Okay, you prepared your soil and planted your vegetable garden with all kinds of wonderfully flavorful, nutritious foods, you’re watering and watching them grow, and wondering ….. When can I start to eat them, how do I harvest them, and how do I get the most out of these plantings? Here are some tips on vegetable crops harvest timing and techniques that may not be self-evident. Even if you’re a seasoned gardener, you may not be aware of some of these procedures! [Read More]
Harvest Guidelines for Vegetable Crops
Become a Plant Mom!
Our youngest gardener Baby Bonnie, with her Mother and Grandmother
This Sunday, May 8th we celebrate Mother’s Day! There are several different claims to the inception of the Mothers’ Day or Mother’s Day holiday in the US, inspired by ideas of helping less fortunate mothers, reducing infant and maternal mortality, voicing opposition to wars, and honoring motherhood. All of these share the common core idea of honoring Nurturers.
So even if you’ve never functioned as the mother of human children, you can still be a Plant Mom. When we prepare our soil, plant our seeds, keep them moist until they germinate, and give them the care they need until they are grown-up enough to fend for themselves (or require less attention), we are Mothering them. By planting for pollinators and native life-forms of all kinds, we are nurturing our ecosystem and helping to bring it back to balance and health.
This week, we invite you to visit us and choose some new plants to nurture and mother. And honor the Mothers in your life with the plants, garden items, books, classes or healthy products they’d love. We have a beautiful line of glazed pots for patios, entryways and balconies. Our organic pepper, tomato, and herb starts are pouring in, as are many new perennials and shrubs, roses, vines, grasses, and annuals, all neonic-free. We also have plenty of fruit trees and berry bushes, and seeds for delicious summer crops like beans, basil, cucumber, zucchini, pumpkin, and melon, and glorious pollinator-supporting flowers like Lace Flower, Poppy, Zinnia, Sunflower, Nasturtium, Gloriosa Daisy, Cosmos, Morning Glory, and many, many more!
Unique Peonies
We have a limited number of choice Peonies in 2-gallon pots, ready to make a long-lived presence in your garden! These varieties are different from the ones we will have in stock in a couple of weeks, which will be in 1-gallon pots.
Peonies are classic garden plants that add a lot of charm and beauty to the garden, increasing in size and beauty for many decades. Their gorgeous, fragrant blooms and lush foliage have made them popular for many years. When a peony is finished blooming, the attractive foliage mound makes a great seasonal ‘shrub’. And, of course, the sensuous flowers make stunning bouquets. Cut them when the buds have swelled and are beginning to open slightly. [Read More]
No Mow May
Give yourself a break by putting away your lawn mower for the month of May with the additional benefit of feeding our early bees!
Lawns are generally a sterile environment for pollinators, but we can turn them into a temporary food source to give bees a leg up in the crucial spring season. By allowing plants typically identified as “weeds” (think dandelions, violets, clover) to flower they can provide food and fuel for our early pollinators that are emerging from hibernation. In turn, these bees go on to pollinate our fruit trees, shrubs, and wildflowers. [Read More]
Beet and Nettle Herbal Broth
Beet and Nettle Broth
This mineral-rich, vegan broth offers many of the benefits of traditional bone broth! As we slow down, herbs and plants you grow from Harlequin’s Gardens can nourish you this winter. Many thanks to Mitten Lowe at Journey to Wellness for the recipe.
COLLARD GREENS: Easy to Grow, Nutritious & Delicious
Though commonly associated with culinary traditions of the Southeastern US, collards originated in Europe, along with kale, cabbage etc., and are easy to grow in cooler climates, too.
Grow collards in full sun (for fastest growth), or part shade. Give them plenty of space, 18” apart. Collards appreciate moist, fertile soil with plenty of organic matter (compost) and applications of compost tea. [Read More]
Earth Day 2022
This Friday, April 22 we will celebrate Earth Day, originally planned 52 years ago to bring a billion people into the streets to let our leaders know for sure that the health and resilience of our planet and our environment is of the Utmost Importance. Since then, a lot has changed on our planet. Fortunately, many of us have awakened to a new paradigm that respects, honors and stewards the planet and its intricately connected living systems. New generations are growing up with the inspiration to live more simply so that others may simply live, and to make the regeneration of Earth’s balance their life’s work. [Read More]
Show Your Support for Habitat Creation!
Bring fauna into your yard, and let others know you’re in solidarity with our other-than-human neighbors!.
It’s nesting season, and we can do a lot to support our feathered friends. Consider a birdhouse, and garden signs to express your care.
Beloved Monarch Butterflies are now Endangered
Monarch butterflies previously considered Threatened, have now been classified as Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the world’s most comprehensive scientific authority on the status of species. Two major driving factors are habitat loss (and thus, food loss), and climate change.
“The numbers of Western monarchs, which live west of the Rocky Mountains, plummeted by an estimated 99.9 percent between the 1980s and 2021. While they rebounded somewhat this year, they remain in great peril. Eastern monarchs, who make up most of the population in North America, dropped by 84 percent from 1996 to 2014. The new designation of endangered covers both populations.” (New York Times.) [Read More]
Welcome New Gardeners!
We are here for you! You’re in the high desert/steppe now, with short growing seasons, sudden temperature changes, unpredictable precipitation, low humidity, drying winds, alkaline soils that are low in organic matter and nitrogen, hot summers and cold winters. Despite these challenges, gardens can thrive here, and be productive, rewarding and beautiful!
Our gardens can support us by providing beauty, nutrient-dense food and plant medicine, and shelter from temperature and weather extremes. At the same time, our gardens can give us an opportunity for nurturing that goes beyond our own garden plants, supporting our entire local ecosystem, including our essential insects, birds, native plants and other wildlife. [Read More]
The Vegetable Report
What a glorious spring! Having been blessed with generous snow and rain, the land is bursting with energy, greener than green, and flowering in kaleidoscopic exuberance! Migratory birds have been arriving or passing though our region this month, offering sightings of avian treasures like Lazuli Buntings and Western Tanagers, not to mention the hummingbirds. We do live in a wondrous world!
THE VEGETABLE REPORT
Opening this Thursday, March 3, 2022!
Opening Day will be here in just a few minutes (or it seems to our busy-bee staff!) and our doors will re-open this Thursday, March 3rd at 9 AM. We hope to see you then! Our hours for the month of March are Thursday through Sunday, 9 AM to 5 PM. Then beginning Tuesday, April 1st, our hours expand to six days a week, Tuesday through Sunday. [Read More]
The Tomatoes are Coming!
The bad news is that last week’s small delivery of tomato starts froze when the wind blew open the back door of our greenhouse in the middle of the night.
The good news is that the next 38 flats will be ready for sale on Friday! (and there will be many more becoming available through April and May). This week’s tomato starts include: [Read More]
News Flash?
This morning’s broadcast of This Week In Water on community radio station KGNU announced that results of a 5-year study conducted by the U. of Washington found that using regenerative farming practices such as not tilling the soil, growing cover crops, and having plant diversity affect the nutritional content of vegetables.
Special Plants to buy now!
We propagate and grow a lot of great plants here at the nursery, which gives us (and you!) an advantage when the wholesale suppliers run short in mid and late summer. We’re very pleased to have beautiful stock of some highly desirable and hard-to-find shrubs and perennials right now, including some choice native plants, Plant Select® winners, and customer favorites.
Here are some brief profiles of some of our best current offerings. And this week, Harlequin’s Members can buy them for 20% off! [Read More]
2023 Fall Sale Information & Newsletter!
Dear Friends and Fellow Gardeners,
Welcome to Autumn and to Harlequin’s Gardens 2023 Fall Plant Sale!
Gardeners can’t be faint-hearted. No matter how much we know, we have to be prepared for the unpredictable. Last winter’s three waves of below zero weather caused some woody plants to die back that have been hardy for decades. Then we were blessed with rain. Denver’s 6” of rain in June broke a record. At the same time, we are having the “hailiest” year in Colorado history. And while other regions have suffered extreme heat, our area has had a record number of days under 90 degrees. Many of our gardens have never looked better.[Read More]
Anellabees Honey Candy and Caramels
Eve found Ft. Collins based Anellabees honey candies and fell in love with the innovative and delicious candies and the people behind them. Anellabees was inspired by a curious little beekeeper, Anella (who has helped with the family’s beehives since the age of two!), and her mother’s passion to create a honey-based candy with quality ingredients. Their candies originated in Fort Collins as a mother-daughter passion project in 2017, when Danielle and Anella began testing hard candy recipes in their kitchen using an old confectionery press from the 1880s. The goal was to create a honey-based candy that everyone in the family would love, free of the unnecessary, unhealthy ingredients, like high-fructose corn syrup, soy, gluten, preservatives, and artificial flavors, found in most confections. Their honey is sourced from beekeepers in the U.S. and all additional ingredients – spices, butter, and dairy, are organic and rbGH-free.
Anellabees gives back by donating a portion of their sales to organizations like PPAN, CO Farm & Food Alliance, and World Bee Project who are doing the essential work of protecting our planet, people, and pollinators.
Supporting our Colorado Trees
So they can support us!
Last Friday Denver Botanic Gardens hosted a day-long conference on Tree Diversity. This timely subject arises because of the importance of trees to the livability of our cities and suburbs and the degree to which the effects of Climate Change have already begun to affect our urban forest. Trees help cool everything from our gardens and patios and parking lots to our cities and our planet. With stresses like sudden, dramatic temperature changes, drought, and severe windstorms, plus the devastation wrought by the Emerald Ash Borer to our millions of Ash trees, it’s time to re-evaluate the limited palette of trees we’ve been planting for many decades, and investigate new, more resilient possibilities. [Read More]
May Day 2023 Celebration!
Our Annual May Day Festivities and Spring Sale begin April 29th!
At Harlequin’s Gardens, we love to celebrate May Day. It is an ancient festival welcoming Spring and celebrating the beauty, fertility, and abundance of the earth. [Read More]
Opening March 3rd, 2022!
Like miniature iris emerging from the warming soil, March launches Harlequin’s Gardens early spring season, and our doors will re-open on Thursday, March 3rd. Our hours for the month of March are Thursday through Sunday, 9 AM to 5 PM. Then beginning Tuesday, April 1st, our hours expand to six days a week, Tuesday through Sunday.
Beginning in March we will offer onion, potato, and asparagus starts. We will be stocked with seeds, seed starting kits, and potting soil. Our soil products (composts, mulches, fertilizers, etc.) will be available. And, as temperatures warm, we will stock our over-wintered perennials, shrubs, and trees, and best of all, our spring organic vegetable starts! In the meantime, you can always purchase a Gift Certificate or join our Membership from our website any time of day.
Stay tuned for our 2022 class listings, and as your spring-flowering bulbs emerge, refer to our Bulbs Page for timing and description details.
We’re getting excited for the 2022 gardening season and hope you are too!
Season of Gratitude
With the Thanksgiving holiday approaching, we’d like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude for another great year, our 30th!, at Harlequin’s Gardens.
We are grateful for all of you who support us by buying our plants, products, and memberships, and grateful that our customer base continues to increase as more and more people realize the pleasures, benefits and wisdom of growing plants without chemical warfare and for more than our own benefit. We are learning that a livable world can only be achieved or maintained through understanding, respecting and working with the intricate interdependency of all beings. [Read More]
Suggestions for Remediating Singed and Burned Gardens
(Durango Before and After Fire. Photo Credit: Colorado State Forest Service.)
After the Fire
We are so grateful that nearly all the folks in the Marshall Fire burn area were able to evacuate quickly and safely. The horror of all the lost homes and their contents, the pets trapped, and the gardens obliterated is outweighed by the survival of all but two residents.
Celebrating 30 Sustainable Years!
Harlequin’s Gardens in 2000 as painted by Eve Reshetnik Brawner
This year, 2022, Harlequin’s Gardens is celebrating 30 years in business! Thanks to you and the many folks who have bought our plants and products and taken our classes, and thanks to a great staff, we have succeeded in becoming a valuable resource for Boulder County and beyond.
We’ve been focusing on growing and providing plants that are well-adapted to Colorado conditions and will thrive without applications of chemicals or excessive amounts of water and fertilizers. [Read More]
Heartfelt Sorrow
Our hearts go out to the many people who suffered devastating losses in the Marshall wildfire. It may be possible to rebuild homes, but their contents may be irreplaceable and the sudden disruption to lives will present great challenges. Communities will also need to be rebuilt, and we are hoping the larger community will continue to step up to offer long-term support to all those in need. It takes a village! [Read More]
Fungus Gnats
Fungus Gnat. Credit CSU Extension Service
Houseplants, especially ones that we keep outdoors in the warm season and bring back inside when frosts threaten, are likely to harbor Fungus Gnats. These tiny black flying insects (about the size of a fruit fly) can be very annoying but are mostly harmless. Adults lay 75 to 200 eggs that hatch in a week in the top 1” of soil, and when the larvae hatch, they survive mostly on soil fungi, but also feed on tender root hairs. This life cycle lasts about five weeks, although the adults only live about five days. One plant infested with fungus gnats will easily and rapidly spread the insects to nearby plants. [Read More]
Cutting Back Ornamental Grasses
Historically February is one of Colorado’s snowiest months, and finally we’re beginning to see evidence of that this year! Additionally, the forecast indicates more to come. It remains to be seen how some of our marginally hardy garden plants have suffered from the below zero temperatures.
Many of us may have the tops of ornamental grasses and various perennials peeking out of the blanket of the snow, which provides habitat for overwintering beneficial insects and it helps to keep the plant roots and crowns warmer. But very soon it will be time to cut back Cool-Season ornamental grasses before their active growth begins, which will allow light to penetrate the entire clump. See Eve’s instructions, below. [Read More]
More than a Pretty Picture
Your landscape is not just something to look at. It is an opportunity to support your values by:
- Supporting global, local, and personal health
- Helping to reduce the impacts of the Climate Crisis
- Nourishing your family with organic, nutrient-dense food
- Partnering with Nature
- Expressing your artistic vision while increasing biodiversity
- Experiencing the joy of sharing your goodness with the goodness of the natural world
- Restoring habitat for our critically important beneficial insects, pollinators, birds, wildlife, and native plants
Beautiful Autumn Colors
We are all enjoying and appreciating the exceptional fall colors this year. The yellows are especially rich, and the reds are especially vivid. What is going on when the green leaves turn colors and why are the colors so spectacular this year?
We know that the green color of the leaves comes from the pigment chlorophyll that makes it possible for plants to capture energy from sunlight and use it to make the sugars that feed the whole planet. When the long days of summer get shorter and shorter, highlighted by the fall equinox this year on September 22, the plants get less and less sunlight and less and less energy to make chlorophyll. When leaves contain less chlorophyll, other pigments become more dominant. [Read More]
Winter Solstice 2021
This year the Winter Solstice will fall on Tuesday, December 21st. This astronomical event is the time of the year when the Earth’s north pole is tilted farthest from the sun, so that night is the longest and daylight is the shortest (in the northern hemisphere). This day has long been celebrated because it signals the lengthening of the days until Summer Solstice on June 21. Even though there is a lot of winter left, there will be more day light. It is the promise of Spring to come. [Read More]
Holiday Market New Arrivals
We’ve restocked our Holiday Market shelves with many new and popular items including
Semi-precious stone earrings from Kate Head, Pebble Art Jewelry
Amber Lights Candles in a stunning array of creative designs
Indigo Blues natural hand-dyed napkins, shawls, and clothing
Eve Weaves handwoven scarves, so beautiful and soft
Eve’s Gluten-free Pecan Shortbread Cookies; a fresh batch has just arrived!
Altered Oak – New!
Skylar Ghrair creates original, hand-made works. Artful wooden ornaments are sure to add a natural touch to your holiday decorations, and her wildlife paintings on wood slabs will delight you. Skylar’s studio is in Broomfield, Colorado.
A Ruby Moon
Jen Grant creates these cheerful and artful flags with her original designs. Display your affection for wildflowers, bees, birds, bicycles, etc. by garlanding a doorway, deck, porch, window or wall. She makes her original block-printed designs on cotton fabric in Lafayette, CO.
Holiday Market Updates & Good News from the Old Guy
We are appreciative of the community support at our Holiday Market opening weekend! With the perfect autumnal weather, more people than ever were able to enjoy our local musicians, Sandra Wong & Jon Sousa’s world music, and Margot Krimmel’s traditional and original harp pieces.
This week we roll-out new artisan arrivals, with some photos below. [Read More]
Baxter & Jones
Their name may lead you to believe that they are a law firm or financial advisor. But to the contrary, Dana Jones and Amy Baxter are two Niwot moms who began sewing face masks at the onset of the pandemic and found they enjoyed working with fabric so much that they kept going, making charming, retro-styled all-cotton aprons (for grown-ups and kids), tea towels, placemats, napkins and new tote bags. Amy and Dana use soft, absorbent cotton flour-sack material for their casual towels and tableware, and source their accent fabrics from local independent shops.
Do your part to bring Mason Bees back!
Mason Bee populations plummeted throughout Boulder County due to harsh spring weather, so it’s especially important to coddle them this winter! Mason bees normally nest in holes in tree trunks, which offer stable temperature, moisture, and protection from predators. To provide extra assistance, bring your Mason and other native bee tubes/cocoons into a sheltered place with ambient (outdoor) temperatures, but with less fluctuation, like a garage or refrigerator. Cocooned bees are now adult and safe to handle in their cocoons. If you used liners or reeds, take them out of the guard tubes and shelters and store them in the fridge. Ideally, unwrap the liners/reeds and just overwinter the mason bee cocoons. Place them in a Humidi-bee chamber (in stock), and keep the lower pad moist. [Read More]
First Week of our Big Fall Sale – Start Saving Now!
Our 2022 Fall Members-Only Sale has finished, and now our Big Fall Sale has begun, with 20% off for everyone! Plants included in this week’s sale are:
- Grasses
- Groundcovers
- Natives
- Perennials
- Shrubs
- Trees
- Vines
Engrid’s Luxury Socks – Harlequin’s Exclusive!
Engrid Winslow hand knits these soft, warm and beautiful wool socks in washable wool/poly blend and Pashmina yarns, in lovely color blends with reinforced heels and toes, in a range of sizes for women and men. These are a Harlequin’s Exclusive! P.S. – this year she also crocheted scarves!
Houseplants and Pots
We’ve been growing houseplants to brighten your indoor spaces all winter long! Among our great selection of healthy houseplants large and small you’ll find old favorites as well as very cool specialty plants.
And to personalize your gift, we have the perfect pots for every room.
Coy Ink
Inspired by Colorado’s wildlife and the outdoors, Amanda Maldonado makes delightful drawings of local animals in pen and ink. This year, we’re selling prints of these fun, hand-illustrated critters, and her brilliant, Watercolor Postcard Kits!
This kit has everything you need to color in some fun barn animal postcards using watercolor! Watercolor allows you to blend and customize the color you want on the paper more easily than markers, crayons, and coloring pencils. The kit includes 5 postcards, a palette of 6 watercolors, and a free water brush pen. Amanda has hand-made her own luscious watercolor paints from locally collected plant materials!
Diane’s Temari – Harlequin’s Exclusive
Our customer and friend Diane Patterson makes these wonderful ornaments, called Temari, which date back to ancient Japan, where Temari was originally a handcraft of upper class women. Intricate designs were embroidered on handmade balls using silk threads from kimonos. The balls were used as toys.
Temari are unique, beautiful, colorful gifts. Attractive hanging as a single ornament, grouped in a bowl, used in a centerpiece, given as a housewarming gift, or simply to hold and admire, they will be treasured for many years.
Elyse Steinman Pottery – New!
Elyse is part of a new generation of potters putting a modern twist on a centuries-old decorative technique called sgraffito, an Italian word meaning “to scratch” which was especially prominent in Italian Renaissance architectural plaster work as well as African and Southwestern American Indian pottery.
We were delighted to meet Elyse at an Art Walk event in Longmont. Elyse’s work is bold, modern, and geometric, using black slip over white clay, and will fit into any modern or eclectic setting. Each striking piece is expertly handmade and one-of-a-kind.
Seeds from Botanical Interests
Botanical Interests goes to great lengths to provide all the information you need, and more (like an illustration of what the seedling looks like when it emerges), on both the outside and the inside of the packet, plus stunning, botanically accurate illustrations by highly skilled local artists adorning the front of each packet! We have carefully selected varieties from their catalog that will thrive in Colorado’s short season, early heat, cool nights, etc.
Enjoy them in your own garden and share them with a friend.
Erin Huybrechts Davis Art (Green Meadow)
Erin Huybrechts Davis says she has been a painter for as long as she can remember. She grew up on the east coast, has her degree in painting and printmaking, and a masters degree in education. She now lives here in Longmont, CO, where she is a freelance illustrator and teaches art to young people.
We were struck by her flowing, stylized and poetic depictions of the natural world. She is inspired by patterns and imagery from Asia, where she has traveled, and this influence is evident in her work as well. We are delighted to offer Erin’s cards, prints, and original paintings again this year!
Indigo Blues Hand-dyed Table Linens & Garments
Eve’s friend Sue Hagedorn is a Longmont fiber artist. She has brought us an assortment of beautiful indigo-dyed napkins, table linens, scarves and fabulous dyed recycled clothing.
An Anchorage, AK native, she became interested in indigo dyeing at a workshop there and was drawn to its healing and quiet contemplative properties. She has explored the traditional Japanese art of Shibori (a method of folding and tying to produce dye-resist patterns), and dyeing with a variety of natural materials on natural fiber fabrics, table linens, clothing and paper of all kinds. Sue also teaches indigo dye workshops outdoors during the warm months.
Kathleen Lanzoni Art Cards and Prints
Our amazingly gifted friend Kathleen Lanzoni is an acclaimed watercolor painter and an award-winning signature member of the Colorado Watercolor Society, the Western Colorado Watercolor Society, the Rocky Mountain National Watermedia Society and the Western Federation of
Watercolor Societies. She grew up in Montreal and California and has lived in Colorado for over 28 years. Residing in Boulder, Kathleen divides her time painting between the studio, Plein Air (outdoors on location) and on-site murals.
The list of her well-deserved awards is a mile long. We are featuring prints and notecards of her luminous paintings.
Indigo Blues Shibori & Plant-dyed Clothing
Eve’s friend Sue Hagedorn is a Longmont fiber artist. She has brought us a large assortment of beautiful indigo-dyed scarves and up-cycled clothing. Many of these one-of-a-kind garments are from high-quality fashion brands.
An Anchorage, AK native, she became interested in indigo dyeing at a workshop there and was drawn to its healing and quiet contemplative properties. She has explored the traditional Japanese art of Shibori (a method of folding and tying to produce dye-resist patterns), and dyeing with a variety of natural materials on natural fiber fabrics, table linens, clothing and paper of all kinds. Sue also teaches indigo dye workshops outdoors during the warm months.
Kylee Covili Found-Art Assemblages – New!
Kylee Covili creates fascinating, one-of a kind found-art assemblages for your walls, as well as jewelry! Her work is inspired by a love of vintage treasures which she repurposes and transforms into something entirely new.
Kylee says: “I believe there is beauty in the discarded and overlooked, and I strive to create a sense of harmony and balance in my work that reflects my inspired imagination.”
Julie Neri Pottery
Years ago, Julie and Eve were classmates at the Boulder Potters Guild. Julie’s passion for clay subsequently led her to create her own home studio in Longmont, where she applies her hand-building skills and sense of whimsy to making delightful decorative and functional pieces.
Now a Guild member and a teacher there, Julie says “I am drawn to texture and find my roots coming through in my work. I am inspired by nature and by the patterns of repetition: the simplicity of a house, the design formed by bicycle gears, the delicate texture in a leaf, the rolling rocks in a rambling stone wall, and the ridges on a sea turtle’s shell.”
This year, Julie will bring us her holiday ornaments, eyeglass stands, mats, and cloth rope-coiled bowls.
Kylee Covili Found Art Assemblage Jewelry – New!
Kylee Covili creates unique and one-of a kind found-art assemblages for your walls, as well as jewelry! Her work is inspired by a love of vintage treasures which she repurposes and transforms into something entirely new. This year she will bring us her lovely, featherweight hand-painted earrings made from old cookie tins, and unisex cuff bracelets made from repurposed leather belts.
Kylee says: “I believe there is beauty in the discarded and overlooked, and I strive to create a sense of harmony and balance in my work that reflects my inspired imagination.”
Lili Christensen Handspun Yarn – New!
A fiber and fabric lover from her earliest years, Lili learned to knit from her mother when she was eleven, and went on to study painting, printmaking and fashion design. She learned to spin at age 24, and so began a life-long passion. Lili begins each morning with a contemplative hour at her spinning wheel.
Her love of color and pattern and a fascination with the unique qualities of wool from different breeds of sheep keep her spinning! No two skeins are ever alike, and each awaits someone making something special from them. Lili provides the story behind each skein and recommendations for the best knitting patterns to show them off. Use a one-of-a-kind skein to make a very special gift or gift the yarn to a needle-crafter who will delight in its beauty and its story.