botanical Beauties & Beasties have done for me these past 12 months. Donating a percentage from Heirloom Charlie (a sustainable Farmer,)  to help out others feel good. With GMOs and food labels very much a hot topic these days, the timing feels perfect.  I am very pleased to have chosen Long Life Farm as the recipient of 15% of Heirloom Charlie Sales. They are local MA., CSA, organic farm who reaches in to the community in many ways to help out those “in need.”

I am also pleased by Heirloom Charlie for he is very fun to look at, my first vegetable Beauty and so a new branch of the BBB3 tree, he gets to part of marriage equality in our land of  Botaniumaus  (and be a wedding gift to celebrate a ‘real” gay marriage in the land of USA,) and I like all he symbolizes in his story/causes. So it with great pleasure I unveil  Heirloom Charlie (aka Radiator Charlie) to you in full…. on Saturday!

Nothing is on the online store yet, but there are trays, cards, boxes and prints to celebrate Heirloom Charlie (aka Radiator Charlie) which will become available soon.

col·or is a noun

I have spent a good part of the afternoon playing with paint and color…. for my wonderful, ever so fun to make, lacquered boxes! Part of the puzzle is playing with color combos, colors that pop, colors that seem happy,colors that are fun, colors that please me, and colors that compliment the Botanical Beauty that will grace the boxes top. BTW – you can see some of these luscious boxes tomorrow ( Sat May 18 at Crafts in the Park, N.Reading MA —Put this address in your GPS – 5 Central St. N. Reading MA 01864… 10-3pm)

Color plays a vitally important role in the world in which we live. Color can sway thinking, change actions, and cause reactions. It can irritate or soothe your eyes, raise your blood pressure or suppress your appetite. When used in the right ways, color can even save on energy consumption.

As a powerful form of communication, color is irreplaceable. Red means “stop” and green means “go.” Traffic lights send this universal message. Likewise, the colors used for a product, web site, business card, or logo cause powerful reactions. Color Matters! -http://colormatters.com

A cool website- all about color, the symbolism of colors, the meanings of colors….and a whole lot more!

Color can change the whole feel and emotion of an object. Color can take the mundane and make it exciting.

Whats your favorite color? I realized I really couldn’t answer that question. I have so many favorite colors! If I was tied down and being tickled and I had to say something…well maybe these days I would have to say all shades of reds, from the pinks to the purples to the hot reds! One you say - hmmm maybe today its Pink! Leave a comment and lets see your fav color(s) ! ! ! !

For me it’s (in no particular order) friends, family, flowers, yoga, my dogs, and “creating” – like a new drawing or an art/craft “object,” sunshine, fresh air, and then maybe some more flowers…… or at least those things are some of list toppers!

Since Mable (or if you prefer you can call her Mabel – she likes to mix it up a bit)  is CEO of Emos, and Emos manufacture Smiles, it seemed fitting that she get to hold the giant flower and stand in one of my favorite flowers – a Poppy. You will have to use your imaginations to see all the other “soul soothing pieces”  here with Mabel, but I can assure you they are like water drops and are sitting on top of those flowers too!  Even better…. use your imagination and think about what ever your pieces are and insert them into your mind and reality. If you are really lucky, maybe Mabel can hold some of your too!

We all know it’s spring thank goodness it’s time for flowers and herbs and gardening again! Peaceful. Healthy. Beauty. Color. Meditative. Calming. Soothing – those all words I associate with gardens and gardening. Here in my little piece of the world I have a back deck that turns into a little piece of all those words for me each year. It is a deck that I surround with “window boxes” or in this case rail boxes, that I mostly fill with Herbs. I use the herbs for cooking, ice tea (yes I grow many mints,) and just because I love being able to go out there and have all these possible scents surround me. There are naturally flowers too…but enough about what I personally plant.  The real point of this story is helping hands…..so…. I was at my local garden center to buy the soil for the boxes. There was even a special deal price of my favorite soil in a 2 1/4 cubic feet bag.  Great! Now, you need to know that I am pretty strong and about 5 foot 8, so I am not a small weak wisp of grass…. these bags are HEAVY! I struggled to get the first on my cart. Then the helping hand came. A couple came walking by, the man asked if I was getting another bag. I said yes, and he (with some effort too I may add) put the second one on cart. FAB! Then to add to the goodness, they were right behind in line to pay, and he offered to put them in my car for me. A big win for Kindness and for me. Thanks you universe for that helping hand when I needed it.

Helping hands…holding hands… the two often mix. That’s a very good thing.

April 27 – Celebrate Earth day: See over 75 exhibitors including local artisans, green products, alternative energy, community groups, health+fitness, home improvement, food, music and more!    Click here for the full listing! ( You can even do some ‘big time’ recycling at the event! Check it out! ) 11 AM -3 PM Framingham Centre Village Green on the Common, Framingham MA.

April 28 -Art In The Garden is this Sunday! 11am-4pm at Weston Nurseries is Hopkinton. In its 6th year, Art In The Garden will host 50 local artisans exhibiting their handmade wares on the beautiful grounds of Weston Nurseries.
You will find stained glass, pottery, jewelry, etched slates, bath & body products, candles, handbags, tote bags, furniture, clothing, garden art, paintings, note cards, birdhouses, winds chimes, pillows, dog collars and leashes, pet clothing, blown glass infusion jars, beaded belt buckles, scarves, honey, pickles, chocolates, pizza and more! $3 admission will benefit One Fund Boston, Mazie Memorial Foundation and Project Just Because.