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Harlequins Gardens

Harlequins Gardens

Boulder's specialist in well-adapted plants

We are open for the 2022 gardening season!

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Home | Blog

Blog

Zink Metal Art

Zink Metal Art is the collaborative effort of Charlotte and Ben Zink, who have made their whimsical and flowing designs of metal for home and garden for the past 16 years in Berthoud, CO.

Their steel garden sculptures are graceful, original, very easy to install, and affordable, and similar designs are available as smaller garden ornaments, indoor wall-pieces and as pendants on necklaces. Charlotte also makes wonderful cards and tiny paintings with similar free-flowing designs. All make great gifts!

 

Seed Ranch Hot Sauces

Seed Ranch Flavors is a small ‘farm to bottle’ small-batch maker of ‘hot’ sauces (one is very mild) in Boulder, the passion of David Delcourt. David uses only non-gmo, gluten-free, organic, natural plant-based ingredients, and his unique, savory sauces are paleo and vegan-friendly.

What really caught our attention was the delicious originality and complexity of the blended flavors, and their versatility – not just for tortilla chips, but in dips, for marinating, glazing or barbecue too!

We carry their amazing new Truffle Hound sauce in its own gift-box, as well as four flavors packaged together in an attractive box. These make great hostess gifts, stocking-stuffers, or components of an all-local specialty food basket!

 

2021 Bulbs

This fall Harlequin’s Gardens will be offering 80 varieties of spectacular fall and spring blooming bulbs, in addition to specialty holiday bulbs such as amaryllis and paperwhites! We are working hard to provide you with detailed descriptions and photos of each bulb. Check back often as our listing will continue to fill-out. Click on names for descriptions and photos or scroll down past Eve’s “Bulb Tips” article for a comprehensive alpha display.

Our bulbs have arrived! Supplies are limited, with some bulb selections selling out fast. So, although it’s best to wait until mid-October to put most in the ground, stock-up now!

2021 BULB LIST

ALLIUM

aflatunense Purple Sensation

Bubble Blend

Cameleon – NEW!

Christophii (albopilosum)

Fluffy Dreams Blend – NEW!

Graceful

Mixed – NEW!

Mountain Bells Mixture

Red Giant – NEW!

[Read More]

Bees, Neonics and the Organic Way

Pesticides were never a good idea. They were designed to make money from petroleum, not to benefit the public good. Pesticides, fungicides and herbicides are poisons that were developed to kill life. Not only has this approach poisoned our earth and ourselves, it has failed to control Nature. Our soils are less productive, and weeds and pests have adapted by becoming resistant. Stronger poisons are not the answer.

In the last 20 years, the new “nicotine” pesticides (neonicotinoids) have become the industry standards because they are less toxic to people and animals than the old organophophate pesticides, and that is good. But the neonicotinoids (neonics) are even more toxic to insects; they last 3 months to 5 years; all parts of the plants are poison, and the poison goes into our water.[Read More]

Grapes on the Front Range

One spring day, my wife Eve and I were taking a walk along a stream when suddenly Eve picked up the sweet scent of something unusual. I sniffed the air and recognized a distinctly grapey aroma, and we realized that near us was a wild grape growing up a tree. It was the native Vitis riparia, the Riverbank Grape. In my 20s I had helped extract the seeds from the very small and abundant fruits to make a wild grape pie, that clings in my memory as one of the best pies I have ever eaten.[Read More]

Heirloom Tomatoes

What is the big deal about heirloom tomatoes? Hasn’t modern science brought us big improvements with hybrids that are bigger fruiting, higher yielding, resistant to many diseases and low in acid and high in vitamins? Yes, there are many hybrids that do boast these benefits. However the varieties that have earned the designation of “heirloom” have been treasured and saved through many years of growing and eating. Presumably they have endured for two main reasons: the success of the plants through many varying seasons and locations, and the big reason, FLAVOR. It was probably in reference to heirloom tomatoes that the song was written “Only two things that money can’t buy: true love and home-grown tomatoes.” There is something about that genuine tomato flavor that has made the tomato America’s most popular vegetable, and the tomatoes in the supermarkets don’t even come close.[Read More]

Bulbs, for a Fragrant & Colorful Spring

One of the earliest harbingers of spring are flowering bulbs, which people and bees all seem to welcome. One aspect of bulbs that may be underrated is their scent. Many bulbs are fragrant, bringing an added dimension to their enjoyment.  Some of our most fragrant bulbs include:

  • All Hyacinth varieties
  • Iris reticulata Blue Hill, Carolina, and Harmony
  • Lycoris squamigera

[Read More]

Home-Grown Fruit

Many fruits can be grown successfully here on the Front Range of Colorado. At one time, there were commercial apple orchards in Boulder and Fort Collins, commercial sour cherry orchards and canneries between Loveland and Fort Collins and commercial raspberry production in various places. Cheap shipping, more reliable weather and harvests in other regions, and a raspberry disease chased these operations to other states. However there is great potential here for the home gardener to grow tree- and bush-ripened  fruit that is delicious, organic, fresh and economical.[Read More]

Gifts for Gardeners, Bee-Keepers, Herbalists, Naturalists, and Much More!

We know it’s not necessarily easy to access the ‘Holiday Spirit’ this early in the season, especially in the midst of local wildfires and a pandemic. These emergencies have separated us from each other, but in meaningful ways, they have also brought us together. Here at Harlequin’s Gardens and beyond, we have seen a real increase in mindfulness and caring for others. [Read More]

Bundle Up Your Plants!

Spring snow is on it’s way!

This week will be a challenging one for gardeners; we will have night temperatures in the mid-20s Wednesday through Friday, before the next warming trend. We are also expecting snow and perhaps sleet.  There are a number of ways to protect your plants including row cover, solar caps, upside-down pots.  See below for details.  [Read More]

Veggies, Seeds, Special Events, and Classes!

VEGGIES, SEEDS, SPECIAL EVENTS, & CLASSES!

So many opportunities this spring!

Harlequin’s Gardens offers a lot of exceptional and unusual varieties of veggies that you won’t find anywhere else!  Our selection of cool-season veggies continues to expand daily as do our perennials.  There are many veggies, including onions, leeks, Asian greens, bok choy, and heading type of brassicas (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage) that will yield larger and better results if they are planted sooner, rather than later in the season.  (Eve with Graffiti Cauliflower, right.)  See our website for many of our veggie descriptions.  

This is also the best time to get many types of seeds in the ground.  Our collection of Botanical Interests, Seed Savers, and Beauty Beyond Belief seeds contain many interesting and heirloom varieties for you to try.

If you’re unsure about the best ways to approach veggie gardening, or want to expand your knowledge, we have two classes this weekend that will be of great help.  On Saturday at 10 AM, our own Mimi Yanus will guide you in her popular “Getting Started in Veggie Gardening” class.  Then, at 1:00, Tracy Parrish follows with her “Succession Planting” class where you’ll learn how to maximize your garden space and keep your veggie garden in continual production. 

On Sunday at 1:00, Mikl will share how you can have a successful lawn without using toxic chemicals in his “Organic Lawn Care” class.   See below for more details and call 303-939-9403 to reserve your seat!

As of April 1 we’re now OPEN DAILY from 9 AM to 5 PM, and until 6 PM on Thursdays. 




POTATO STARTS 

… will be arriving late next week!  This year we will have German Butterball, Kennebec, Mountain Rose, and Purple Majesty selections.  See our website for descriptions! 

 




GOOD NEWS SPECIAL EVENT!

Neighbors, farmers, gardeners, citizen activists, the politically weary, the financially skeptical, the poetically inclined, pollinators, seed savers, CSA members, folks who want to know where their food comes from and where their money goes, and all who would like to put the culture back into agriculture and the civil back into civilization, all who would like to make our community healthier and our soil more fertile (which, as fate would have it, also pulls carbon out of the atmosphere, go figure!), all who take to heart the morning news reports about the collapse of insect populations and the urgency of climate change and who are no longer content to place all our bets on distant markets and distant political solutions. . .yes, you, us, we of Boulder, of the Front Range, of the environs between the Great Plains and the Continental Divide. . . we’re coming together to enjoy

—ADMISSION FREE—

. . .which could stand for Americans for Healthy Agriculture (AHA!), but doesn’t, because there is no such organization, but it stands for bunches of us coming together in a spirit of radical neighborliness, and for AHA! moments towards which we are heading, courtesy of these festivities, CO-HOSTED BY SOIL (Slow Opportunities for Investing Locally) and HARLEQUIN’S GARDENS, with help from our friends at Boulder County Farmers Markets, Savory Institute, Fresh Thymes Eatery, Organic Sandwich Company, Backpacker’s Pantry, Charlotte’s Web, and 78 individuals (on our way to many more, we trust) who have begun making 0% loans to local farmers and food enterprises, in the name of diversity and health, in the name of relationships putting transactions in their place, a small token of the esteem in which we hold those who are tending the soil and building the local food system. . .So, you are cordially invited to join in an afternoon of shared learning and community celebration, along with a few words from

and others, and. . . including poetry, music and other forms of cultural invigoration and mutual appreciation. Conviviality! Conversation! Door prizes! Radical neighborliness!

Who knew?! Something is afoot! AHA!

For more information contact woody@nullslowmoney.org.   
 




BACKYARD VINEYARD CLASS

Have you dreamt of starting your own backyard vineyard?  Our friend, John Martin of Stonebridge Farm, will be teaching an introductory class this Sunday, April 7, from 1:00-4:00 at Stonebridge Farm. To attend email John Martin. 

Interested, but not able to attend?  Come to John’s Sunday, April 28 class at Harlequin’s Gardens: GROWING GRAPES ON THE FRONT RANGE at 1 PM.  In this class John will present an overview of varieties suitable for this region, considerations for site location, trellising options, pest protection measures, and a brush across two basic pruning techniques.  Call 303-939-9403 to register. 




APRIL CLASS LIST

Call 303-939-9403 to reserve your seat!

Our weekends are loaded with great classes you won’t want to miss! Our customers tell us that our classes have given them tremendous value, with practical and current information from local experts who have spent years honing their skills in Colorado and will help guide you to success. We are charging $15 (unless otherwise stated) for our classes to support our speakers and Harlequin’s educational direction. It is best to pre-register for these classes both in case they fill up, or too few people register and we have to cancel. Pre-payment assures your place in the class. You can register at the nursery, by mail, or by calling 303-939-9403. We are unable to take class registration by email at this time.  Most of our classes run from one-and-a-half to two hours in length, and sometimes longer for hands-on classes, or if there are a large number of questions.  See the complete March Class listing below, or on our website.  



Sat, Apr 6 at 10 AM       
GETTING STARTED IN VEGETABLE GARDENING with Mimi Yanus

If you are new to Colorado, new to vegetable gardening, or have been unhappy with the results of your earlier attempts, this class is for you. Learn from Mimi what you need to know to make your new organic vegetable garden successful and bountiful, even in Colorado conditions!  (This is a repeat of Mimi’s March 16 class.) Class cost: $15

Sat, Apr 6 at 1 PM
SUCCESSION PLANTING: OPTIMIZING PLANTING TIMES TO INCREASE GARDEN YIELDSwith Tracey Parrish   

Learn the techniques and timing to maximize your garden space and keep your veggie garden in continual production throughout the seasons. This class provides participants with an extensive planting schedule table, outlining when and where to start your seeds, the time to transplant out and when to expect harvest. Tracey is an expert in culinary gardening.  Class cost: $15
 

Sun, Apr 7 at 1 PM        
ORGANIC LAWN CARE with Mikl Brawner

You can have successful a lawn without using toxic chemicals! Learn how to support healthy soil and soil life using compost, organic fertilizers, aeration, proper watering, and mowing, and how to avoid and deal with weeds. Class cost: $15
 



Sat, Apr 13 at 10 AM    
EDIBLE LANDSCAPING with Alison Peck

Learn how to grow fruits, nuts, vegetables, vines and herbs in your yard, beautifully. Learn which plants are the most successful and how to integrate them into your landscape. Alison has been designing edible landscapes for 25 years; she owns Matrix Gardens landscaping. Class cost: $15
 

Sat, Apr 13 at 1 PM      
DO-IT-YOURSELF DRIP IRRIGATIONwithAlison Peck

Drip Irrigation can be easy! Come learn a simple, easy way to design and install a system that can be connected to an outside hose bib with a battery-operated timer, giving you an inexpensive automatic watering system.  We will also discuss how to convert an existing sprinkler system to drip irrigation. Class cost: $15

Sun, Apr 14 at 10 AM
THE ART AND SCIENCE OF PLANTING DROUGHT-TOLERANT PLANTS
with Panayoti Kelaidis

Do you know what parts of the world your xeriscape plants come from? Whether they’re adapted to spring moisture, summer monsoons, or winter snow-cover? In what type of soil conditions they thrive? How to group plants with similar needs so they will all succeed? Don’t miss this rare opportunity for an enlightening explanation of the sets of growing conditions in which our Colorado-adapted garden plants evolved, including prairie, steppe, desert, foothill and montane, with an emphasis on steppes. Panayoti Kelaidis is Senior Curator and Director of Outreach at Denver Botanic Gardens, one of the world’s foremost botanical experts, an internationally acclaimed, inexhaustible and enthusiastic font of knowledge, passionate plant-explorer and gardener, a founder of the Plant Select program, and lead author of DBG’s groundbreaking book ‘Steppes’.  Class cost: $15

Sun, Apr 14 at 1 PM     
SPRING PRUNING with Mikl Brawner

There are shrubs that should not be pruned in the spring and there are shrubs, roses and vines that are best pruned in spring. Learn which to prune when, and how to prune for strength, beauty, and production of fruit and flowers. (This is not a repeat of the Fall Pruning Class.) Class cost: $15
 

Sat, Apr 20 at 1 PM      
FEARLESS ROSE PRUNING with Eve Brawner

Eve will demonstrate and discuss why and how to prune roses in a fearless and confident manner. She will also discuss feeding, watering, etc. to maximize your success with growing roses. Wear long pants, long sleeves, gloves, and a hat and be prepared to be outside. Class cost: $15
 

Sun Apr 28 at 10 AM
DRYER PLANTS FOR A NEW LANDSCAPE ERA with Kelly Grummons

Many beautiful cacti, century plants (Agave spp.), yuccas, and their relatives thrive in our harsh climate. These plants look as good in the winter garden as they do in the summer. Kelly is well known for his work with these hardy plants and is expert at using them in the garden. We’ll discuss companion plants, soil preparation and garden construction. Kelly Grummons is a Horticulturist and Owner of Prairie Storm Nursery (coldhardycactus.com and dogtuffgrass.com).  Class cost: $20
 

Sun Apr 28 at 1 PM      
GROWING GRAPES ON THE FRONT RANGE with John Martin

Thanks to recent development in grape varieties, you, too can successfully grow table grapes and wine grapes on the Colorado Front Range. This workshop will present an overview of varieties suitable for this region, considerations for site location, trellising options, pest protection measures, and a brush across two basic pruning techniques.  Whether you are interested in fruit or wine, let’s explore how the taste of your grapes and wineswill define this locality. John and his partner, Kayann Short, tend nine different varieties of grapes and make wine at their CSA farm, Stonebridge, in Longmont.  Class cost: $15
 




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Social Media

Please follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for the most up-to-date information and photos! We’re looking forward to seeing you this week! In gratitude,
Eve, Mikl
and the super hard-working Staff at Harlequin’s Gardens

HARLEQUIN’S GARDENS 2021 SPRING NEWSLETTER

Welcome to Spring, to Harlequin’s Gardens and to another year of the challenges and joys of being alive on Earth, along with the opportunities, work, and healing rewards of gardening. It is both curious and common sense that as we nurture, we ourselves are nurtured.

One of the most powerful and telling lessons of 2020 has been how intimately we are all connected with each other. Now we are all aware that we share air and biology with the whole world. Our human bodies are, in reality, half human cells and half microbial cells. And these microbial partners do contribute to our digestion, immune system and even cognition. And the balance of organisms depends on who we are in contact with and what we are eating. [Read More]

WELCOME TO HARLEQUIN’S GARDENS 2019 SPRING NEWSLETTER!

Dear Friends and Fellow Gardeners,

Welcome to Spring, to Harlequin’s Gardens and to another chance to get your hands into the living earth and add healthy biology to your micobiome, and breathe fresh air and hear the birds and partner with Nature in gardening.

With some notable exceptions, we humans have seen ourselves as separate and superior to the animals, plants and insects. We have seen ourrole as users, not partners. And now with our atmosphere polluted with greenhouse gases and our soils, ground water, streams and oceans contaminated with toxins and plastics, we humans are going “whoops!” Of course there are enormous economic interests and habitual patterns that are resisting the changes that are necessary.

Rationally, it appears that we are stuck in the Dark Ages, but intuitively, it feels like there is a Renaissance emerging. This Renaissance is dependent on a greater humility and a broader awareness. It is being driven by climate disruption, the food revolution, the soil revolution and a view merging new physics with ecology and social justice.

Realizations are arising that we really are all connected. American power plants are affecting islands in the South Pacific. Poisoning insect pests is killing billions of insect and microbial allies, which leads to greater pest problems. And basing our economy on oil and arms sales is backfiring with climate crises and displaced people needing new places to live.    

Read More


TABLE OF CONTENTS

Veggie Starts
Receive Newsletters by Email
Some Good News!
Events, Sales and Hours
Classes
Membership
Staff
Soil Life Products
Home-grown Fruit
Roses
Perennials
Trees & Seeds
Thank you!


VEGGIE STARTS

As usual we will have a great selection of organic veggie starts.  Every winter Eve pores over the most interesting and reliable seed catalogs, searching for new and special varieties that resist disease and pests, are very productive, taste fabulous, and that we think will likely be successful and rewarding here on the high plains and in the mountains. We think you’ll find the very best choices at Harlequin’s Gardens.  

Please give us your feedback on what you grow from us.  We want to know what works and what doesn’t.Please go to our website under Plants/Edibles for a complete listing and descriptions of our veggies.



A FEW of our NEW TOMATOES:

Offering 80+ varieties in 2019

THORBURN’S TERRA COTTA Tomato – NEW!  Very Limited Supply.  ~75 days, Heirloom, Indeterminate 
Our friend Thomas brought this very rare and completely unique tomato to our 2018 Taste of Tomato public tasting (where this remarkable new-old variety took second place in the Slicers category) and we’d never seen anything like it! Incredible color, flavor and history! Introduced in 1893, this sensational tomato has glossy/waxy terracotta brown skin, orange-pink flesh, and green seed mass. When cooked, it will yield a beautiful pumpkin-orange sauce with a floral aroma. (Pictured left.) 

BRAD’S ATOMIC GRAPE Tomato – NEW!Very Limited Supply~75 days, OP, Indeterminate
Highly productive, open, vining plants with wispy foliage. Large, pointy grape tomatoes are  borne in large clusters. Every fruit appears hand-painted! Lavender and purple stripes, orange turning to technicolor olive-green, red, and brown/blue stripes when fully ripe. Flavor? They came in second place after Sungold in the Cherry tomato category at our 2018 Taste of Tomato!  Fruits  are crack-resistant and exceptionally sweet.

TOMMY TOE cherry tomato – NEW!~70 days, Heirloom OP, Indeterminate
Tommy Toe is a great old heirloom from the Ozark Mountains that produces huge numbers of large, 1.5 oz red cherries with old fashioned flavor reminiscent of heirloom ‘beefsteak’ tomatoes. 

Read More about ALL of our Veggies



RECEIVE NEWSLETTERS BY EMAIL

Please subscribe to receive our newsletters by email. You can get both hardcopy and emails. Receive our weekly blogs with timely garden advice and reminders, as well as news of stock arrivals, upcoming classes, special events and sales, etc.  Our blog is a way we can give you detailed and up-to-date information at the time when it is relevant. We’re very happy to give you a hard copy newsletter when you visit the nursery or continue to mail it to you if you prefer.

Go to our subscription page and please remember to add us to your Contact List so your email server doesn’t throw us in the trash.

FACEBOOK :We wish you could LOVE us on Facebook, but since that’s not possible, we hope you will LIKE us…  


“The miracle is not to walk on water, but to walk on earth” Thich Nhat Hanh

“One of the least discussed but, I suspect, most effective agents in the race to save ourselves from extinction is reconnecting to nature. When I hug a tree, I get a tiny, blessed glimpse of the truth, which is that I’m a very small part of a gigantic ecosystem”

Maeve Higgins

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HEAR YE, HEAR YE: Some Good News!

Here is an invitation to a FREE event that celebrates various awakenings in local food, farmer support, turning carbon into fertility, saving the insects and the planet, and more – are happening locally. With brief talks by local activators, music, poetry, conviviality and conversation.

Please Join Us: 

Saturday, April 13, from 3 – 6 PM

at The Boulder Circus Center  
(4747 N 26th Street, next door to Harlequin’s Gardens)


—  FREE! — 
 

A collaboration of SOIL (Slow Opportunities for Investing Locally) and Harlequin’s Gardens.  For more details go to SOIL.

 

“We can drift along with general opinion and tradition, or we can throw ourselves upon the guidance of the soul and steer courageously toward truth.“

Helen Keller

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EVENTS, SALES & HOURS

On March 1 we opened for the Season and through the month are open Thursday through Sunday, 9-5.
Beginning April 1 we will be open everyday 9-5; Thursdays 9-6.
April 29 thru May 5: Harlequin’s Gardens May Day Plant Sale.
April 28 thru May 5: Harlequin’s Gardens Annual May Day Celebration and Cinco de Mayo.
On Saturday, May 4 at 10 AM don’t miss the Maroon Bells Morris Dancers who will bring us fertility and merriment. Then at 11:30 enjoy the duo Martian Acres playing classic pop and originals, and then at 1:30 move to Bistro Marimba with the music of Zimbabwe.
On Sunday, May 5, Cinco de Mayo, refreshments will be served, and from 11:00 jig and reel with the excellent musicians of the Boulder Irish Session. Then at 1pm local harpist Margo Krimmel will treat us to the tunes of O’Carolan and other fine melodies. 
August 19 to 25:  Members Fall Plant Sale
August 26: Harlequin’s Annual Fall Plant Sale begins for everyone. This sale continues every week in September and October.
September 7: Taste of Tomato: a tomato tasting festival; Harlequin’s Gardens with Growing Gardens, 10 AM-1 PM at Growing Gardens.  Bring your favorites; call/see our website for details.
October: open every day 9-5, and our Sale continues.  Closed for the Season on October 31.
November 29: Harlequin’s 2019 Holiday Market begins on GreenFriday with Local Artisan Goods and Goodies and will continue every Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday through December 22nd.

 

“In nature’s economy, the currency is not money; it is life.”

Vandanna Shiva

The World Bank says it will no longer finance oil and gas projects after 2019.  

The Sierra Club

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HARLEQUIN’S GARDENS 2019 CLASSES

In our classes you will learn more than information. Our teachers are people who have spent years honing their skills and their experience in Colorado will help guide you to success. We are charging $15 unless otherwise stated to support our speakers and Harlequin’s educational direction. (Cash and check are much appreciated!)  Pre-register at 303-939-9403 for these classes both in case they fill up or too few people register and we have to cancel the class. Pre-payment assures your place in the class. Classes are also listed here.

MARCH

Sun, Mar 31 at 10 AM      BUILDING TOPSOIL and FERTILITY with Mikl Brawner
Mikl will discuss how to support soil life, enrich poor soils, and improve plant health and nutrition from the bottom up: composts, fertilizers, mulching, worms, deficiencies, and tilth. (Rescheduled from March 24.)  Class cost: $15


APRIL

Sat, Apr 6 at 10 AM       GETTING STARTED IN VEGETABLE GARDENING with Mimi Yanus
If you are new to Colorado, new to vegetable gardening, or have been unhappy with the results of your earlier attempts, this class is for you. Learn from Mimi what you need to know to make your new organic vegetable garden successful and bountiful, even in Colorado conditions!  Class cost: $15

Sat, Apr 6 at 1 PM         SUCCESSION PLANTING: OPTIMIZING PLANTING TIMES TO INCREASE YIELDSwith Tracey Parrish   
Learn the techniques and timing to maximize your garden space and keep your veggie garden in continual production throughout the seasons. This class provides participants with an extensive planting schedule table, outlining when and where to start your seeds, the time to transplant out and when to expect harvest. Tracey is an expert in culinary gardening.  Class cost: $15

Sun, Apr 7 at 1 PM         ORGANIC LAWN CARE with Mikl Brawner
You can have successful lawn without using toxic chemicals! Learn how to support healthy soil and soil life using compost, organic fertilizers, aeration, proper watering, and mowing, and how to avoid and deal with weeds. Class cost: $15
 

Sat, Apr 13 at 10 AM     EDIBLE LANDSCAPING with Alison Peck
Learn how to grow fruits, nuts, vegetables, vines and herbs in your yard, beautifully. Learn which plants are the most successful and how to integrate them into your landscape. Alison has been designing edible landscapes for 25 years; she owns Matrix Gardens landscaping. Class cost: $15  

Read More
 



MEMBERSHIP in HARLEQUIN’S GARDENS

Memberships help Harlequin’s to do those extras that are so valuable to the community but that are not profitable, like: 5 demonstration gardens of Natives, low-water groundcovers, the New Western Garden etc; plus plastic pot recycling; plant and pest identification for customers; hand-outs on many subjects like pollinator plants, how to plant, what blooms in July etc; local seed collecting and propagation, and more.

Please become a member to support what we do, and receive special benefits too.  Here is our expanded current offer: Members will give us $20 for a one year membership and in direct return will receive these benefits:

1)  Half-price Harlequin’s Class of your choice. (Restricted to regular $15 and $20 classes.)
2)  25% discount on books all year
3)  During the May Day Week get $10 off a $50 or more purchase of plants (except roses & fruit trees)
4)  During May Day Week, take 10% off roses (except quarts), then
5)  in August begin the fall sale a week early with 20% off most everything.

You can become a member anytime you are at the nursery, or mail a check for $20 to
Harlequin’s Gardens
4795 N.26th St.
Boulder, CO. 80301

We will put you in our Membership file. A membership is valid until the end of the calendar year.  THANK YOU TO ALL OUR MEMBERS!!!

 

“No one has ever become poor by giving.”

Anne Frank

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OUR STAFF

We are very proud of our staff, so to help you to get to know us and our specialties, here are our portraits.

REBECCA WATERHOUSE is our excellent office manager who grew up on her family’s hobby farm in Oregon. She has become quite knowledgeable about plants and is indispensable around the nursery.  Rebecca is integral to the success of our operations! 




KRISTINA WILLIAMS has been a beekeeper for over 21 years and is our local expert on native bees. She is the current President of the Boulder County Beekeepers Assoc., is a trained entomologist and will be available to help people with beekeeping questions and beekeeping equipment.


ELAINE WALKER has a degree in landscape architecture with an emphasis in ecological practices. She has her own landscape design practice, and her recent work includes designing outdoor living spaces, retaining & boulder walls, native and drought tolerant plantings.  Elaine develops and publishes our weekly blogs and maintains our customer database.

Read More



SOIL LIFE PRODUCTS

Very Special Products To Benefit Your Soil Life and Your Plant Life

Big Foot Mycorrhizae – NEW! – combines 4 species of mycorrhizae with biochar, worm castings, seaweed and rock minerals to provide a strong population of plant allies to bring water and nutrients.  
Endo Mycorrhizae – water soluble symbiotic fungus, innoculate roots to bring water and nutrients. 
Biodynamic Compost Starter – speeds decomposition, adds nitrogen bacteria, helps make humus, improves mineral availability; for compost piles, manure, leaves; 55 microorganisms.
Biodynamic Field and Garden Spray – speeds the breakdown of cover crops or sheet mulch; planting can be 2-3 weeks after spraying & turning under, 55 microorganisms.


COMPOSTS:

Organic Mushroom Compost – from a local organic mushroom farm. Premium food for soil life and wonderful in vegetable gardens, helps to loosen heavy soils and improve aeration and porosity.  

Read More



HOME-GROWN FRUIT

One of our specialties is fruiting plants that are adapted to Colorado conditions. All the apples we carry are resistant to fireblight and good-tasting. And the cherries we sell are all proven successful in Colorado. Our grapes are the most hardy of any you will find, delicious fresh, in juice and a few are good for wine. And we have productive & good tasting currants, gooseberries, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries including:

Crandall Clove Currant and Gwen’s Buffalo Currant – both are 5’x4’ with very fragrant yellow flowers in spring and annual bearing of sweet-tart berries full of healthy phytonutrients and reddish fall color; these are native currants selected for better fruit. (photo, right)
Triple Crown Thornless Blackberry – late blooming so avoids late frosts, medium to large very sweet berries, semi-trailing, best pruned to 8’.  

Read More



ROSES

We are known far and wide for our selection of sustainable roses and for our expertise in helping people choose the best varieties for their gardens and landscapes. We sell roses on their own roots not grafted, which makes them more cold hardy, longer lived, with more flowers.

This year we will have more Austin English roses. And

we have many other great roses including Bill Reid, Marie Pavie, The Gift, John Cabot, Seafoam, Stanwell Perpetual, The Fawn, Abraham Darby, Applejack,Darlow’s Enigma, Henry Kelsey, John Davis, Golden Wings, Victorian Memory, Fairmont Proserpine, Joann’s Pink Perpetual, Golden Celebration, Champlain, Morden Snowbeauty, Henry Kelsey, Robusta, etc.

See our 2019 Rose List on our website.

SHRUBS: We have a large selection of natives and non-natives AND Vines!

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PERENNIALS

Harlequin’s huge choice of pollinator-supporting perennials-including:

Sulfur Flower-Kannah Creek – mahogany fall color (Pictured right)
Eriogonum allennii – 3’ wide, very xeric, yellow flowers, a winner
E. jamesii – silver foliage, light yellow flowers, local native
Eriogonum umbellatum – yellow blooms cover xeric native mat, feeds butterflies, bees
Many Lavenders – Royal Velvet, Buena Vista, Grosso, Twickle Purple, Munstead, Hidcote
Asclepias incarnata – 1’-3’ Full Sun, Attracts butterflies, native & honeybees, butterflies
Asclepias tuberosa – Butterfly Weed, orange flowers, 1’-2’ high, Monarch food and nectar  

Read More



TREES

The trees we sell are smaller than ball & burlap trees that are dug in the field, leaving at least 75% of their roots in the ground. Ours are grown in a container so they have a complete root system and begin growing immediately and are not stressed. Here is a sample of some of ours.

Russian Hawthorn –  very tough and xeric, grows 15’ high and wide, white flowers and red berries, loves CO. (photo, left)
Rocky Mt. Maple – a native of our foothills, likes to grow in the protection of other trees, red fall color, 10’-15’.
Gambel Oak and Wavyleaf Oak – both natives that grow 10’-15’, with little water and poor soil, support birds.  

Read More



THANK YOU!

Thank you, local gardeners, for helping to cultivate a healthy 21st Century World!

Sincerely,

Mikl Brawner & Eve Reshetnik-Brawner
And the Great Staff at Harlequin’s Gardens

“There is no passion to be found in playing small—in settling for a life that is less than the one we are capable of living. As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.”

Nelson Mandela

We Have Soil Products for You!

It’s time to prepare your soil!

Thank you to all those who helped us with a successful opening day, last Friday!  And a big thanks to those who braved the elements later in the weekend to stop by!  Throughout the month of March we’ll be open four days a week from 9 AM to 5 PM on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

March is a great time to focus on soil enrichment and we’re stocked with great products that will help you prepare for the season ahead.  You’ll recognize many products which we’ve stocked for years and we’re also trying out some new and exciting items.  As always, we welcome your feedback on them all!  

Classes

This weekend we’re featuring three great classes.  We start on Saturday, March 9 at 10 AM, with two of our favorite Permaculturists, Tara Rae Kent and Daniela Escudero sharing some important principles to create more resilient and regenerative systems in our own gardens in their “Intro to Permaculture” class.  Free Admission! 

Stick around on March 9 because at 1:00 we have a one-time-only presentation on “Cover Crops: Why, How and Which” with Clark Harshbarger.  Clark who is employed with the USDA-NRCS as a soil scientist and recently as director of Regenerative Farming at MAD Agriculture, will soon be moving to eastern US.  For this special presentation we are renting a larger space next door at the Boulder Circus Center.  This special class is only $20.  (See the list of cover crop seeds that we’re offering, below.)

Finally on Sunday, at 1:00 pm, Mikl with share how to address “Fireblight” issues, which were a hardship for many gardeners last year.  See below for more details and call 303-939-9403 to reserve your seat!




MARCH CLASS LIST

Call 303-939-9403 to reserve your seat!

Our weekends are loaded with great classes you won’t want to miss! Our customers tell us that our classes have given them tremendous value, with practical and current information from local experts who have spent years honing their skills in Colorado and will help guide you to success. We are charging $15 (unless otherwise stated) for our classes to support our speakers and Harlequin’s educational direction. It is best to pre-register for these classes both in case they fill up, or too few people register and we have to cancel. Pre-payment assures your place in the class. You can register at the nursery, by mail, or by calling 303-939-9403. We are unable to take class registration by email at this time.  Most of our classes run from one-and-a-half to two hours in length, and sometimes longer for hands-on classes, or if there are a large number of questions.  See the complete March Class listing below, or on our website.  

Sat, Mar 9 at 10 AM
Introduction to Permaculture with Tara Rae Kent & Daniela Escudero  

Permaculture is a design science that is informed by cycles and patterns in nature. This helps us create more resilient and regenerative systems, whether those systems are gardens, farms, businesses, or events. We will explore the ethics that guide a permaculture design and the principles that help a design take form, as well as real life examples and projects that are a part of our lives. The class will include: 1) an introduction and exploration of the Permaculture Ethics and Principles, 2) real life, active and diverse examples of permaculture designs, and 3) a tour of Harlequin’s Garden’s Permaculture Design.  Free admission!  
 

Sat, Mar 9 at 1 PM
Cover Crops for Gardeners: Why, How & Which with Clark Harshbarger  

In the current soil revolution, we are learning how to nurture and care for our soils and the soil life that is the true source of soil fertility. Cover crops are becoming recognized as one of the keys to soil fertility and soil health. When our annual crops die in the fall, if we do not replace those crops with living plants, then the microbes that depend on the nutrients “leaked” into the soil from plant roots, will die or decrease. Besides that, cover crops are a method to use photosynthesis to grow organic matter and nutrients including nitrogen to add to the soil, so we have to buy fewer amendments. In addition, many cover crops support beneficial insects which help control pest insects, and they reduce erosion.
 
But which cover crops do well in Colorado and when do we plant them and when should we cut them, and how do we prevent them from becoming weeds or competitors? And how best to combine them?  Harlequin’s Gardens has been looking for someone to teach us these things, who really knows how to do it in our local conditions. And this year we found the right person. So this is a great opportunity that will not be available next year, because Clark Harshbarger will be moving to eastern US.  For the last two decades, Clark was employed with the USDA-NRCS as a soil scientist and recently as director of Regenerative Farming at MAD Agriculture.
 
We have rented a bigger space than our classroom, but people will have to register ahead of time to make sure they get a seat. Clark’s class will be held at the Boulder Circus Center, next door to Harlequin’s Gardens, south in the big metal building in the Trixie Room.  Register by phone at 303-939-9403. This will be a 2 hour class and we will be charging only $20. 

Sun, Mar 10 at 1 PM
Fireblight: Pruning, Nutrition & Culture with Mikl Brawner  

Last year was the worst year for this bad bacterial disease of apples and pears. Mikl has had over 40 years of experience with fireblight, and will teach and demonstrate proper pruning, and explain how to bring a tree back to health even if a lot of the tree is blighted. Class cost: $15

 



Sat, Mar 16 at 10 AM
Getting Started in Vegetable Gardening with Mimi Yanus  

If you are new to Colorado, new to vegetable gardening, or have been unhappy with the results of your earlier attempts, this class is for you. Learn from Mimi what you need to know to make your new organic vegetable garden successful and bountiful, even in Colorado conditions!  Class cost: $15.  (This class will be repeated on Saturday, April 6th at 10 am.) 
 

Sat, Mar 16 at 1 PM
Mason Beekeeping with Tom Theobald  

The importance of our native ‘solitary’ bee species to the pollination of our crops, flowers, and native plants is receiving increased attention. For over 30 years, Tom Theobald of Niwot Honey Farm has been propagating one of the most ‘useful’ species, Mason Bees (Blue Orchard Bees), and will teach how to attract and care for these gentle native pollinators. Mason Bees are not a replacement for honeybees, but they are excellent pollinators of the early fruits – cherries, apples, etc.  They stay close to home, don’t sting, don’t require the year-round commitment of a colony of honeybees and provide a great way to introduce children to the world of pollinators. Harlequin’s Gardens will have filled straws (containing male and female adult bees in hibernation) for sale for $12 a straw. 
IMPORTANT: You must RESERVE your Mason Bee straws IN ADVANCE by calling Harlequin’s Gardens at 303-939-9403. Pre-payment of mason bee straws is required. Class cost: $15.  (Note: this class is a repeat of Tom’s March 2 class.) 
 

Sun, Mar 17 at 1 PM
Dwarf Conifers for Gardens and Landscapes with Kirk Fieseler  

A renowned expert in conifers at Laporte Avenue Nursery in Fort Collins, Kirk Fieseler will discuss dwarf conifers for small landscapes and rock gardens. Learn the origins and propagation techniques for dwarf conifers as well as how to grow them in containers and in the garden. Kirk will talk about the most successful species for our climate and soils. Class cost: $15.  (Pictured right: Farmy, P. edulis. Photo by Kirk Fieseler.)
 

Wed, Mar 20 – First Day of Spring  

Sat, Mar 23 at 1 PM 
Get Equipped for Beekeeping with Kristina Williams  

For beginning and established beekeepers, alike!  Kristina will demonstrate how to build and crosswire frames. Learn the lingo of beekeeping supplies and take a tour of our Bee Barn. Harlequin’s Gardens is upgrading frames and foundation to be as strong as they can be and still use beeswax. Our resident entomologist and Bee Barn Babe, Kristina Williams, will share her vast knowledge with you!  Free Admission!   (Photo credit, right: Red Hot Pepper) 
 

Sun, Mar 24 at 1 PM
Building Topsoil & Fertility with Mikl Brawner  

Mikl will discuss how to support soil life, enrich poor soils, and improve plant health and nutrition from the bottom up: composts, fertilizers, mulching, worms, deficiencies, and tilth. Class cost: $15
 

Sun, Mar 31 at 1 PM
Cold Hardy Cacti and Succulents with Kelly Grummons  

We are proud to present acclaimed CO horticulturist Kelly Grummons, director of Prairie Storm Nursery, a business that includes ColdHardyCactus.com and DogTuffGrass.com!  An expert in selection and propagation of rare and unique plants for Colorado, Kelly will discuss a variety of exceptional new winter hardy cacti, agaves, yuccas, and outdoor succulents, and include choosing appropriate sites, soil prep, fertilizing, and ongoing care. Class cost: $20.   (Photo credit, left: ColdHardCactus.com) 
 




Products for Building and Supporting Healthy Soils

Harlequin’s Gardens has been studying soil health for many years now, because soil health is needed for plant health, for plant resistance to pests and diseases and for nutritional value of plants. We believe that a strong Soil Life with all the beneficial fungi, bacteria, earthworm etc. is the goal to digest the nutrients in the soil and make them into plant-available forms.

Our soils also are deficient in organic matter and available nutrients. Colorado soils do have nutrients, but many are not in a form that’s available to plants. So, Harlequin’s has sourced most of our soil-building products from businesses as local as possible, almost all from Colorado. Local products use our local wastes (like landscape wastes, beer wastes, food wastes, beetle-kill pine, mushroom waste, dairy cow manure, chicken manure). This supports local businesses to recycle and because trucking distances are greatly reduced, we are cutting down on carbon emissions. Putting these organic wastes into the soil also sequesters carbon. And because carbon is one of Life’s main building blocks, these products help build fertility.

This year we have many returning products and some new products that we’d like to tell you about.

Humate

This is a mined carbon concentrate that multiplies microorganisms and has the effect of making nutrients in the soil available. We have been using this for years in our potting mixes. 

Corn Gluten

A non-toxic, weed-and-feed with 9% nitrogen. It inhibits seed germination, but is harmless to plants with root systems, people, worms, and microorganisms. The effect can last up to 6 months and is especially useful in lawns. Apply in September/October, and again in late February/March to prevent the majority of existing weed seeds from germinating.


Alpha One

100% organic fertilizer for vegetables and ornamentals. Contains: 7% Nitrogen, 2% Phosphorus, 2% Potash, 1% Iron, 1% Sulphur, with a pH of 6.2.  Formulated in Loveland for Colorado Soils. 

Richlawn 5-3-2 Fertilizer 

A 100% organic product comprised of dehydrated poultry waste.  It is listed by OMRI for organic use and is ideal for lawns, trees, shrubs, annuals, perennials, vegetables and roses.  One bag covers 2,000 sq. ft. of turf.

EcoGro Compost

A Class 1 Compost made from leaves, grass, chipped branches, and beer wastes. It has a healthy population of microorganisms and diverse nutrients.  It is very stable and will not burn or steal nitrogen.  It is fine textured, low in salts with some woody particles.  The pH is 8.3; the NPK 1-1-1.

Eko Compost

Made from forest and recycled wood products composted with poultry manure. Use Eko Compost in vegetable and flower gardens, on lawns, trees, shrubs. to Improve soil’s physical, chemical, and biological health.

Eko Lawn Topdressing

Finely screened compost perfect for top dressing lawns after aeration.  Holds moisture next to the roots increasing drought tolerance. Supports microorganisms. 

Symbiosis Potting Soil – NEW! 

Symbiosis Potting Soil is a plant-based compost, made from coconut coir, perlite, azomite minerals, calphos, rock dust, kelp meal, oyster shell, dolomite lime, earthworm castings, mycorrhizae and Alaska humus.     



Fort Vee Potting Mix – NEW!  

This compost-based potting mix is best for starting seeds and transplanting seedlings and houseplants. It is composed of composted manure and plant material, peat moss, crushed granite and basalt, blood meal, kelp meal, bone meal, gypsum, vermiculite, coconut coir and biodynamic preparations. It’s best to wet before use. Used very successfully last year at Kilt Farm.  

Ocean Forest Potting Soil

A nutrient-rich soil for planting seedlings. It performed well in our tests. Contains: composted bark, sphagnum peat, fish emulsion, crab, earthworm castings, loam, perlite, bat guano, granite dust, kelp meal.


EcoPett

A natural pine coop bedding (or cat litter!). Contains recycled beetle-kill pine and activated carbon, making it very absorbent, with powerful odor control. It outperforms and outlasts hay and wood shavings. Expands up to 5X when wet. Reduces cleaning by 50%. Not a soil amendment, but a local, recycled beetle-kill pine product to help care for your poultry and other small animals.




Products Coming Soon!

Harlequin’s Fertility Mix

A mix of Biosol Certified Organic 6-1-1 Fertilizer, humate, molasses, endomycorrhizae, and calcium. Increases root mass, top growth, soil life, and productivity naturally.  This is not just a fertilizer. The combination of ingredients and mycorrhizae act synergistically to support fertility.  It has received rave reviews!  Try it and let us know your experience. 

Rocky Mt. Minerals

From Salida, this broad spectrum of many different minerals that support plant strength and immune function, including 11% Calcium, 6% Sulfur plus magnesium, iron, and many others. The big difference with this product is that its geothermal source makes these minerals much more available. 

Mushroom Compost

From a local mushroom farm.  Dark, rich humus that feeds soil life, improves soil structure & aeration, saves water. Great soil amendment for veggies, perennials, roses & shrubs. Also, a superb mulch for roses. 

Dairy Cow Manure Compost

Nutrient-rich compost made from manure of dairy cows – NOT fed hormones and only given antibiotics when sick. (No rBGH given.)  

Coco Loco Potting Soil

A superior coir-based potting media produced from coconut husks, making it one of nature’s most abundant renewable resources.  This mix also contains earthworm castings, bat guano, kelp meal and oyster shell.  It resists compaction, easily rewets, and absorbs evenly for excellent aeration and maximum drainage.

Biochar

A highly adsorbent, specially-produced charcoal applied to soil as a means to increase soil fertility and agricultural yields and sequester carbon.



Related New Products

Two great publications by the highly respected Bio-Integral Resource Center (BIRC), who specializes in finding non-toxic and least-toxic, integrated pest management (IPM) solutions to urban and agricultural pest problems.

“Alternatives to Glyphosate” – NEW! 

Glyphosate is the main ingredient in Roundup herbicide, and a probable carcinogen. This resource is derived from the latest scientific research.  

“IPM for Cannabis Pests” – NEW!

Registered insecticides are illegal and toxic pesticides make no sense.    

Insect Saver – NEW! 

Having trouble with insects in your house?  Catch wasps, bees, moths, flies, spiders, beetles, even earwigs, one-handed, swiftly, easily, without hurting them!  Observe the insect through the clear container, then open it to release them outside.   This is the German-made Schutzgreifer that we have been searching for. We had purchased a couple of these nifty devices and used them for years, but couldn’t find a supplier. Now we have them and you can too! They operate one-handed, like scissors: simply open, place over the insect and gently close. Even works on drapes and upholstery.   



Cover Crop Seeds – NEW! 

We’ve expanded our offerings of cover crops to better meet your gardening needs.  

  • Fall / Winter Cover Crop Mix
  • Spring / Summer Cover Crop Mix
  • Ephraim Crested Wheatgrass
  • Blue Grama
  • Hairy Vetch
  • Red Clover
  • Austrian Winter Peas
  • Daikon Radish
  • Dwarf Essex Rapeseed
  • Annual Sunflower
  • Quatro Sheep Fescue
  • Morgan Spring Oats (organic)
  • Spring Triticale
  • Buckwheat (organic)
  • Organic Spring Cover Crop Mix
  • Harlequin’s Gardens Mountain Native Mix
  • Harlequin’s Gardens Foothills native Mix
  • Harlequin’s Gardens Xeric Mix



Referrals

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Social Media

Please follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for the most up-to-date information and photos! We’re looking forward to seeing you this week!  In March we are open every Thursday-Sunday, 9-5.

Native Fruits

Even if the economy doesn’t drive us to foraging in the wild, there are some native fruits that are good to know, to eat and to grow at home.

Wild Plum, Prunus americana, is blooming all over Boulder and much of the Front Range as I write. It is easy to identify with its early spring clouds of white blossoms and waves of sweet perfume that carry across the yard or the ditch. It is quite happy in a ditch where it gets a little extra water, and is not at its best in very dry conditions where it will grow more as a shrub than a tree. [Read More]

Parsley for Cooks, Pollinators, and Heroes

Parsley is not merely a garnish. Besides its wide-ranging multicultural culinary uses, it has, like many culinary herbs, significant nutritional and medicinal values and important roles in the garden. And in Ancient Greece, parsley was used to crown heroes. Every part of the plant is useful.

Parsley (Petroselinum crispum) is an attractive, very cold-hardy biennial herb in the Apiaceae (bee-flower) family. It is available in flat-leaf and curled-leaf forms, both of which have rich, glossy green serrated leaves on slender stalks. In the first year, parsley continually produces a mass of foliage, which can be freely harvested as needed.[Read More]

Tasting Tomatoes and Fall Sale – What could be better?

With the cooler temps and some moisture we are welcoming Autumn with our 8th Annual Taste of Tomato and our Fall Plant Sale!  Lots of good details below.  [Read More]

Ribes and White Pine Blister Rust: A Second Look

I enjoyed the article by Renee Galeano-Popp in the fall 2016 Aquilegia, but I would like to take exception to her statement that in terms of alternate hosts of gooseberries and currants that “just about any Ribes species will do.”

Currants and gooseberries have been increasing in popularity among gardeners because their fruits are high in immune-building phytochemicals, because they take up less space than a fruit tree, are easier to pick the fruit, are productive even with late freezes and recent introductions are better flavored and less resistant to diseases.[Read More]

2016 SPRING INVITATION

WELCOME TO HARLEQUIN’S GARDENS!

WELCOME

ORGANIC VEGGIE STARTS

  • New Tomatoes
  • New Dwarf Determinate Tomatoes
  • New Hot Peppers
  • Sweet Peppers
  • Eggplants
  • Cool Season Veggies
  • Brassicas, Onions and More

A WONDERFUL SPRING OR ?
CAN YOU HELP US?
PLANTS

  • Kelly Grummons Special Plants
  • Harlequin’s Favorites
  • Trees
  • Shrubs
  • Home-grown Fruit
  • Roses
  • Perennials
  • Herbs
  • Seeds

SPECIAL PRODUCTS
SOIL AMENDMENTS
EVENTS & SALES
EDUCATIONAL CLASSES
OUR STAFF
NEWSLETTER & BLOG SUBSCRIPTIONS
MEMBERSHIP
HOURS & PAYMENT
THANK YOU!

WELCOME

Dear Friends and Fellow Gardeners,

Welcome to Spring and welcome to another season at Harlequin’s Gardens. We would not be here without you, and it is your vision and support that is helping us to grow and expand our service to the community and to the planet.

Sometimes our human love is expressed by creating beauty as we do in cultivating a garden; sometimes it is in growing food and sharing it with others, but sometimes the most compassionate expression of our love is cleaning the bathroom. The theme of this newsletter is compassionate cleanup and interdependence. [Read More]

Tomatoes

Tomatoes are claimed to be the most popular garden vegetable. More than 35 million gardeners in the US grow their own tomatoes. And with world production at 170 million tons, they have become the world’s most popular fruit, surpassing bananas, apples and oranges. Some people believe the reason is the versatility in ways to eat them, some say it is the flavor or the beauty. But one thing is for sure: you can’t buy a tomato that tastes as good as a ripe one fresh from the garden. As the Guy Clark song goes: “Only two things that money can’t buy; and that’s true love and homegrown tumatuhs.” The poor taste and lack of sugar in commercial tomatoes is both the result of breeding for uniformly red fruit and the fact that they are picked green so they don’t bruise in shipping.[Read More]

Holiday Gift Market 2015

Welcome to our
Holiday Gift Market 2015!

  

Harlequin’s Gardens will reopen on Green Friday (Nov. 27) for 4 weeks of our 4th annual Holiday Gift Market!

Come visit us!
Open 10 ~ 5
every Thursday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday
from Nov 27 ~ Dec 24

Our Holiday Gift Market is back for its 4th fabulous year, again featuring unique and exceptional goods crafted by local artisans, delicious local artisan foods, and sustainable, innovative, fun and practical goods for home and garden. So many of you have told us that our Holiday Gift Market is your favorite holiday shopping experience, that you appreciate our focus on locally-made and responsible products, and that you found outstanding, affordable presents at Harlequin’s for everyone on your list. Several friends who live outside our region lament that they dearly wish they could afford to fly to Boulder just to shop our Holiday Gift Market, because we have “the best gifts anywhere!”.

This year many of our artisans and products are back, and we’ve added lots of exciting new products, artisans and producers! Two areas in which we’ve expanded notably are Jewelry and Ceramics, with more exceptional   locally-crafted items than ever. And our Bee Barn will be open during the Holiday Market, so you can purchase supplies for your hives, or get the perfect gift for an aspiring or active beekeeper!  As always, you’ll find many choices of everything from ‘stocking-stuffers’ to ‘necessary luxuries’ for men, women and children.

Every day of our Holiday Market offers a chance to escape from the ordinary and repetitive mass-market Christmas music that assails us everywhere else.  You will especially enjoy our Holiday Open House (see below), when we will again present exquisite live music from some our very best local talent, along with tasty goodies and organic hot cider!

Please share this invitation with friends and family who haven’t discovered us yet!

DOOR PRIZES!

Each day of our Holiday Gift Market, anyone who comes to Harlequin’s and makes a purchase will be entered in our DAILY DRAWING for a $15 GIFT CERTIFICATE! 

In addition, we will conduct a drawing at the close of the Holiday Market for two $100 GIFT CERTIFICATES!  To enter this drawing, bring in our entry form (the postcard we mailed to you in our Fall Newsletter), OR print a copy from our website at this link: Printable Entry Form ………….  and present it when you shop our Holiday Market.

Please join us for our
  HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE

~~~ November 27th, 28th & 29th ~~~
Featuring Great Live Music & Homemade Treats

 

Music Schedule

Friday Nov. 27

11:30am to 1:30pm PAUL VISVADER, World music guitar

Saturday Nov. 28

11:00am to1:00pm ELENA KLAVER – Original and Folk Songs with Guitar
1:00pm to 3:00pm RYAN DAKOTA FARRIS – Classical, Celtic & World Cello, fiddle, whistle

Sunday Nov. 29

11:00am to 1:00pm RICHARD BACKES, Celtic fiddle, guitar, & vocals
1:00 pm to 2:30pm MARGOT KRIMMEL, Celtic & original harp

CDs by some of these and other fine local artists will be for sale in our Holiday Market!

HOLIDAY GIFT MARKET OFFERINGS

  Make a Taste of Colorado Gift Basket –
a perfect gift for almost everyone!

FINE LOCAL ARTISAN TREATS

Eve’s Pecan Shortbread Cookies – Harlequin’s Exclusive!

Back by public demand: Scrumptious, rich, melt-in-your-mouth nut shortbread cookies, based on almond flour, pecans and butter, subtly sweetened with a little maple syrup. Gluten-free, grain-free, mostly organic, no refined sugars. You don’t have to be gluten-sensitive to love these rich and satisfying cookies!

Engrid’s Fine Fruit Preserves – Harlequin’s Exclusive!

Many of you already know that our own Engrid Winslow makes jams, jellies and chutneys that make you close your eyes and sigh with pleasure. She uses fresh, organic fruit, (local whenever possible) and very little sugar, so the fruit flavors shine. She makes the classics as well as many delicious originals, like Sweet Cherry with Orange, Meyer Lemon Honey Marmalade, Peach Honey Vanilla Bean, and Wild Blueberry Lemonade, to name just a few. You’ll find delicious uses for Engrid’s preserves, in breakfasts, hors d’oevres, salad dressings, glazes, and desserts.

Truffles by Robin Chocolates

Longmont chocolatier and pastry chef Robin Autorino refers to her award-winning artisan chocolate creations as edible art – art for your eyes and your mouth. She combines her exceptional artistry and fine ingredients to create little masterpieces that taste as good as they look. We love them, and are offering assortments of her truffles in handsome boxes of 4, 6, 8 or 12.  “I want my ganache to be bold,” Robin says. “I want the Key lime pie truffle to give you some pucker. I want the espresso to bring you the same comfort as your morning cup.”

Balsamic Nectar

A best-seller at our Holiday Gift Markets, Balsamic Nectar is a high-quality balsamic vinegar reduction made in Boulder by our friend Ben. It comes very close to Italy’s ‘Traditional Balsamic Vinegar’, which takes many years, even decades of barrel-aging to mature to a thick, richly-flavored, sweet glaze, quite different from ordinary Balsamic vinegars. The reduction process developed by Balsamic Nectar is entirely natural yet doesn’t heat the vinegar, accelerating the aging to just a couple of months, and making this ‘magic ingredient’ far more affordable. Balsamic Nectar gives the perfect finishing touch to cheeses, grilled or roasted veggies or meats, fresh berries, even ice cream!

Lamborn Mountain Culinary Lavender & Lavender Earl Grey Tea

Lamborn Mountain’s lavender and goat milk body-care products, made in Paonia, CO, by our friends Carol and Jim Schott, are a great favorite at Harlequin’s. Now, in addition we are offering their homegrown and hand-harvested organic culinary lavender, and lovely small tins of their delicious and aromatic organic Earl Grey tea with lavender buds.  Both make wonderful, unique stocking-stuffers.

Ritual Chocolate

Chocolate to live for! Ritual Chocolate is a quality-focused small-batch craft chocolate started out in Denver and is now made in Park City, Utah. Their old-world, artisan approach and dedication to every detail of the complex process produces chocolate as delicious, distinctive and memorable as fine wine – meant to be savored. Ritual’s single-origin chocolate is hand-crafted by traditional methods with ethically-sourced cacao from several choice growers around the world. Unlike most chocolatiers, who buy their beans already roasted, or even fully processed, Ritual starts with raw beans and they hand-sort, roast, winnow, mix, refine, conche, age, temper, mold and wrap (bet you didn’t know how much goes into making a really good chocolate bar!). We offer 4 varieties of their single-source organic bars.  Combine with some Askinosie Sipping Chocolate and Victoria’s Truffles for a chocolate-lover’s dream gift!

St. Claire’s Organic Mints, Candies, Pastilles & Lozenges

Yea!  Totally organic! Made in Boulder by herbalist Debra St. Claire! No corn syrup! Delicious! Effective! Packaged in pretty tins! Incredibly cheap!

Organic India Teas

The most delicious, the most righteous teas! Organic India is a Boulder-based grower of Tulsi, (also known as Holy Basil) and all of the other ingredients in their organic, beyond fair-trade products. Tulsi teas have many health benefits including reducing stress, supporting the immune system, aiding digestion, balancing energy, and relieving allergy symptoms. Tulsi is also delicious, and we carry six great flavors: Original, Tulsi Ginger, Tulsi Rose, Tulsi Jasmine, Masala Chai, and Tulsi Breakfast. Organic India is a leader in sustainable business, cultivating ecology with organic/biodynamic practices while supporting social justice and dignity.

Askinosie Chocolate – Harlequin’s Exclusive! 

The only other product in this category not made in Colorado, we felt compelled to go a bit farther, to Springfield, Missouri, to bring you the finest single-origin artisan Sipping Chocolatesand chocolate bars available. Askinosie’s products are also ethically-sourced, well beyond Fair-Trade requirements, and they engage in a truly progressive relationship with their Missouri staff and with the cacao growers and their communities. We offer their heavenly Single Origin Sipping Chocolate and their unique, original Gingerbread Spice chocolate bar.  Sipping chocolate is just like drinking a chocolate bar- thick, rich, and indulgent. Simply mix with milk or heavy cream and enjoy.

Wellspring Way Herb-Infused Honeys – Harlequin’s Exclusive!

What a yummy way to take your medicine! Herbalist Leslie Lewis uses herbs from her medicinal garden and raw, unpasteurized honey from her hive to produce these delicious and healing condiments. All the beneficial enzymes in the honey have been preserved in the low-temperature infusion process. Three infusions are offered – Rosehip, Lavender and Ginger, each with uses in teas, glazes for roasted or grilled foods, and much more. Leslie also teaches wonderful herbal classes for us during the gardening season.

Local Raw Honey

Slow honey is a raw honey produced by Donald Studinski, dba Honeybee Keep. Don is a beekeeper and permaculture enthusiast who applies permaculture philosophy to beekeeping and manages Colorado’s first Certified Naturally Grown apiaries. His hives are located from Golden to Nederland to Erie.  Don is a respected and popular mentor, teacher and author.  His book “Beekeeping Mentor in a Book”, a monthly guide for Colorado Beekeepers, is available in our Bee Barn whenever we are open.

Tim Brod is a master beekeeper who keeps over a dozen apiaries around Boulder County. He moves the hives several times a year to take advantage of timely and diverse nectar flows – it is not a monoculture honey. Tim’s Highland Honey is delicious and pure, and contains the natural enzymes that make it an extremely healthy food as well. The honey is raw, unfiltered and unheated – never subjected to temperatures higher than the natural temperatures found in beehives, 95 degrees F. The honey is also creamed, ensuring that it will never become crystallized hard. It comes in attractive hexagonal jars.

BEEKEEPING & GARDENING

BEEKEEPING SUPPLIES

We at Harlequin’s Gardens have loved and supported bees for a long, long time. We also know that many of our customers keep bees, or would like to learn more about how to support bees and other pollinators and how to keep honeybee hives.  So, early this year we transformed the back portion of our building into The Bee Barn (painted the color of honey, of course!).

Our new Bee Barn is full of a good selection of products including

Langstroth hive equipment such as starter kits, Deep, Medium and Honey Supers (both assembled and unassembled) as well as a selection of Top Bar hives.  We have locally constructed Top Bar Hives made with Beetle-Kill Pine and screened bottoms. Come and check out our great selection of Hive Tools, Equipment, Protective Gear, Feeding supplies and great books including the recently published, “Beekeeping Mentor in a Book” by local beekeeping expert, Don Studinski, as well as other helpful books and accessories.

If you are a new beekeeper, we can help you decide what you need because we have beekeepers on staff to answer questions and give advice. You will find our prices are quite reasonable.  Beekeeping equipment may be just the perfect gift for someone on your holiday list, so come and take a look!

Succulents

This year we offer tropical succulent plants for easy indoor growing. Succulents are very sculptural plants, often with unusual coloring, structure and texture, and they thrive indoors with very little attention. And some of our succulents have valuable medicinal properties you can use in your home. We can give you details when you come in.

Beauty Beyond Belief Seeds

BBB is a great local seed company, offering wildflower mixes (Rocky Mt. natives), and flower seed mixes for supporting honey bees and wild bees.  We have their Honey Source, Bee Rescue and Rocky Mountain Wildflower seed mixes, perfect for gifts or holiday party favors.

Bulbs – 50% off!

We still have some wonderful Tulip, Narcissus, Crocus and other bulbs, and they’re priced to move! Yes, you can still plant them, as long as your soil is not yet frozen. Or you can force them in pots – they will cheer you up in late winter! Some of them are fragrant, too. Please come and give these beauties a good home!

Sprouters & Sprouting Seeds

Keep growing green food through the winter!  We have Botanical Interests sprouters and sprouting seeds waiting for you.

Super Illuminated Loupe

This very small, extremely high quality 12x power magnifier is great for getting a closer look at what’s bugging your plants, taking out splinters, or helping to identify flowers.

West County Gardening Gloves

We love West Count gloves!  They are made from recycled plastic bottles, are very durable and stand-up to several seasons of tough gardening. They are machine washable and retain their shape.  And they come in great colors!  We carry their Work Glove, Landscaper Glove, Waterproof Glove, Rose Gauntlet, Mud Glove and Grip Glove, all in a range of sizes.  If you give these gloves as a gift, be assured that the recipient is welcome to exchange them for a different in-stock size, as long as they are still unused and in their original packaging.

2016 Stella Natura Astrological Planting Calendar

The Stella Natura Wall Calendar is an easy-to-use, informative and beautiful planting and gardening calendar that shows the best times to take advantage of the cosmic influences of the moon, sun and planets. This is a research-based system that is used by Biodynamic farmers and gardeners.  We have been using this calendar for 22 years and believe it has helped with germination of seeds, root development of cuttings, and healthy plant development. More than just a calendar – it’s packed with valuable information and insights for successful growing, from seed to harvest.

Mikl will be giving a class in Planting by the Moon in March 2016, which will help you better understand and get the most out of your astrological planting calendar.

Japanese Knife-Weeders

Reviewed by our Deb: This is the best all-around tool ever!  Whenever I go out into the garden with no particular task in mind (other than peace of mind putzing) I grab this tool.  It can dig, saw into fat roots, slice into bindweed roots with the pointed tip, it’s wonderful.  I have a sheath for it which slides nicely onto a regular belt or garden-tool belt. I love using if for planting bulbs as I can make a deep, small hole.  If I could only have one tool forever…I would choose this one.

Our Favorite Gardening Tools 
Japanese Knife-Weeders (see above)
Radius Trowels (ergonomic)
Radius Pro Spade (ergonomic)
Radius Pro Garden Fork (ergonomic)
Radius ‘Garden Shark’ Ergonomic Rake
World’s Best Trowel
Garden Bandit Weeders
High-quality clippers, shears and loppers

ART & HOME ACCESSORIES

Lois Edgar

Lois is a longtime member of the Boulder Potters Guild. She has been exploring techniques with clay for many years and has developed a style that is both earthy and charming. This year we feature her wonderful salt-fired cups decorated with birds and other wildlife that remind us of ancient cave paintings.  We also continue to offer Lois’s elegant hand-made embossed greeting cards and holiday tree ornaments.

The Hands Work

Arel Mishory has a long and interesting history in art and craft. After college she traveled in Mexico, Israel and Europe, learning local crafts and customs, sketching ideas in journals that she still refers to years later. She and her husband have had a weaving and textile studio in Israel, and then a porcelain button and jewelry studio in New Mexico for many years. Now Arel is in Denver, making small paintings, painted metal amulets, personal  and house-blessings, clocks, cards, etc., and they are all delightful! They draw on the folk art themes she studied in her travels, and her Jewish faith.

Baby Quilts, Quilted Pot-holders, Placemats & Table-Runners

Our dear friend Lynn Mattingly is a renowned fiber artist, and has been practicing and teaching quilting for decades.  An exceptional sense of color-combining, a fabulous collection of fabrics and a mastery of design and craftsmanship combine to make Lynn’s work really special.  We love seeing her beautiful pot-holders hanging on our stove, and they have held up in our kitchen for a very long time. Lynn lives just over the hills in Paonia.

Peace Garlands

Our friend Lynn also makes these artful painted fabric garlands or ‘prayer flags’ with the always-appropriate message of Peace.  Drape them on your holiday tree, across the top of a doorway or window, or any place where you’ll enjoy their beauty and soothing sentiment. 3” high on silk ribbon approx. 48” long.

Abeego Natural, Reusable Eco Food Storage Wraps – Harlequin’s Exclusive

We love this! A great natural way to keep food fresh and safe, and reduce our reliance on plastic. Abeego uses durable, natural hemp/cotton fabric, which they infuse with a blend of 100% natural, simple ingredients – pure beeswax, jojoba oil and tree resin, all known for their preservative properties, to make a versatile, breathable wrapping or cover for storing foods. Using gentle pressure and the warmth of your hands, shape the flat square to tightly cover a bowl of leftovers, wrap up cheese, form around produce, baked goods, etc. Abeego is malleable and slightly adhesive at room temperature and will stiffen when cool, holding the shape you created.  The beeswax coating is fluid-resistant, keeps food fresh longer than plastic, and is easy to clean. With proper care, you can expect Abeego to last over a year. Each 3-pack contains a 7”, 10”, and a 13” sheet. Made in Canada.

TG Nature Photos

In his color photography, Martin Tobias has captured some amazing, special moments in nature. He has a keen eye, and the patience and persistence to be in the right place at the right time (in other words, it’s no accident). From Martin’s bio – “Thank you for taking the time to view a little of nature’s beauty through my lens, and for savoring with me some of the few, never-to-be-repeated moments to which I’ve tried to give permanence!” We think you will appreciate his remarkable photos of herons, owls, pelicans, and local landscapes, sold matted or framed. Martin lives in Niwot.

Porcelain Pods and Cactus Cups

A fusion of whimsy, gesture, pattern, texture and patina characterizes Willi Eggerman’s works in clay, which she conceives as functional sculpture – useful pieces with enough presence to stand alone as objects of aesthetic interest for contemplation.  To make her organic, botanically-inspired porcelain pieces, she employs a wide variety of techniques.  “The seed pod has special appeal to me as a symbol of women, and specifically motherhood. I view seed pods as small sculptures, performance art even, as they form, swell, open, and eventually disintegrate.  They are (like women) beautiful, strong, and very practical in getting their job accomplished.”

A long-time member of the Boulder Potter’s Guild, Willi’s work is admired and acclaimed throughout the region.  We are offering some of her Ikebana ‘pods’, perfect for small, informal arrangements or mini-bouquets, and her fanciful pods that can hang on the wall or mount on a garden stake. And this year we are thrilled to have some of Willi’s ‘Cactus’ cups, as well!

Luminous Arts

Our friend Tricia Grable is an artist and has been working in fiber arts and painting for many years. This year we will have her wonderful cards and her vibrant fruit and vegetable print napkin sets.

Leo’s Dry Goods

Shari Moraga is practically our neighbor in Boulder. She calls her work ‘illustrations in thread’. She uses her sewing machine to ‘draw’ and ‘paint’ her light-hearted illustrations of vegetables, honeybees and hives, bicycles, and more on sturdy cotton tea towels, aprons for gardeners and cooks, and zipper bags.

A Ruby Moon

Jen Grant creates these cheerful and artful flags with her original designs – display your affection for wildflowers, bees, birds, etc by garlanding an doorway, deck, porch, window or wall. Hand-made in Lafayette, CO.

Ceramic Garlic Keepers

These beautiful glazed stoneware garlic-keepers, hand-crafted by Boulder potter Cathy Abelson, have perforations to keep garlic fresh as long as possible on the kitchen counter or in your pantry. They are big enough to keep up to a pound of garlic at your fingertips. Cathy’s work is sold in fine galleries around the nation.

Mary Lynn Schumacher

Boulder clay artist Mary Lynn Schumacher makes almost mythical forms and figures that evoke stories, animated with delight and imagination. She is an acclaimed artist who has been making functional and sculptural objects in clay for over 25 years, and is a long-time member of the Boulder Potter’s Guild. We have some of Mary Lynn’s wall nichos, which can be used in the home or garden as small personal shrines, a place to perch a votive candle, a flower or other ‘offering’, as well as other wall-mounted pieces for home or garden, unique planters (wonderful for houseplants, especially succulents!), and holiday tree ornaments.

Majolica Bee Ceramics

Our friends Thea Tenenbaum and Raffaele Malferrari are well known around Boulder and beyond for their charming tradition-based Italian majolica pottery. We asked them to design and create some small candleholders with a bee motif, to fit the beautiful Niwot Honey Farm beeswax taper candles we carry.  They make a delightful gift for almost anyone (especially paired with the beeswax tapers).   And this year we’re delighted to have exquisitely detailed bee mugs, spoon-rests and dessert bowls!

Woodcut Print Calendars, Cards

Theresa Haberkorn, acclaimed woodcut printmaker, has made Boulder her home for two decades.  Her masterful prints are found in exhibits and collections nation-wide, and she teaches her art form as well. Theresa brings her art to household items as well, hand-crafting an artful wall calendar, greeting cards and hand-made books.

Bells & Chimes

From within his solar-powered studio in the foothills beyond Lyons, artist Lane Dukart creates one-of-a-kind stoneware bells and chimes, each individually cast and hand-carved with original designs, inspired by the natural beauty that surrounds him. He applies only natural oxides to accentuate the clay’s inherent earthy tones and the rustic textures of his carvings. The durable stoneware clay is fired to over 2000 degrees F, making it impervious to the elements, able to withstand rain, snow and wind, and can be hung outdoors. The gentle tones evoked by the movement of the bells and chimes are soothing and pleasing. Each finished composition is unique.

Smudges

Made with reverence, skill and healing intention by our friend Furry Foote, the elder who lives in the foothills, these traditional Native American smudge sticks are finely crafted of aromatic herbs (mostly natives) grown in her own organic garden.  Each herb is included for its specific medicinal and/or spiritual qualities: purifying, giving thanks, cleansing, infection-fighting, head-ache relief, etc.

Meteorites and Petrified Wood

Give a gift that’s out of this world! Our friend Fred Hall is a first-class rock hound. He is especially intrigued with fossil wood and meteorites and is offering both in our Holiday Gift Market this year. These stony meteorites (all found in the Sahara region) originated in the asteroid belt. They’re about 4.566 billion years old — comparable with Earth’s age — and are bits of small asteroids that didn’t separate into crust, mantle, and melted metal core, so the iron-nickel metal is sprinkled through the silicate rock like pepper in scrambled eggs. So when you look at these, you are seeing some of the oldest things in the solar system! Some of the pieces will also have some black fusion crust on the surface from their journey through Earth’s atmosphere.

The fossil wood specimens are all from Utah, and date from the Jurassic Morrison formation, about 145 million years old, while others are from the Triassic Chinle layer, about 210 million years old. Colors come from trace bits of iron oxides, manganese, and other ions. Often the preservation of structures is so detailed that the individual tracheids making up the rings and rays of the wood are still visible under good magnification!

Traveling With Watercolors

Leon Loughridge is an accomplished watercolor painter and woodblock print artist whose beautiful work is exhibited nationally and is included in many museum and private collections. He has decades of experience sketching ‘en plein air’ and has compiled a group of products to aid the artist working out of doors. His excellent softcover book, ‘Traveling with Watercolors’ shows how to develop a plein air sketch with three levels of values. His traveling watercolor kits are perfect, compact sets of watercolor supplies, all housed in sturdy zippered cases, with the contents held in place so they will not fall out. He also offers a light-weight wood traveling easel. Leon publishes his books and prints through his publishing house, Dry Creek Art Press, located in Denver.

Raven Mugs

Shelley Goddard has lived in Boulder for over 35 years and has been involved in a wide variety of creative local business ventures. She founded Boulder Arts and Crafts, one of the nation’s oldest and most successful artist cooperatives, and in the early 1990’s opened “As You Wish”, the vanguard stores for the “Paint Your Own” pottery concept. Shelley has enjoyed teaching a variety of art and business classes since the early 1970’s and works from her home studio.

PERSONAL ADORNMENT

Sarah deAngelo Designs

In her Denver studio, Sarah makes delicate and feminine jewelry featuring semi-precious stones, pearls and fine metals.  Her expert wire-wrapping and metalworking create elegant settings for the stones, making her pieces luxurious-looking yet affordable.

heARTfelt Hand-Felted Bags

Lisa Robb’s experiments in wool felting led to the discovery of her own technique for embedding patterned silk in the surface of the felt. The resulting gorgeous, textured and color-saturated, one-of-a kind purses, handbags and shoulder bags will make treasured gifts for the gals on your list. Paisley, floral, tie-dye, geometric – the variety is unlimited! Hand-made in Aurora, CO.

True June

Jennifer Grant’s fine semi-precious bead necklaces and bracelets beg to be worn every day. The small beads are crocheted into a super-fine and slightly stretchy cord. They are so charmingly simple, and almost weightless, making them easy to wear with everything. I know people who never take them off.

Finer Edge Jewelry

Boulder artist Karen Edgerly is an accomplished silversmith working in silver combined with copper and brass that she etches, casts or form-folds and sets with precious or semi-precious faceted stones to make sparkly everyday-wearable necklaces, earrings, bracelets and rings. Karen also teaches her craft at pARTiculars in Lafayette.

aGain and Sweet Ann Marie’s

Ann Mitchell loves to sew! And she loves to recycle. So it’s only natural that she would put the two together and create fun fashion by re-purposing high-quality wool and cashmere sweaters to make wonderful one-of-a-kind jackets, coats, ‘arm cozies’ and cashmere baby caps. We also carry her very cozy and flattering fleece hats.

In her line of children’s clothing, Sweet Ann Marie’s, she makes adorable aprons, reversible dresses, onesies, baby booties and more!Ann sews up a storm in her Lafayette, CO studio.

Twenty Pound Tabby Earrings and Ornaments – Harlequin’s Exclusive!

We’ve known Cheryl for many years in the context of her expertise in Roses (she grows about 500 of them in her home garden), and Morris Dancing (Cheryl, husband and kids have all danced with the Maroon Bells Morris Dancers at our May Day Festivals). A few years ago we discovered that she is also a multi-talented craftswoman. Her whimsical ornaments are original designs, meticulously hand-dyed, painted and beaded, sewn on a 1948 Singer sewing machine, and stuffed. They are double sided so they look good from all angles. Because of the nature of the hand dyeing and hand painting, no two ornaments are ever exactly alike. This year she has added delightful faerie ornaments.  Cheryl also makes felted Acorn Earrings, made with real acorn caps, dainty Czech Glass Flower Earrings, and

Scandinavian Slipper Socks – Harlequin’s Exclusive!

Our own Engrid Winslow makes these warm and beautifully patterned soft wool slipper-socks, based on traditional Scandinavian designs and knitted using Swedish twined knitting techniques which make them thick, warm and durable so they can be worn as house slippers.  They are made with 100% wool and are machine washable in cold water and should be laid flat to dry. Sizes range from women’s shoe sizes 6 to 9.  She is also offering ‘regular’ socks in a washable wool/poly blend in lovely color blends with reinforced heels and toes, in sizes for women and men.  Quantities are limited – the early bird gets the socks!

Shift Jewelry

This affordable and fun line of earrings from Lisa Jascott of Denver features enameled and patina finishes on copper. Simple shapes, great colors, and subtle adornment are the hallmarks of this easy-to-wear jewelry.

Lynn Mattingly

This year, in addition to her fabulous quilted items, our friend Lynn has brought us some of her luxurious and exuberantly hand-painted silk scarves. Lynn is all about color, and this is nowhere more evident than in these lovely scarves.

Crow Jane Jewelry

Jessica Thomas has developed several lines of very beautiful and affordable jewelry that are like musical variations on a theme, with graceful, original motifs used in many ways, all of which fit together perfectly to present a look that harkens to ancient, indigenous and mystical symbolism. Her pieces are right on trend, yet absolutely distinctive and original. Her long necklaces are simultaneously dramatic and feminine. Okay, enough words – you just have to come see them!

Dana Birke Designs

Dana Birke works from her little studio in the Boulder foothills. With this vantage point, her inspiration comes from the nature surrounding her – the simplicity and jewel-tones of the wildflowers, aspens, stones and skies. She uses fine metals (often recycled) and gemstones to make subtly elegant jewelry that is easy to wear, regardless of your age or style.

Art by Shea

Fort Collins resident Shea Henke is an adventurous and artful young man who began making jewelry and dream-catchers from salvaged wire at the age of 9. Over the years he has studied numerous techniques and now works extensively with jewelry design, metals and fibers. Shea has also traveled from Alaska to the Amazon, and brought home new materials and inspirations. He will be graduating from college this December with a degree in Business and Nonprofit Management. We think his heart and his art are in the right place!

Union Studio Metals

Michele Keller of Denver applies her metalworking artistry to brass and bronze to make bold and highly wearable (and affordable) rings, bracelets and necklaces that go from daytime casual to evening dress-up with ease.

BODY CARE

Dr. Brawner’s Healing Aloe Aftershave – Harlequin’s Exclusive!

Formulated and made in Boulder by ‘the doctor’ himself (Mikl Brawner), from 99% pure Aloe Vera Gel, with cold-pressed, organic Rosehip Seed Oil; 100% pure Jojoba Oil, and 32,000 IU Vitamin E Oil, along with essential oils of Lavender, Vetiver, and Rose. That’s all. No alcohol, nothing synthetic, non-greasy. All the ingredients are natural plant products, chosen for their skin-healing qualities. The steam-distilled Rose Oil is a powerful anti-viral and antiseptic. The other ingredients are good for healing burns and dry and damaged skin, inflammation, wrinkles. They are moisturizing and uplifting to the spirits. Mikl has made and used this formula for more than 10 years to heal his Irish skin from the abrasion of shaving and the drying effects of the Colorado sun (and keep him looking youthful and handsome). And it smells wonderful! (and it’s not just for men).

Kisu Neroli Lip Balm

Created by Plum Botanicals, a small fair-trade organic skin-care line based here in Boulder. This long-lasting lip balm is based on wild-collected African shea butter from a womens’ cooperative, and scented with the marvelous, unique, citrus-y essential oil of neroli.  Shea butter is a natural sun-blocker, so it really helps prevent chapping in all seasons. Kisu is, by far, Eve’s favorite lip balm.

Blair’s Herbals

We are pleased to offer our friend Blair Chandler’s line of handmade, reiki-infused, self-care products that bring forth the healing properties of the biodynamically-grown plants she raises in her organic Boulder garden.  We carry her long-lasting, moisturizing Goddess Soaps (all natural glycerin infused with nourishing herbs and a magical touch of mica), relaxing and healing mineral-rich Bath Salts, and nourishing Breast Oil.

Wellspring Way Herbals

A certified clinical herbalist since 2006, our friend Leslie Lewis is passionate about growing and using plants for their remarkable healing properties. Her beehive and beautiful xeric garden in Longmont provide most of the raw ingredients for Wellspring Way’s salves and infused honeys, all of which are organic, nutrient-dense, and pesticide-free. The very effective salves address a number of conditions – insomnia, lung congestion, fungal infection, rash & sunburn, and cracked skin. New this year, will be an eczema treatment as well.  The herb- infused honeys offer a healing and delicious condiment with many culinary uses. Leslie also teaches a popular class in Medicinals as Ornamentals in a Xeriscape for Harlequin’s Gardens in the summer.

NovAurora Natural Skin Care

Founded in 2000 by our friend Pamela Lambert in Boulder, novAurora Natural Skin Care makes unscented skin-care products for men and women from pure, botanical, body-friendly ingredients – organically grown where available – that promote skin health and beauty, regenerate skin on the cellular level. And stimulate the body to produce its own life-giving nutrients, while doing no harm to the environment or other living beings. Their products include: Soap-free Facial Cleanser (Eve’s favorite), Lotion Potion (for potters and gardeners), Pure Organic Jojoba Oil, Odorless Organic Shea Butter, Weekend Warrior Balm with MSM.  All novAurora products are non-toxic, vegan, gluten-free, and never tested on animals.

‘Trementina’ Traditional Pinyon Salve – Harlequin’s Exclusive!

The Spanish word ‘trementina’ has come to be used as the name for the sap of the pinyon tree of New Mexico. Folk remedies made from this sap have been used for centuries by cowboys, farmers and ranchers to relieve dry, cracked skin, abrasions and scrapes, and for drawing out splinters. Made in New Mexico’s ‘curandera’ tradition by our friend Pamela Clum, who climbed the pinyon trees to gather the sap, and infused it in olive oil and New Mexico beeswax to create this rare traditional salve. Each tin of salve comes in a lovely organza gift bag.

Lamborn Mt. Farmstead Lotion, Soaps, Hydrosol and Culinary Lavender

Our friends Carol and Jim Schott, who you may remember as founder of Haystack Mountain Goat Dairy of Niwot, CO, have resettled over on the Western Slope and created Lamborn Mt. Farmstead on a mesa overlooking Paonia, CO in the North Fork Valley, an area known for its organic orchards, vegetables farms, and vineyards; Carol and Jim are helping to add lavender to that list. From the milk of their own goats and lavender from their fields, they make the most luxuriously creamy, moisturizing hand and body lotion and gentle aromatic soaps. We also offer their Cedar Rose and Rosemary Lemon Mint soaps, calming & uplifting Lavender Hydrosol, and their Culinary Lavender – lavender buds harvested at their peak from varieties especially valued for use in cooking (some recipes included!) and tea. All their products are hand-made in small batches.

Lavender Skin-Care Products by Colorado Aromatics

Mikl and Eve have been using ‘Mountain Mist’ lavender hand & body lotion from Colorado Aromatics for a long time.  The quality of the lavender scent is exceptional, and the lotion is soothing and moisturizing to dry, abused gardeners’ skin.  We offer individual products, and gift sets in lovely mesh bags. Made in Longmont CO with the finest natural, non-toxic ingredients.

BJ’s Hikers

Barbara Schumacher is a watercolor artist and the mother of clay artist MaryLynn Schumacher (see Art & Home section) and 3 other daughters. She has been designing and making hiking sticks since 1999, after finding a nearly perfect fallen stick on a hiking trail. Barbara’s wood is always found in its fallen state and never cut down. Each of her hiking sticks is unique, featuring such designs as petroglyphs, trees, birds, paw prints. When you give someone you love (yourself?) one of BJ’s sticks, you help keep them safer on the trail, and give them a walking companion for life!

BRAIN FOOD

Join us on Sun., Dec. 13 (Time TBA) for a book signing with Katrina Blair!

Katrina Blair is the author of The Wild Wisdom of Weeds, the only book on foraging and edible weeds to focus on the thirteen weeds found all over the world, each of which represents a complete food source and extensive medical pharmacy and first-aid kit. The Wild Wisdom of Weeds is about healing ourselves both in body and in spirit, in an age where technology, commodity agriculture, and processed foods dictate the terms of our intelligence. But if we can become familiar with these thirteen edible survival weeds found all over the world, we will never go hungry, and we will become closer to our own wild human instincts—all the while enjoying the freshest, wildest, and most nutritious food there is.

Spiders in Your Neighborhood, A Field Guide to Your Local Spider Friends

Scary? Maybe. Cool? Definitely.

Author Pat Stadille used to be terribly afraid of these eight-legged daddies, until he started learning more about them. Now spiders are his best friends! As a nature enthusiast, we have a feeling you’re going to feel the same way, once you hear about their silky skills, hunting habits, and generally shy and gentle nature. Learn about jumpers, wolf spiders, tarantulas, and, of course, the black widow!

Spiders in Your Neighborhood features detailed drawings and photos of the critters you’ll find, and sections on types of webs, how and where to discover spiders, spider anatomy, common relatives… even a spidey quiz to test your creepy crawly knowledge. So, grab a flashlight and your sleuthing kit and join Pat ”Spiderman” Stadille on a journey around your backyard that will leave you spinning with excitement.  This small book is suitable for any age.

Farm Fork Food: A Year of Spectacular Recipes Inspired by Black Cat Farm

The Denver Post calls Eric Skokan and his pioneering farm-to-table enterprises “the most ambitious do-it-yourself chef and restaurateur in Colorado, and among the most accomplished in the nation. In terms of the blossoming ‘locavore’ or local food movement, Skokan is a leader.” The 130-acre Black Cat Farm supplies Eric’s two highly acclaimed restaurants in downtown Boulder, Bramble & Hare and Black Cat Bistro, as well as a Farmer’s Market booth and CSA.  Eric pours his unbounded energy into working hard at all of these enterprises, and loves every part of it. In ‘Farm Fork Food’ Eric shares his cooking philosophy, love of quality ingredients, “Things I’ve learned along the way”, and his inspirational recipes, and invites home cooks to feel the immediacy and excitement of vegetables and fruits just plucked from the garden. The 219 fabulous recipes are rooted in the seasons and the flavors unique to the Front Range region and are beautifully photographed by Con Poulos.

Sweet Fruit from the Bitter Tree

Mark Andreas, a Life-Coach in Boulder, collected these 61 true stories of creative and compassionate ways out of conflict.  Each story is unique in the resourceful and often surprising solutions that real people have found to change a fearful or threatening encounter into a humanizing connection.  Not moralistic, and genuinely eye-opening, heart-opening and inspiring. It makes a wonderful gift that can be opened again and again. This excellent read was a big hit at our holiday gift market last year. Sweet Fruit from the Bitter Tree is strongly endorsed by Dan Millman (author of Way of the Peaceful Warrior), William Ury (author of Getting to Yes), and Eve & Mikl Brawner.

Gardening and Nature Books

Winter is the season when most gardeners get to read gardening books to help them plan and dream their next gardening season. We have an excellent supply of the best books for gardeners and aspiring gardeners, as well as homesteaders.  For the most accurate gardening advice for your Colorado garden, look to our local garden writers!

‘Organic Gardener’s Companion’ by Jane Shellenberger, editor & publisher of the Colorado Gardener magazine, offers up-to-date Colorado-specific advice on every aspect of organic vegetable gardening.
We also have recent books from Colorado’s ‘garden-laureates’ Lauren Springer Ogden & Scott Ogden, including the new revised ‘Undaunted Garden’.
And we have other great books by local garden and nature experts: Dan Johnson’s newly edited ‘Meet the Natives’, Susan Tweit (Colorado Wildscapes),
Gwen Moore Kelaidis (Hardy Succulents), Jim Knopf (Waterwise Landscaping), Tammi Hartung (Homegrown Herbs), Denver Botanic Gardens (Steppes), and more!

Children’s Books

Children have a lively interest in the natural world. They love vivid pictures, but they are bored if we dumb it down for them. These children’s books are fascinating even for adults, full of in-depth science, but graphic and fun—many with projects and activities that make facts real. Also great story books, beautifully told and illustrated – from classic fairy tales to Salman Rushdi’s ‘Luka and the Fire of Life’. Last but not least, the wonderful Peter Yarrow Songbook & CD.  In addition, we have many youth orientated interactive items that put kids in touch with and teaches about nature and natural history.

The Boulder Irish Session ~ Next Sunday at Conor’s

New and hot-off-the-press! At 29 years old, The Boulder Irish Session is a Boulder ‘institution’ and is still going strong. They are an informal, dynamic gathering of top-notch Front Range musicians who come together on Sunday evenings at Conor O’Neil’s Pub in downtown Boulder to share tunes and songs of the Celtic tradition. Over the years, the Session has gained many loyal followers who know they will always hear some of the best, most spirited live traditional Irish and Celtic music in the region on any given Sunday, comparable to sessions in Galway and County Clare. Harlequin’s Gardens co-owner Eve Brawner is one of the founding members of the Boulder Irish Session and is still a ‘regular’ there, playing English concertina, and singing.

This summer the Session produced their second CD, ‘Next Sunday at Conor’s’. This vibrant, live-in-the-studio CD, is comprised of 18 tracks, presenting 38 of our favorite tunes and songs, played by an ensemble of Session members on fiddle, flute, banjo, concertina, button accordion, harp, tin whistle, octave mandolin (bouzouki), guitar, bodhran and vocals.

Elena Klaver – ‘Promise of Spring’ CD

Elena, whose music has been compared to Kate Wolf, has played individually and with a number of groups in the Denver/Boulder area, including the Mother Folkers. Her traditional and original music has been a longtime contribution to numerous peace, justice, and environmental gatherings and events. Based in the activist tradition, her music expresses an emotional and spiritual dimension and connection that inspires us to continue working for a better world. Reflecting Elena’s fluency in both Spanish and English (she works full time as a professional interpreter), the CD’s songs- mostly in English, with a couple in Spanish- also serve as a bridge between languages, cultures and people. And Elena’s lovely voice is and warm and sweet.

Her songs have been recorded by a number of other musicians, including the award-winning duo Magpie. Her song for Native American political prisoner Leonard Peltier, Dakota Wind, appears on an anthology of songs that includes the work of Bruce Cockburn, Joanne Shenandoah, and Buffy Sainte Marie. She has shared the stage with such venerable folk musicians and activists as the late Utah Phillips, Si Kahn, John McCutcheon, and the late Mimi Fariña, among others. Elena is joined on this CD by a number of other accomplished local musicians.
Come and hear Elena live, at 11 am Saturday Nov. 28, during our Holiday Open House.

Jon Sousa ~ Jon Sousa Solo, SuanTrai (with Adam Agee, fiddle)

Jon is one of the rising stars of Traditional Irish music and solo finger-style guitar as well as banjo, and has studied and performed to much acclaim in Ireland and Europe as well as Colorado.  Jon’s musical journey started early in his life, including rock and electronic dance music, but after moving to Boulder in 2003, he fell deeply in love with Traditional Irish music. His impeccable technique and the grace and passion of his playing are dazzling.  Jon teaches and performs solo and as a duo with the equally talented Adam Agee on fiddle, and can sometimes be found at the Boulder Irish Session at Conor O’Neil’s on Sunday evenings.

Gift Certificates

Harlequin’s Gardens Gift Certificates are always a perfect gift for any Front Range gardener (okay, maybe not perfect for someone who only grows a water garden) and are always available.  Come in to buy gift certificates and shop our Holiday Market, or follow the instructions on our website to order by phone or mail.  If you need a gift certificate during the months when we are closed (November, January, February) you are welcome to order it by mail or phone.  See Gift Certificates at www.harlequinsgardens.com.

We are very appreciative of your support and wish you a season of joy and fulfillment!  We look forward to seeing you soon at our Holiday Gift Market.

Warmly,
Eve & Mikl Brawner
and the Wonderful Staff at Harlequin’s Gardens

Blog #2 here

Harlequin’s Gardens Holiday Gift Market continues!

Greetings to our Customers & Friends!

It’s December 10 and I still have Autumn Crocus blooming in my garden!

Well, at least this year we are having a gradual (if late) journey into Winter. And very soon we will see the lengthening of the days, and before you know it, bees sipping nectar from early spring crocus!  By the way, we still have some great Spring-flowering Bulbs, at 50% OFF! And you can still plant them successfully!

As you celebrate the season, we invite you to come (or come again) to our Holiday Gift Market, which is open for its

Final 2 Weeks!
Open 10 ~ 5 every Thursday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday through Christmas Eve, Dec. 24

Enjoy home-made cookies, jam samples and a cup of hot cider while you shop local in a warm, rustic and relaxed atmosphere.

Enter our DAILY PRIZE DRAWINGS and GRAND PRIZE DRAWING to win valuable $100 GIFT CERTIFICATES! 

Discover why customers tell us:

“I hate to shop – I even buy my socks online!
But I LOVE to shop at Harlequin’s holiday gift market!”
“It doesn’t feel like shopping; it’s more like a jolly visit with family!”

“No need to go elsewhere.
Unique, affordable local art and products for everyone on my list –
simply the best I’ve ever found at a holiday market!”
“Shopping here is such a relief!”
“Great local crafts & treats”

…and many more enthusiastic comments!

We have NEW ITEMS and lots of RESTOCKED ITEMS!

Safe and Fun Toys, Clothing, & Books for Kids

Brand New CDs by Boulder Irish Session, White Birds (Margot Krimmel & Beth Gadbaw

Unique Hand-made Jewelry, Hats, Socks, Gloves, Scarves, by local artisans

Locally hand-made Ceramic Planters for your succulents and other house-plants

Beautiful Holiday and other Greeting Cards by local artists

Locally hand-crafted Quilts, Potholders, Placemats, Table Runners, Aprons, Napkins

Fine locally-crafted Ceramic Mugs and other Clay Art

Excellent Books by award-winning local authors

Delicious Specialty Foods by the best local producers, including Harlequin’s Exclusives and fabulous Chocolates!

Locally-made non-toxic Body-Care products

 

 

 

Fine Art, Craft and Seasonal Ornaments by local artisans Indoor Succulent Gardens

Eco Products for Sustainable Living
 
Gardening Tools & Accessories
……………and MORE!

We have been able to re-stock some of our most popular items
, such as Eve’s grain-free Pecan Shortbread cookies, up-cycled wool and cashmere ‘arm-cozies’ from Ann Mitchell, Robin Chocolate truffles, wood-block printed tea towels and calendars from Theresa Haberkorn, many of our great local body-care products, beeswax candles, and ceramic pieces by Willi Eggerman, Thea & Rafaele, Lois Edgar and others, ornaments from Twenty Pound Tabby, Ritual chocolate bars, and many more items!
AND, we have some exciting new artists and new items from the artists you already know.

Sondra Finch, a new artist for us, just brought in a big armload of fabulous, fun hand-knitted hats and head bands!Mark Andreas, author of the very popular and inspiring ‘Sweet Fruit from the Bitter Tree’ brought us his hot-off-the-press new book, “Waltzing with Wolverines: Finding connection & cooperation with troubled teens’.

Ann Mitchell brought in wonderful new skirts and tops made from re-purposed garments.

Beth Gallovic recently dropped off delightful stuffed, re-purposed fabric turtles, great as toys and as pillows.

AND, gorgeous, one-of-a-kind, meticulously hand-made silk Bandhani Scarves from Gujarat, India are ON SALE for 25% off! Last chance! 

New and restocked items continue to arrive, so keep checking back!

Gift Certificates

Harlequin’s Gardens Gift Certificates are always a perfect gift for any Front Range gardener (okay, maybe not perfect for someone who only grows a water garden) and are always available.  Come in to buy gift certificates and shop our Holiday Market, or follow the instructions on our website to order by phone or mail.  If you need a gift certificate during the months when we are closed (November, January, February) you are welcome to order it by mail or phone.  See Gift Certificates at www.harlequinsgardens.com.

We are grateful for your support,and we look forward to seeing you again soon!

Warmly,
Eve & Mikl Brawner
and the Marvelous Staff at Harlequin’s Gardens

Get all the latest news from your friends at Harlequin’s Gardens.

www.harlequinsgardens.com

Harlequin’s Gardens Holiday Gift Market Final Weekend!

Winter Greetings!

We would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a wonderful Winter Solstice and Holiday Season full of good cheer, good company, good health, good food and the spirit of generosity.

If you are looking for LOCAL, SUSTAINABLE, UNIQUE, QUALITY gifts (or things for yourself), please check out our Holiday Gift Market.  We have continued to re-stock and add wonderful new items! You’ll find inspired, affordable gifts of all kinds for almost everyone on your list, many of them one-of-a-kind, and many not available anywhere else.  We’ve got everything from Hostess gifts and Stocking Stuffers to wonderful ‘Main-Course’ gifts.  See the ‘photo gallery’ below.

ONE WEEK LEFT
To shop our HOLIDAY GIFT MARKET!

Open 10 ~ 5
this Thursday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday
(Dec. 17-20)

and Christmas Eve, Thursday, Dec. 24

After December 24, Harlequin’s Gardens
will be closed until March 3, 2016

ON SALE!

This week you will find some items on sale at significant discounts –

Spring-blooming Bulbs, 50% off

Succulent Houseplants, 30% off 

 

Ritual Chocolate bars,15% off

Come in to find additional unadvertised bargains! 

We are profoundly grateful that the response to our market this year has been fantastic, and we’re having such a great time doing it!

Several new comments came in this week:

“LOVE your holiday market!
Products by our local creatives are always preferred,
and these are some of the best I’ve seen.
The intimate setting and helpful advice on beekeeping items
were also welcome. Thanks!”

“So warm and cozy –
wish I could have stayed longer to keep shopping!
Beautiful music, too! May have to go back next weekend…”
“Of course the music was lovely and the quality of the artisans.
There were also some tasty morsels to sample.
The atmosphere was festive.”

WHERE THE BEES ARE IN THE WINTER

Just like us, bees huddle together indoors when it is snowy and cold.  For them, it is all about protecting the queen and the small amount of brood rearing that is going on.  Honeybees live longer in the winter months because they don’t wear themselves out foraging for honey and pollen.  On warm days (above 50) they will leave the hive and take “cleansing flights”, which means exactly what it sounds like!  They will also freely access honey stores in the top box.  Many beekeepers have already put pollen and/or sugar patties on top of the bottom brood box where the bees can easily access it.  The bees rotate from the inside to the outside of the cluster and may grab a nip of food while on the outside.   If you put your ear to the outside opening of the hive you can hear the gentle buzz of the colony generating warmth.  Sadly, many of the bees on the outside of the cluster sacrifice themselves to keep their sisters and the queen warm.   Fingers are crossed and hopes are high that the colony will survive the cold dark nights and have enough food in their reserves (and with some supplementation).

Solitary and native bees, even bumblebees, do not over-winter as a colony.  Only the queen, and in some cases larvae, are present in nesting boxes, holes in wood or underground.  Their chances of surviving the winter are much better than a honeybee hive.

WHAT TO GIVE A BEEKEEPER?

Gloves are always a welcome gift because as the beekeeper works the hives, they get sticky and stiff from propolis and honey.  They don’t really wash well and need to be replaced.  The ones we carry in the Bee Barn tend to run quite large so be sure to buy a size or even two smaller than regular gloves.  It’s no fun to have bits of glove hanging off the end of your fingers getting caught between frames and the hive.
Log Book – Every good beekeeper should keep records of the status of their hives every time they look in the hive or observe bee behavior.  We carry the “Mighty Giant” version which is bright yellow with weatherproof pages.
Hive Tools – Beekeepers love their hive tools and like to have different ones for different uses.  If the beekeeper on your list only has the regular hive tool, they will appreciate receiving one of the more unusual ones such as the extra long or the multi-tool.
Books – We have a number of great books including the textbook for the Boulder County Beekeepers’ Beekeeping Class, which will start in January.  One book that is extremely popular is the recently published Beekeeping, Mentor in a Book by local beekeeper Donald Studinsky.  This is a valuable, month by month guide to beekeeping packed with valuable information including the recipe for making your own sugar patties.

WHAT TO GIVE A BEE LOVER?

Come in and check out our metal bee garden stakes, queen bee key rings, books about gardening for bees and native pollinators, bee hand puppets from Folkmanis, locally hand-made majolica bee bowls, mugs and candle sticks and, of course, our huge selection of locally-crafted beeswax candles.

Still don’t know what to give?  Talk with one of our beekeepers on staff, either Engrid, Diane or Amy is there every day the Holiday Market is open, for even more great ideas and of course a Harlequin’s Gift Certificate suits everyone!

Thank you for your continued support!

Warmly,Eve & Mikl Brawner
and the Wonderful Staff at Harlequin’s Gardens

Get all the latest news from your friends at Harlequin’s Gardens.

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Vegetable Garden Care Recommendations

WATER: Most vegetables need a consistent, generous supply of water. Use drip irrigation, or use overhead sprinkler early in the day.

SOIL: Organic matter (humus) feeds vital soil organisms that feed plants, improves soil texture, moisture-retention, & aeration. We recommend incorporating compost to a depth of ~8”. Note: Almost all of our soil amendments are produced locally.[Read More]

Where the Bees Are

At last! Spring is officially here and more plants are starting to bloom, providing much needed pollen and nectar for bees.  You should be seeing honeybees and queen bumblebees feeding on dandelions, the ubiquitous and pretty weed Redstem Filaree (Erodium cicutarium), the fantastic, long-blooming Golden Storksbill (Erodium chrysanthum) – not a weed!, Creeping Phlox, Maple trees, tulips, crocus, Crown Imperial Fritillaria, and other spring-blooming bulbs.  Soon the willows that grow along our creeks and ravines will have their inconspicuous bloom which provides pollen, and there have even been a few flowering crabapples starting to bud and leaf out. The time of abundance is near as apples and other fruit trees unfurl.  Native bees will begin emerging from their winter nests and will be flocking to these plants as well.[Read More]

Flowers for Bees Sake

Plants are one of the most successful life forms. In fact, we could say that they are the most successful life form, because plants are self-sufficient. They can live without eating other beings because they can make their own food. Only plants, phytoplankton, algae and cyanobacteria can synthesize food from sunlight, carbon dioxide, minerals and water.

At the same time, plants have a serious limitation: they are rooted to the earth, so they can’t run away from pests and they can’t pursue another plant in order to have sex. But are plants helpless. Oh, no. They have developed chemical warfare and chemical magnetism to protect themselves from predators and attract allies.[Read More]

Announcing the new Harlequin’s Gardens Bee Barn

HEAR YE, HEAR YE!

ANNOUNCING the new Harlequin’s Gardens BEE BARN & our new WHERE the BEES ARE Bi-Monthly Reports

Harlequin’s Gardens is now open for the 2015 season!

We at Harlequin’s Gardens have loved and supported bees for a long, long time. We also know that many of our customers keep bees, or would like to learn more about how to support bees and other pollinators and how to keep honeybee hives.

Now we are very excited to announce that we are inaugurating a Neonic-Free policy, (about which we will tell you more in our upcoming Spring Invitation & Newsletter). And, we are now offering an extensive line of beekeeping supplies! By the Herculean efforts of Mikl, several fabulous helpers who pitched in at just the right time, and our staff of amazing Wonderwomen, we have transformed the back portion of our building into The Bee Barn (painted the color of honey, of course!).

The first shipment (over 80 boxes and 3 pallets) of beekeeping supplies have arrived and more is on its way.  Our new Bee Barn is full of a good selection of products including Langstroth hive equipment such as starter kits, Deep, Medium and Honey Supers (both assembled and unassembled) as well as a selection of Top Bar hives.  We have locally constructed Top Bar Hives made with Beetle-Kill Pine and screened bottoms. Come and check out our great selection of Hive Tools, Equipment, Protective Gear, Feeding supplies and great books including the recently published, “Beekeeping Mentor in a Book”  by local beekeeping expert, Don Studinski. Special Ordering is also available and we will be expanding our product line in coming months.

If you are a new beekeeper, we can help you decide what you need because we have beekeepers on staff to answer questions and give advice. You will find our prices are quite reasonable. And we are offering three different classes about honeybees (in which you’ll be able to visit the bees in our own Top Bar and Langstroth hives) and native bees, as well as other great bee-related subjects. Please review our extensive class offerings here.

~Introducing a new Blog~

We are happy to present the first edition of our new feature, Where the Bees Are, a bi-monthly report on what’s happening in beehives around the Front Range area, and what bee-supporting plants are blooming, both in the natural landscape and in gardens. We plan to send this informative report to you twice a month through the bee season, and post it on our website as well. We hope it will give gardeners and beekeeper-gardeners some new ideas for choosing plants and sequencing bloom in their gardens to make the garden a haven for honeybees, wild bees (Boulder County is home to hundreds of species!), and other pollinators. If you have feedback about Where the Bees Are, please contact us by sending a note in the mail to 4795 N 26th St., Boulder CO 80301.

WHERE the BEES ARE, ed. 0315Aphoto

As we all know, late February and early March have been bitterly cold and snowy, which is very hard on honeybee colonies.  Honeybees are the only bees that over-winter as a colony. This makes hive management interesting and challenging.  Temperatures in January and February were unseasonably warm, which triggered the bees to get out and take cleansing flights and search for forage. The Maple trees bloomed about 3 weeks early this year and pollen was eagerly collected. In some sunny gardens, early Crocus and Species Iris, like I. reticulata and I. danfordii, began blooming as early as the first week in February. One of our native shrubs, Silver Buffaloberry (Shepherdia argentea), was blooming in February – inconspicuous to us humans, but definitely noticed by the bees. Honeybees will leave the hive if the weather is sunny and temperatures are over about 50 degrees, but when conditions are cold they stay in a cluster in the hive, shivering to create the kinetic heat that keeps the Queen and the brood warm.  The rest of the bees in the hive rotate from the outside to the inside of the cluster and back again for warmth. The brood is very limited in size to 50-100 bees and the brood cycles overlap and become larger over time as forage and weather begins to be favorable.  Hopefully, there is enough stored honey for them to make it through these lean times, but many beekeepers supplement with pollen patties and sugar cakes. Even so, prolonged cold can cause hive losses as the bees are reluctant to move away from the cluster and the brood to tap into nearby reserves and may starve within an inch of stored honey as they will not leave their brood unprotected. Sometimes robbing occurs and the bees entering and leaving the hive are not the residents. Beekeepers check their hives for dead-outs caused by weather, starvation and disease whenever temperatures are warm enough to observe the bees out and about around the hive or by opening the hives on warm, sunny days.

As this latest cold snap recedes and throughout the month of March, things become a lot more exciting for beekeepers. Equipment needs to be cleaned, repaired, replaced and built in anticipation of bee packages and nucs (brood frames), ordered at least 45 days ago for delivery and installation in April. Inspections will be conducted more frequently as Queen health and brood sizes are checked. Colony strength is assessed for the possibility of splits and old comb may be removed from the bottom of Langstroth hives.  It’s also time to scrape off burr comb and remove uneaten candy, if any.

As temperatures warm a very important bloom time begins – Dandelions!  Dandelion pollen is moderately nutritious and the nectar is abundant and they bloom just in time to feed over-wintered colonies. Dandelions are a vital source of food for honeybees at a time when almost nothing else is available. And they often occur in large groupings, which makes foraging more efficient.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Special thanks to Engrid Winslow for providing much of the content of this report!

Look for our second edition in your mailbox later this month.

We look forward to seeing you soon!

In MARCH we are open Thursday, Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays, from 9am to 5pm

for soil amendments, potting soils, seeds, seed-starting supplies, gardening supplies and tools, seed potatoes, onion plants, early cool-season veggie and herb starts, beekeeping supplies, great classes, gift certificates, and much more!

Beginning APRIL 1, we will be open daily. Please see our upcoming Spring Invitation & Newsletter for more details.

Eve & Mikl Brawner and the fabulous staff at Harlequin’s Gardens

Holiday Gift Market 2014

Holiday Gift Market 2014

We are excited that Harlequin’s Gardens will Re-Open on Friday November 28th – Green Friday – for our 3rd Annual Holiday Gift Market, with expanded hours!

HOLIDAY GIFT MARKET

Open from Nov. 28th through Dec. 21st

10 am to 5 pm

Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays

In 2012 we inaugurated our Holiday Gift Market, featuring unique and exceptional goods crafted by local artisans, delicious local artisan foods, and sustainable, innovative, fun and practical goods for home and garden. So many of you have told us that our Holiday Gift Market is your favorite holiday shopping experience, that you appreciate our focus on locally-made and responsible products, and that you found outstanding, affordable presents at Harlequin’s for everyone on your list.

This year most of our artisans and products are back, and we’ve added more than 25 new products and 14 new artisans and producers! You’ll find many choices of everything from ‘stocking-stuffers’ to ‘necessary luxuries’ for men, women and children.

We will also host several Book-Signing Events!  Outstanding local authors will sign their recently-released books – see the Book-Signing Schedule below, under BOOKS & CDs.

And every day of our Holiday Market offers a chance to escape from the repetitive mass-market Christmas music that assails us everywhere else.  You will especially enjoy our Holiday Open House (see below), where we will again present exquisite live music from some our very best local talent.

Please share this invitation with friends and family who haven’t discovered us yet!

DOOR PRIZES !

Each day of our Holiday Gift Market, anyone who comes to Harlequin’s and makes a purchase will be entered in our DAILY DRAWING for a $15 GIFT CERTIFICATE! 

In addition, we will conduct a drawing at the close of the Holiday Market for three $100 GIFT CERTIFICATES!  To enter this drawing, bring in our entry form (the postcard we mailed to you in our Fall Newsletter), OR print a copy from our website at this link: Printable Entry Form

………….  and present it when you shop our Holiday Market.

Please join us for our

________________________________________________________________________

HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE

~~~ November 28th, 29th & 30th ~~~

Featuring Live Music & Home-made Treats

Music Schedule:

Friday Nov. 28

11:30am to 1:30pm PAUL VISVADER, World music guitar

Saturday Nov. 29

11:00am to1:00pm MASON BROWN, Celtic & Appalachian guitar & vocals, & pardessus viol

1:30pm to 3:30pm  ADAM AGEE, Celtic fiddle 

Sunday Nov. 30

11:00am to 1:00pm COLIN LINDSAY, Celtic fiddle & concertina

1:pm to 2:30pm MARGOT KRIMMEL, Celtic & original harp

CDs by these and other fine local artists will be for sale in our Holiday Market!

________________________________________________________________________

HOLIDAY GIFT MARKET OFFERINGS

We have arranged our list of products in categories so you can more easily locate the kinds of items you’re looking for.  Look for the green category headings.

TASTE OF COLORADO – FINE LOCAL ARTISAN TREATS
Make a Taste of Colorado Gift Basket – a perfect gift for almost everyone!

Eve’s Pecan Shortbread Cookies – Harlequin’s Exclusive!
Back by public demand: Scrumptious, rich, melt-in-your-mouth nut shortbread cookies, based on almond flour, pecans and butter, subtly sweetened with a little maple syrup. Gluten-free, grain-free, mostly organic, no refined sugars. You don’t have to be gluten-sensitive to adore these rich and satisfying cookies!

Engrid’s Fine Fruit Preserves – Harlequin’s Exclusive!P1060016
Our own Engrid Winslow makes the kind of jams, jellies and chutneys that make you close your eyes and sigh with pleasure. She uses fresh, organic fruit, and very little sugar, so the fruit flavors shine. She makes the classics as well as many delicious originals, like Crabapple-Orange, Hand-picked Black Raspberry, and Sweet Cherry Chutney, to name just a few. You’ll find delicious uses for Engrid’s preserves, in breakfasts, hors d’oevres, salad dressings, glazes, and desserts. 

Ritual ChocolateRitual Chocolate
Chocolate to live for! Ritual Chocolate is a quality-focused small-batch craft chocolate made in Denver. Their old-world, artisan approach and dedication to every detail of the complex process produces chocolate as delicious, distinctive and memorable as fine wine – meant to be savored. Ritual’s single-origin chocolate is hand-crafted by traditional methods with ethically-sourced cacao from several choice growers around the world. Unlike most chocolatiers, who buy their beans already roasted, or even fully processed, Ritual starts with raw beans and they hand-sort, roast, winnow, mix, refine, conche, age, temper, mold and wrap (bet you didn’t know how much goes into making a really good chocolate bar!). We offer 4 varieties of their single-source organic bars.  Combine with some Askinosie Sipping Chocolate and Cocoa Powder for a chocolate-lover’s dream gift!

Askinosie Chocolate – Harlequin’s Exclusive! New!P1060225
The only product in this category not made in Colorado, we felt compelled to go a bit farther, to Springfield, Missouri, to bring you the finest single-origin artisan. Cocoa Powder and Sipping Chocolates available. Askinosie’s products are also ethically-sourced, well beyond Fair-Trade requirements, and they engage in a truly progressive relationship with their Missouri staff and with the cacao growers and their communities. We offer their heavenly Sipping Chocolate in two flavors – ‘Single Origin’, and ‘Mexican Style’, and their classic Single Origin Natural Cocoa Powder.  Sipping chocolate is just like drinking a chocolate bar- thick, rich, and indulgent. Simply mix with milk or heavy cream and enjoy. Their non-alkalized Cocoa Powder is perfect for making a world-class traditional hot cocoa, and also great for baking.

Wellspring Way Herb-Infused Honeys – New!
What a yummy way to take your medicine! Herbalist Leslie Lewis uses herbs from her medicinal garden and raw, unpasteurized honey from her hive to produce these delicious and healing condiments. All the beneficial enzymes in the honey have been preserved in the low-temperature infusion process. Three infusions are offered – Oregano, Lavender and Ginger, each with uses in teas, glazes for roasted or grilled foods, and much more. 

Balsamic Nectar
A best-seller at our Holiday Gift Markets, Balsamic Nectar is a high-quality balsamic vinegar reduction made in Boulder by our friends Ben and Kerry. It comes very close to Italy’s ‘Traditional Balsamic Vinegar’, which takes many years, even decades of barrel-aging to mature to a thick, richly-flavored, sweet glaze, quite different from ordinary Balsamic vinegars. The reduction process developed by Balsamic Nectar is entirely natural yet doesn’t heat the vinegar, accelerating the aging to just a couple of months, and making this ‘magic ingredient’ far more affordable. Balsamic Nectar give s the perfect finishing touch to cheeses, grilled or roasted veggies or meats, fresh berries, even ice cream!  Check our next blog to find out when Ben will be at Harlequin’s to conduct a tasting.

St. Claire’s Organic Mints, Candies, Pastilles & Lozenges
Yea!  Totally organic! Made in Boulder by herbalist Debra St. Claire! No corn syrup! Delicious! Effective! Packaged in pretty tins! Incredibly cheap!

Local Raw Honey – New!
Tim Brod is a master beekeeper who keeps over a dozen apiaries around Boulder County. He moves the hives several times a year to take advantage of timely and diverse nectar flows – it is not a monoculture honey. Tim’s Highland Honey is delicious and pure, and contains the natural enzymes that make it an extremely healthy food as well. The honey is raw, unfiltered and unheated – never subjected to temperatures higher than the natural temperatures found in beehives, 95 degrees F. The honey is also creamed, ensuring that it will never become crystallized hard. It comes in attractive hexagonal jars.

Organic India Teas
The most delicious, the most righteous teas! Organic India is a Boulder-based grower of Tulsi, (also known as Holy Basil) and all of the other ingredients in their organic, beyond fair-trade products. Tulsi teas have many health benefits including reducing stress, supporting the immune system, aiding digestion, balancing energy, and relieving allergy symptoms. Tulsi is also delicious, and we carry six great flavors: Original, Tulsi Ginger, Tulsi Rose, Tulsi Jasmine, Tulsi Chai, and India Breakfast. Organic India is a leader in sustainable business, cultivating ecology with organic/biodynamic practices while supporting social justice and dignity.

 
PLANTS
Air Plants & Succulents
This year we will have Air Plants (Tillandsia sps.) and glass containers for them, as well as tropical succulent plants, both for easy indoor growing.  Air plants and Succulents are very sculptural plants and thrive indoors with very little attention. And some of our succulents have medicinal properties you can use in your home. We can give you details when you come in.

PERSONAL ADORNMENT

heARTfelt Hand-Felted Bags – New!P1060228
Lisa Robb’s experiments in wool felting led to the discovery of her own technique for embedding patterned silk in the surface of the felt. The resulting gorgeous, textured and color-saturated, one-of-a kind purses, handbags and shoulder bags will make treasured gifts for the gals on your list. Paisley, floral, tie-dye, geometric – the variety is unlimited! Hand-made in Aurora, CO.

Cat’s Grin Metal Art Jewelry – New!Kathleen Gatliffe necklace
Kathleen Gatliffe’s sterling silver jewelry combines natural themes with almost Scandinavian simplicity and a suggestion of folk-art stencil patterns.  We are very happy to add her lovely necklaces and earrings to our collection of fine holiday gift items from local artisans.

True June – New!P1060248
Jennifer Knuth’s fine semi-precious bead necklaces and bracelets beg to be worn every day.The small beads are crocheted into a strong, super-fine cord. They are so charmingly simple, and almost weightless, making them easy to wear with everything. I know people who never take them off.

Botanical Necklaces from Winter Garden StudioP1050117
Adrienne DeLoe’s leaf-pendant necklaces are alive with color and light.  In her Denver studio, In her Denver studio, Adrienne fashions these lovely pendants, each one a celebration of the flowers and foliage from her garden, some vivid, some subtle and demure, all very attractive and affordable.

Bandhani Silk Scarves – Harlequin’s Exclusive!P1040784
In 2013 I had the exciting opportunity to attend the International Folk-Art Market in Santa Fe, NM.  The market is unique in arranging sponsorship for hundreds of exceptional artisans from dozens of countries around the globe so that they can get the exposure they would never experience at home and use their profits to benefit their villages. Attendees also had the opportunity to talk with many artisans about their work and their lives.

Amongst the thousands of wonderful handcrafts there, I found myself particularly drawn to these exquisite Bandhani tie-dyed silk scarves, made by a community of about 200 traditional tie-dyers in Kutch, Gujarat, where this art has been practiced for centuries. Bandhani is the art of creating beautiful patterns on fabric by intricately tying thousands of tiny knots, then dying, using a complex, ancient, labor-intensive process unique to Gujarat and Rajastan. These stunning scarves look great with everything from jeans to evening attire. They are one-of-a kind treasures, made by a socially and environmentally-responsible cottage industry awarded the Unesco Seal of Excellence for standard-setting quality and craftsmanship.  A gift any woman will treasure. Mixed patterns & colors. Limited stock.

aGain and Sweet Ann Marie’s – New!
Ann Mitchell loves to sew! And she loves to recycle. So it’s only natural that she would put the two together and create fun fashion by re-purposing high-quality wool and cashmere sweaters to make wonderful one-of-a-kind jackets, coats, ‘arm cozies’ and cashmere baby caps.. We also carry her very cozy and flattering fleece hats. In her line of children’s clothing, Sweet Ann Marie’s, she makes adorable ‘onesies’ dresses, reversible dresses for toddlers, kids’ aprons, and baby booties. Ann sews up a storm in her Lafayette, CO studio.

Twenty Pound Tabby Earrings and OrnamentsAcorn earrings orange1b
We’ve known Cheryl for many years in the context of her expertise in Roses (she grows about 500 of them in her home garden), and Morris Dancing (Cheryl, husband and kids have all danced with the Maroon Bells Morris Dancers at our May Day Festivals). A few years ago we discovered that she is also a multi-talented craftswoman. Her whimsical ornaments are original designs, meticulously hand-dyed, painted and beaded, sewn on a 1948 Singer sewing machine, and stuffed. They are double sided so they look good from all angles. Because of the nature of the hand dyeing and hand painting, no two ornaments are ever exactly alike. Cheryl also makes felted Acorn Earrings, made with real acorn caps, dainty Czech Glass Flower Earrings, and vegetable-tanned leather leaf barrettes.

Fox Ryde Recycled Copper Jewelry, Silk ScarvesFox Ryde Recycled Copper Pin
Made from copper reclaimed from old roofing, gutters, pipes and such, these beautiful, original pins have a warm glow and beautiful patina, and feature design motifs from nature. Sheron Buchele Rowland makes these in their Loveland CO studio.  She also makes her own natural plant dyes to color her silk scarves in luminous tones.

Scandinavian Slipper Socks – Harlequin’s Exclusive!
Our own Engrid Winslow makes these warm and beaP1040778utifully patterned soft wool slipper-socks, based on traditional Scandinavian designs and knitted using Swedish twined knitting techniques which make them thick, warm and durable so they can be worn as house slippers.  They are made with 100% wool and are machine washable in cold water and should be laid flat to dry. Sizes range from women’s shoe sizes 6 to 9.  She is also offering ‘regular’ socks in a washable wool/poly blend in lovely color blends with reinforced heels and toes, in sizes for women and men.  Quantities are limited – the early bird gets the socks!

PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS

Dr. Brawner’s Healing Aloe Aftershave – Harlequin’s Exclusive!P1040844
Formulated and made in Boulder by ‘the doctor’ himself (Mikl Brawner), from 99% pure Aloe Vera Gel, with cold-pressed, organic Rosehip Seed Oil; 100% pure Jojoba Oil, and 32,000 IU Vitamin E Oil, along with essential oils of Lavender, Vetiver, and Rose. That’s all. No alcohol, nothing synthetic, non-greasy. All the ingredients are natural plant products, chosen for their skin-healing qualities. The steam-distilled Rose Oil is a powerful anti-viral and antiseptic. The other ingredients are good for healing burns and dry and damaged skin, inflammation, wrinkles. They are moisturizing and uplifting to the spirits. Mikl has made and used this formula for more than 10 years to heal his Irish skin from the abrasion of shaving and the drying effects of the Colorado sun (and keep him looking youthful and handsome). And it smells wonderful! (and it’s not just for men).

NovAurora Natural Skin Care – New!
Founded in 2000 by our friend Pamela Lambert in Boulder, novAurora Natural Skin Care makes unscented skin-care products for men and women from pure, botanical, body-friendly ingredients – organically grown where available – that promote skin health and beauty, regenerate skin on the cellular level. And stimulate the body to produce its own life-giving nutrients, while doing no harm to the environment or other living beings. Their products include: Soap-free Facial Cleanser (Eve’s favorite), Lotion Potion (for potters and gardeners), Pure Organic Jojoba Oil, Odorless Organic Shea Butter, Weekend Warrior Balm with MSM.  All novAurora products are non-toxic, vegan, gluten-free, and never tested on animals.

Wellspring Way Herbals – New!
A certified clinical herbalist since 2006, our friend Leslie Lewis is passionate about growing and using plants for their remarkable healing properties. Her beehive and beautiful xeric garden in Longmont provide most of the raw ingredients for Wellspring Way’s salves and infused honeys, all of which are organic, nutrient-dense, and pesticide-free. The very effective salves address a number of conditions – insomnia, lung congestion, fungal infection, rash & sunburn, and cracked skin. And the herb- infused honeys offer a healing and delicious condiment with many culinary uses. Leslie also teaches a popular class in Medicinals as Ornamentals in a Xeriscape for Harlequin’s Gardens in the summer.

Kisu Neroli Lip Balm
Created by Plum Botanicals, a small fair-trade organic skin-care line based here in Boulder. This long-lasting lip balm is based on wild-collected African shea butter from a womens’ cooperative, and scented with the marvelous, unique, citrus-y essential oil of neroli.  Shea butter is a natural sun-blocker, so it really helps prevent chapping in all seasons. Kisu is, by far, Eve’s favorite lip balm.

Cool Goddess Mist & Sandalwood Mist 
Cool Goddess is a wonderfully refreshing spritzer from Boulder-based Plum Botanicals. It provides instant relief when temperatures soar, and is especially helpful for hot flashes, containing plant essences known for balancing hormones, as well as cooling and calming.  Sandalwood mist is another great cooling and refreshing spritzer made with the finest essence of Sandalwood – woodsy, spicy, exotic!

‘Trementina’ Traditional Pinyon Salve – Exclusive!
The Spanish word ‘trementina’ has come to be used as the name for the sap of the pinyon tree of New Mexico. Folk remedies made from this sap have been used for centuries by cowboys, farmers and ranchers to relieve dry, cracked skin, abrasions and scrapes, and for drawing out splinters. Made in New Mexico’s ‘curandera’ tradition by our friend Pamela Clum, who climbed the pinyon trees to gather the sap, and infused it in olive oil and New Mexico beeswax to create this rare traditional salve. Each tin of salve comes in a lovely organza gift bag.

Lamborn Mt. Farmstead Lotion, Soaps, Hydrosol and Culinary LavenderP1060239
Our friends Carol and Jim Schott, who you may remember as founder of Haystack Mountain Goat Dairy of Niwot, CO, have resettled over on the Western Slope and created Lamborn Mt. Farmstead on a mesa overlooking Paonia, CO in the North Fork Valley, an area known for its organic orchards, vegetables farms, and vineyards; Carol and Jim are helping to add lavender to that list. From the milk of their own goats and lavender from their fields, they make the most luxuriously creamy, moisturizing hand and body lotion and gentle aromatic soaps. We also offer their Cedar Rose and Rosemary Lemon Mint soaps, calming & uplifting Lavender Hydrosol, and their Culinary Lavender – lavender buds harvested at their peak from varieties especially valued for use in cooking (some recipes included!) and tea. All their products are hand-made in small batches.

Blair’s HerbalsP1050102
We are pleased to offer our friend Blair Chandler’s line of handmade, reiki-infused, self-care products that bring forth the healing properties of the biodynamically-grown plants she raises in her organic Boulder garden.  We carry her long-lasting, moisturizing Goddess Soaps (all natural glycerin infused with nourishing herbs and a magical touch of mica), relaxing and healing mineral-rich Bath Salts, and nourishing Breast Oil.

Lavender Skin-Care Products by Colorado Aromatics
Mikl and Eve have been using ‘Mountain Mist’ lavender hand & body lotion from Colorado Aromatics for a long time.  The quality of the lavender scent is exceptional, and the lotion is soothing and moisturizing to dry, abused gardeners’ skin.  We offer individual products, and gift sets in lovely mesh bags. Made in Longmont CO with the finest natural, non-toxic ingredients.

FOR HOME & GARDEN

Bells & Chimes – New!#2 -Dukart stoneware windbells
From within his solar-powered studio in the foothills beyond Lyons, artist Lane Dukart creates one-of-a-kind stoneware bells and chimes, each individually cast and hand-carved with original designs, inspired by the natural beauty that surrounds him. He applies only natural oxides to accentuate the clay’s inherent earthy tones and the rustic textures of his carvings. The durable stoneware clay is fired to over 2000 degrees F, making it impervious to the elements, able to withstand rain, snow and wind, and can be hung outdoors. The gentle tones evoked by the movement of the bells and chimes are soothing and pleasing. Each finished composition is unique

Baby Quilts, Quilted Pot-holders & Table-RunnersP1060244
Our dear friend Lynn Mattingly is a renowned fiber artist, and has been practicing and teaching quilting for decades.  An exceptional sense of color-combining, a fabulouscollection of fabrics and a mastery of design and craftsmanship combine to make Lynn’s work really special.  We love seeing her beautiful pot-holders hanging on our stove, and they have held up in our kitchen for a very long time. Lynn lives just over the hills in Paonia.

Peace Garlands
Our friend Lynn also makes these artful painted fabric garlands or ‘prayer flags’ with the always-appropriate message of Peace.  Drape them on your holiday tree, across the top of a doorway or window, or any place where you’ll enjoy their beauty and soothing sentiment. 3” high.on silk ribbon approx. 48” long.

Abeego Natural, Reusable Eco Food Storage Wraps – Harlequin’s ExclusiveP1010031
We love this! A great natural way to keep food fresh and safe, and reduce our reliance on plastic. Abeego uses durable, natural hemp/cotton fabric, which they infuse with a blend of 100% natural, simple ingredients – pure beeswax, jojoba oil and tree resin, all known for their preservative properties, to make a versatile, breathable wrapping or cover for storing foods. Using gentle pressure and the warmth of your hands, shape the flat square to tightly cover a bowl of leftovers, wrap up cheese, form around produce, baked goods, etc. Abeego is malleable and slightly adhesive at room temperature and will stiffen when cool, holding the shape you created.  The beeswax coating is fluid-resistant, keeps food fresh longer than plastic, and is easy to clean. With proper care, you can expect Abeego to last over a year. Each 3-pack contains a 7”, 10”, and a 13” sheet. Made in Canada.

Needle-Felted CreaturesP1050105
Paula Slick is an artist talented in many mediums. She lives in Louisville, CO, where she is a graphic designer and a designer of seasonal events. These days she is working in fiber, creating needle felted creatures from natural wool fiber. The little birds and other creatures are perfect for the windowsill, the Christmas tree, or to place in the hand of a friend. They are non-toxic but not intended for very young children. Each one is very one-of-a-kind, so people love to hold one after another to see which one speaks to them. “Made by hand for your hands”.

Hand-made Journals – New!Mail Attachment
Jeff Becker has made books by hand for almost 20 years. He makes these one-of-a-kind leather-bound journals, the perfect gift for someone who loves to record their travels, inspirations, and observations in sketches, prose and poetry, and have it last for generations. Substantial 100% cotton rag print-maker’s paper, a uniquely embossed frontispiece and soft, durable leather covers with handsome button & cord closures are bound together with a very old and durable German hand-stitching technique that allows the book to lie flat when opened to any page. Each journal is a treasure that awaits someone’s thoughtful hand….perhaps yours?

Ceramic Ikebana Pods & Garden Pods rose in pod plus2
A fusion of whimsy, gesture, pattern, texture and patina characterizes Willi Eggerman’s works in clay, which she conceives as functional sculpture – useful pieces with enough presence to stand alone as objects of aesthetic interest for contemplation.  To make her organic, botanically-inspired porcelain pieces, she employs a wide variety of techniques.

“The seed pod has special appeal to me as a symbol of women, and specifically motherhood. I view seed pods as small sculptures, performance art even, as they form, swell, open, and eventually disintegrate.  They are beautiful, strong, and very practical in getting their job accomplished.”

A long-time member of the Boulder Potter’s Guild, Willi’s work is admired and acclaimed throughout the region.  We are offering some of her Ikebana ‘pods’, perfect for small, informal arrangements or mini-bouquets, and her fanciful pods that can hang on the wall or mount on a garden stake.

Botanical Watercolor Paintings & Clay Art by Eve Reshetnik BrawnerP1040865
Eve Reshetnik Brawner is an award-winning botanical artist whose work has been exhibited around the US and abroad, and is represented in the permanent collection of the prestigious Hunt Institute of Botanical Documentation.  All of Eve’s paintings are executed in watercolor, a challenging but preferred medium for capturing the silky and vibrant translucency of flowers.  In her paintings she has tried to combine minutely accurate scientific detail with the grace and character of each subject. Matted and un-matted prints are available, as well as a few framed original paintings.

In the past few years Eve has turned her talents to the playful medium of clay, and this year has produced a few planters, bird totems, and miscellaneous other pieces to offer at our Holiday Gift Market.

Wall Nichos, Figures & Planters P1050113
Boulder clay artist Mary Lynn Schumacher makes almost mythical forms and figures that evoke stories, animated with delight and imagination. She is an acclaimed artist who has been making functional and sculptural objects in clay for over 25 years, and is a long-time member of the Boulder Potter’s Guild. We have some of Mary Lynn’s wall nichos, which can be used in the home or garden as small personal shrines, a place to perch a votive candle, a flower or other ‘offering’, as well as wall-mounted figures, unique planters (wonderful for succulent plants!), and holiday tree ornaments.

Whimsy in Clay P1050044
Delightfully whimsical and lovable figures and animals in clay from artist Ann Kistner of Lafayette, CO. Ann is a studio-mate of Eve’s in the Longmont Clay Collective at Katy Diver’s inspiring studio. She has a special gift for capturing the gesture and character of her subjects.

Smudges F.F.'s SMUDGES
Made with reverence, skill and healing intention by our friend Furry Foote, the elder who lives in the foothills, these traditional Native American smudge sticks are finely crafted of aromatic herbs (mostly natives) grown in her own organic garden.  Each herb is included for its specific medicinal and/or spiritual qualities: purifying, giving thanks, cleansing, infection-fighting, head-ache relief, etc.

Sun Garden Creations- New!
Clari Schmidt makes the most delightful, whimsical figures from bits of natural materials.  She has a pre-school in Niwot, and so spends much of her time with young children. This close contact with the innocence, whimsy and wonderment of children informs and inspires her work.

A Ruby Moon – New!Ruby Moon Bee Flag copy 2
Jen Grant creates these cheerful and artful flags with her original designs – display your affection for wildflowers, bees, birds, etc by garlanding an doorway, deck, porch, window or wall. Hand-made in Lafayette, CO.  

Hand-Dipped Beeswax Taper CandlesBEESWAX TAPERS 2
For decades, our friend Tom Theobald of Niwot Honey Farm has been nurturing bees,harvesting honey, and crafting the finest, most elegant, romantic, hand-dipped taper candles you’ll find anywhere.  They are naturally dripless and smokeless, and infuse the room with the gentle, warm fragrance of honey.  They are a perfect fit in any décor, from Zen to Rococco.  Available in pairs, either clear-wrapped or gift boxed.

Majolica Bee Candle-holders – Exclusive!P1040176
Our friends Thea and Lele are well known around Boulder and beyond for their charming tradition-based Italian majolica pottery. We asked them to design and create some small candleholders with a bee motif, to fit the beautiful Niwot Honey Farm beeswax taper candles we carry.  They make a delightful gift for almost anyone (especially paired with the beeswax tapers). 

Amber Lights Cast Beeswax CandlesP1050103
Our friend Clark and his grand-daughter spend quality time together making delightful cast beeswax candles in a variety of shapes and sizes in their Longmont studio. Their delightful array includes simple pillars (several sizes), patterned pillars, pine cones, honey-bears, angels, bee-hives, gnomes, turtles, dragons, and a brand-new line of wonderfully detailed traditional European holiday-season candles. They are highly decorative, naturally endowed with a heavenly honey scent, and burn clean and smokeless.

Cards & PaintingsSunflower jpg
Notecards of vibrant paintings by Boulder watercolor artist and muralist Kathleen Lanzoni feature floral and local landscape subjects.  This year Kathleen will also offer some of her framed and unframed prints.

Woodcut Print Tea Towels, Calendars. Cards – New Designs!2015_calendar_3
Theresa Haberkorn , woodcut printmaker, has made Boulder her home for two decades.  Her masterful prints are found in exhibits and collections nation-wide, and she teaches her artform as well. Theresa brings her art to household items as well, hand-crafting a collection of beautiful block-printed cotton tea-towels, an artful wall calendar, and greeting cards.

Embossed Cards – New!
Lois Edgar is a potter and longtime member of the Boulder Potter’s Guild. Her many years of working in clay led her to carving minutely detailed designs in blocks of clay to create embossing templates. She then makes rubber molds from these, and finally epoxy castings to withstand the pressure of the etching press. Each card , made with moistened high-grade archival white etching paper is pressed individually, dried, and folded. We will have Lois’s exquisite boxed sets in several themes. 

Botanical Photography Cards
Lynn Kester-Meyer is an avid gardener and her notecards feature lovely close-up botanical photographs from her Boulder County garden.

Luminous ArtsP1050098
Our friend Tricia Grable is an artist and has been working in fiber arts and painting for many years. This year we will have her wonderful cards, napkin sets, and a few choice hand-knitted wool scarves. 

Garden, Spirit & Medicine DollsIMG_1921
Clari Schmidt’s dolls are drawn from her dreams, and filled with inspirations from time spent in her garden, in nature and with children. These unique and delightful figures,made from garden materials, found objects and natural fibers, each carry a little back-pack stuffed with herbs, flowers, feathers, etc. Clari has been working with various animals, and thinks of the animal’s Medicine or Spirit nature while she is creating. She says the mouse ‘medicine’ reminds her about paying attention to details while maintaining sight of the big picture. Placed on a personal altar, a bedside table, in a wall niche, they will bring gentle reminders and uplifting smiles. 

Paintings by Patti BurtonP1060170
Patti Burton is a mover and shaker in the Longmont art scene. Having lived in Mexico for a number of years, she absorbed the colorful and exuberant spirit of their native art, costume, celebrations and architecture, which now inform her paintings and assemblage pieces. Patti’s paintings are semi-abstract, somewhat whimsical, and somewhat mysterious. And they cheer me up every time I see them.
 
FOR KIDS

Stuffed Animal Kits – New!
P1060231Fiber artist Jill Scher hand-crafts kits that you can work on with your child or grandchild and have a fun hour or two making adorable non-toxic wool-felt stuffed animals. The designs are original, the felt is hand-made and hand cut, packaging is minimal, and the directions are very clear. Choose from two delightful series: Puppy Pals and Four-Legged Friends (zebra, elephant, etc.). Jill resides in Carbondale, CO.

Books
Children have a lively interest in the natural world. They love vivid pictures, but they are bored if we dumb it down for them. These children’s books are fascinating even for adults, full of in-depth science, but graphic and fun—many with projects and activities that make facts real. Geology of the Great Plains and Mountain West, Smithsonian Science Handbooks, Butterfly Birthday, Prehistoric World:Cretaceous Life, The Big Rig Bug Book. Also great story books, beautifully told and illustrated – from classic fairy tales to Salman Rushdi’s ‘Luka and the Fire of Life’. Last but not least, the wonderful Peter Yarrow Songbook & CD.

Aprons, Dresses, Hats & Booties
Ann Mitchell’s clothing creations for baby’s and little kids are adorable, original, practical and durable: reversible cotton print dresses, ‘onesies’ dresses, incredibly soft repurposed cashmere knit baby hats, aprons, and a variety of very sweet baby booties. Gift idea: an apron and a date for making cookies together! 

GARDENING BOOKS & TOOLS

2015 Stella Natura Astrological Planting CalendarP1050055
The Stella Natura Wall Calendar is an easy-to-use, informative and beautiful planting and gardening calendar that shows the best times to take advantage of the cosmic influences of the moon, sun and planets. This is a research-based system that is used by Biodynamic farmers and gardeners.  We have been using this calendar for 22 years and believe it has helped with germination of seeds, root development of cuttings, and healthy plant development. More than just a calendar – it’s packed with valuable information and insights for successful growing, from seed to harvest.Mikl will be giving a class in Planting by the Moon in March 2015, which will help you better understand and get the most out of your astrological planting calendar.

Super Illuminated Loupe
This very small, extremely high quality 12x power magnifier is great for getting a closer look at what’s bugging your plants, taking out splinters, or helping to identify flowers.

Beauty Beyond Belief Seeds
BBB is a great local seed company, offering wildflower mixes (Rocky Mt. natives), and flower seed mixes for supporting honey bees and wild bees.  We have their Honey Source, Bee Rescue and Rocky Mountain Wildflower seed mixes, perfect for gifts or holiday party favors.

Gardening and Nature Books by Local Authors
Winter is the season when most gardeners get to read gardening books to help them plan and dream their next gardening season. For the most accurate gardening advice for your Colorado garden, look to our local garden writers!The new ‘Organic Gardener’s Companion’ by Jane Shellenberger, editor & publisher of the Colorado Gardener magazine, offers up-to-date Colorado-specific advice on every aspect of organic vegetable gardening.We also have recent books from Colorado’s ‘garden-laureates’ Lauren Springer Ogden & Scott Ogden, including the new revised ‘Undaunted Garden’And we have other great books by local garden and nature experts:Gwen Moore Kelaidis (Hardy Succulents), Bob Nold (Columbines), Jim Knopf (Waterwise Landscaping), Tammi Hartung (Homegrown Herbs), Leo Chance (Cold-Hardy Cacti), and more!George Peknik (The Meaning of the Boulder-Dushanbe Teahouse)

‘Butterflies of the Colorado Front Range’
The perfect gift for anyone who enjoys butterflies or appreciates the natural world, and great for children, too! We have plenty of signed copies of this wonderful recent book by Janet R. Chu and Stephen R. Jones, two of Boulder’s most dedicated naturalists and foremost experts on our local butterflies.This guidebook offers a page for each of the 80 species covered; each includes superb photographs taken in the field by the authors, and descriptions of the butterfly’s appearance, host plants, life cycle, habitat, behavior, identification tips, and descriptions of similar species.  The book also covers the anatomy, ecology and life-cycle of butterflies, useful charts, and great advice on watching and photographing butterflies. Slim enough to slip in the back pocket of your jeans, (or a Christmas Stocking), with a durable cover and binding. Chu and Jones say it best: “We watch butterflies because they’re exquisitely beautiful, have magical life cycles, and teach us about intricate and life-sustaining relationships among plants, insects and their host ecosystems.”

West County Gardening GlovesP1020963
We love West Count gloves!  They are made from recycled plastic bottles, are very durable and stand-up to several seasons of tough gardening. They are machine washable and retain their shape.  And they come in great colors!  We carry their Work Glove, Landscaper Glove, Waterproof Glove, Rose Gauntlet, Mud Glove and Grip Glove, all in a range of sizes.  If you give these gloves as a gift, be assured that the recipient is welcome to exchange them for a different in-stock size, as long as they are still unused and in their original packaging.

Japanese Knife-Weeders Japanese Knife Weeder
Reviewed by our Deb: This is the best all around tool ever!  Whenever I go out into the garden with no particular task in mind (other than peace of mind putzing) I grab this tool.  It can dig, saw into fat roots, slice into bindweed roots with the pointed tip, it’s wonderful.  I have a sheath for it which slides nicely onto a regular belt or garden-tool belt. I love using if for planting bulbs as I can make a deep, small hole.  If I could only have one tool forever…I would choose this one.

Our Favorite Gardening Tools
Japanese Knife-Weeders (see above)
Radius Trowels (ergonomic)
Radius Pro Spade (ergonomic)
Radius Pro Garden Fork (ergonomic)
Radius ‘Garden Shark’ Ergonomic Rake
World’s Best Trowel
Garden Bandit Weeders
High-quality clippers, shears and loppers

BOOKS, MUSIC CDs, GIFT CERTIFICATES

Gift Certificates
Harlequin’s Gardens Gift Certificates are always a perfect gift for any Front Range gardener (okay, maybe not perfect for someone who only grows a water garden) and are always available.  Come in to buy gift certificates and shop our Holiday Market, or follow the instructions on our website to order by phone or mail.  If you need a gift certificate during the months when we are closed (November, January, February) you are welcome to order it by mail or phone.  See Gift Certificates at www.harlequinsgardens.com.

MUSIC CDs
You will love these recordings made by some of the performers playing at our Holiday Open House this year!

The Boulder Irish Session ~ Sunday at Conor’sSunday at Conors
At 28 years old, The Boulder Irish Session is a Boulder ‘institution’ and is still going strong. They are an informal, dynamic gathering of top-notch Front Range musicians who come together on Sunday evenings at Conor O’Neil’s Pub in downtown Boulder to share tunes and songs of the Celtic tradition. Over the years, the Session has gained many loyal followers who know they will always hear some of the best, most spirited live traditional Irish and Celtic music in the region on any given Sunday, comparable to sessions in Galway and County Clare. Harlequin’s Gardens co-owner Eve Brawner is one of the founding members of the Boulder Irish Session and is still a ‘regular’ there, playing English concertina, and singing. About six years ago, the Session produced this vibrant, live-in-the-studio CD, comprised of 15 tracks, presenting 33 of our favorite tunes and songs, played by an ensemble of Session members on fiddle, flute, banjo, concertina, button accordion, tin whistle, octave mandolin (bouzouki), guitar, bodhran and vocals.  

Mason Brown ~ When Humans Walked the EarthP1050025
Mason Brown is a singer-songwriter and guitarist exploring the space where traditions and creative expression intersect. Mason’s fine voice, guitar, banjo, and viola da gamba can be heard in concerts around the region and in Irish Sessions in Boulder. His most recent solo album, When Humans Walked the Earth includes traditional and original songs and tunes, and performances with such noted artists as Randal Bays, Katäri Brown, Connie Dover, Mark Dudrow, Peter Halter, and Roger Landes.  Mason is also a player in the Boulder Irish Session, a Zen Buddhist priest, and a student of ethnomusicology. 

Come and hear Mason play at our Holiday Open House on Saturday, November 29 from 11:00am to 1:00pm. 

Margo Krimmel ~ Icy December, White BirdsP1050023
Margot is one of the region’s finest and most versatile harpists. Her fresh, innovative approach, passion and virtuosity have won her numerous awards. Her most recent CDs, Icy December and White Birds both feature Margot on harp and Beth Gadbaw’s exquisite vocals.  They are superbly arranged collections of songs rooted in the Celtic tradition. Icy December offers a fresh selection of winter holiday songs, including Celtic and original songs. This is “music that touches the heart”.  The Boulder Irish Session is often graced with Margot’s harp-playing on Sunday nights at Conor O’Neil’s.  Margot teaches harp at her Boulder studio. 

You can hear Margot perform at our Holiday Open House on Sunday, November 30, from 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm. 

Jon Sousa ~ Jon Sousa Solo, Jon Sousa & Jessie Burns, Twilight, One Year OutP1050022
Jon is one of the rising stars of Traditional Irish music and solo finger-style guitar, and has studied and performed to much acclaim in Ireland and Europe as well as Colorado.  Jon’s musical journey started early in his life, including rock and electronic dance music, but after moving to Boulder in 2003, he fell deeply in love with Traditional Irish music. Jon plays both guitar and banjo. His impeccable technique and the grace and passion of his playing are dazzling.  Jon teaches and performs as a duo with the equally talented Adam Agee on fiddle, and can sometimes be found at the Boulder Irish Session at Conor O’Neil’s.  Jon & Adam hope to have an exciting new duo CD, Suan Trai, out in time for our Holiday Gift Market. 

Come hear Adam perform at our Holiday Open House on Saturday, November 29, from 1:30 to 3:00pm.

Bonnie Phipps ~ Anything Goesanything_goes
Boulder resident Bonnie Phipps is many things: an international performer, the 2013 Mountain Laurel Autoharp Champion, a former Winfield International Autoharp Champion, a published auther, winner of several national awards for her recordings, a folk singer, a song writer, a storyteller, an undeniable hit with both adult and family audiences, and a friend of ours for many years. She brings her virtuosity to crafting intricate instrumentals and songs that are both fresh and timeless, delighting audiences with her choice of repertoire, imaginative techniques, and creative arrangements. The twelve pieces on this CD span a variety of genres and styles, from jazz standards to traditional folk songs to the lush Malaguena. On many tracks she is joined by excellent musicians on acoustic bass, cello, guitar and percussion.

BOOKS

Farm Fork Food: A Year of Spectacular Recipes Inspired by Black Cat Farm – New!Skokan
by acclaimed Boulder chef and restaurateur Erik SkokanThe Denver Post calls Eric Skokan and his pioneering farm-to-table enterprises “the most ambitious do-it-yourself chef and restaurateur in Colorado, and among the most accomplished in the nation. In terms of the blossoming ‘locavore’ or local food movement, Skokan is a leader.” The 130-acre Black Cat Farm supplies Eric’s two highly acclaimed restaurants in downtown Boulder, Bramble & Hare and Black Cat Bistro, as well as a Farmer’s Market booth and CSA.  Eric pours his unbounded energy into working hard at all of these enterprises, and loves every part of it. In ‘Farm Fork Food’ Eric shares his cooking philosophy, love of quality ingredients, “Things I’ve learned along the way”, and his inspirational recipes, and invites home cooks to feel the immediacy and excitement of vegetables and fruits just plucked from the garden. The 219 fabulous recipes are rooted in the seasons and the flavors unique to the Front Range region and are beautifully photographed by Con Poulos.

Please join Eric for a cooking demo and book-signing at our Holiday Gift Market on Saturday, December 6th, beginning at 3:30pm.

Recipes for a Sacred Life by local author Rivvy Neshama – New!
From dancing to forgiving, from walking at dawn to sharing dinner with a stranger, our friend Rivvy Neshama’s short true tales invite us to find the sacred in unexpected places and everyday life, connecting us more deeply with love, joy and purpose. Not your typical spiritual book, Recipes for a Sacred Life is rich in heart and humor. It begins with Rivvy’s mother’s recipe for roast chicken, and is written in such a personal, warm and authentic voice, that you may feel you too have known her for years. A wonderful gift book, luminous and uplifting. Recipes for a Sacred Life has received five national awards for inspirational/spiritual book of the year.

Come meet the author and have her sign your copies of the book on Sunday, December 14th from 2 to 3pm.

Sweet Fruit from the Bitter Tree, by local author Mark AndreasSweet Fruit
Mark Andreas, a Life-Coach in Boulder, collected these 61 true stories of creative and compassionate ways out of conflict.  Each story is unique in the resourceful and often surprising solutions that real people have found to change a fearful or threatening encounter into a humanizing connection.  Not moralistic, and genuinely eye-opening, heart-opening and inspiring. It makes a wonderful gift that can be opened again and again. This excellent read was a big hit at our holiday gift market last year. Sweet Fruit from the Bitter Tree is strongly endorsed by Dan Millman (author of Way of the Peaceful Warrior), William Ury (author of Getting to Yes), and Eve & Mikl Brawner.

Meet the author and have him sign your copies of the book on Thursday December 4th from 2 to 3pm.  

A Bushel’s Worth: An Ecobiographybushel_hr
Our favorite local farmer/writer/activist Kayann Short, Ph.D., has written a marvelous and widely acclaimed memoir, A Bushel’s Worth: An Ecobiography. In A Bushel’s Worth, Short writes about small-scale, organic farming at Stonebridge Farm in Lyons, along Colorado’s Front Range. At 22 seasons, Stonebridge is the oldest CSA in Boulder County. Through recipes, photographs, and her grandmother’s diaries, Kayann also looks back to her grandparents’ farms in North Dakota for lessons about farms as what she calls “cultivated space” where humans and nature form a fertile alliance. Short’s ecology-based memoir, is a reunion with a family’s farming past and a call to action for preservation of local farmland today. A Bushel’s Worth is a Rocky Mt. Land Library selection. 

Chinook Book Sustainable Local Coupons
This coupon book makes a great gift (and do keep one for yourself!). Focusing on the Denver Metro and Boulder areas, it’s full of  hundreds of discount coupons for environmentally conscious, organic, healthy and fair-trade products, stores, eateries and services you will really use, such as  Boulder County and Denver Farmer’s Markets, Natural Grocers, McGuckin, Ace Hardware, Harlequin’s Gardens, Butterfly Pavillion, Colorado Music Festival, RTD, and so many more. All kinds of organic foods and personal care products, pet foods and services, stuff for kids and moms, gluten-free foods, classes, sporting goods, espresso, chocolate, pizza, granola bars, etc.Both the paper coupon book and the mobile app are available. Trust me – you or the lucky recipient will easily make back the cost of the book many times over.

Thank you so much for your support!  We wish you a season of happiness and fulfillment, and we look forward to seeing you soon at our Holiday Gift Market.Eve & Mikl Brawner and the Staff at Harlequin’s Gardens

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Soupe Au Pistou

[vegetable soup with garlic, basil & herbs]
from Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking

Early summer is the Mediterranean season for soupe au pistou, when fresh basil, fresh white beans, and broad mange-tout beans are all suddenly available. The pistou itself, like the Italian pesta, is a sauce made of garlic, basil, tomato and cheese, and is just as good on spaghetti as it is in this rich vegetable soup. Fortunately this soup is not confined to summer and fresh vegetables, for you can use canned navy beans or kidney beans, fresh or frozen string beans, and a fragrant dried basil. Other vegetables in season may be added with the green beans as you wish, such as peas, diced zucchini, and green or red bell peppers.[Read More]

Basil Pesto

from Mary Lou Carlson as adapted by Carol Gerlitz (originally in Fine Cooking magazine, June/July 2001)

Yields about 1½ cups

  • 3 cups packed basil leaves (about 6-7 ounces of leaves)
  • ¼ cup ice water
  • 1 clove garlic, peeled and smashed
  • ½ cup + 2 tbsp. pine nuts
  • ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • 3/8 tsp. black pepper
  • ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • Bring 2 quarts water seasoned with 1 tablespoon salt to a rolling boil. Prepare an ice bath by combining ice and water in a large bowl. (Be sure you freeze a lot of ice cubes ahead of time for this.)

[Read More]

Old Country Borscht

Carol Gerlitz

  • 3 cups water (I use 1 to 1½ cups red wine if I have some to use up)
  • ¾ to 1 pound beef brisket, cubed—or stew meat or chuck—whatever you wish
  • ½ onion, chopped
  • 3 medium stalks celery, cut into ½” lengths
  • 3-4 medium carrots, pared and thinly sliced
  • 2-3 medium beets, pared and sliced
  • ½ head cabbage, cut into reasonable-size hunks
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1½ teaspoons salt
  • 1 medium to large beet, pared and coarsely shredded
  • 3-4 oz. tomato paste
  • 1 tablespoon vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • ½ pint dairy sour cream

In a large kettle place the first 9 ingredients. Simmer, covered, about 2 hours. I use a 6-quart pressure cooker, and cook 20-25 minutes at 15 lb pressure; you can either release pressure by running cold water over the pressure cooker, or just let it sit until the pressure is back to normal.

[Read More]

Lovage and Celery Soup

from “Scarista Style” by Alison Johnson
Scarista House is an award-winning hotel and restaurant on the west coast of the Isle of Harris, Outer Hebrides, Scotland

You will be glad of this recipe if you grow lovage, as it will have taken over your garden and you won’t know what to do with it. “The root grows thick, great and deep, spreading much and enduring long…It is planted in gardens, where it grows large,” says Culpeper blandly, adding that “a decoction of the root is a remedy for ague.” If you don’t live in a malarial marsh, you will find you have a large surplus of this particular herb. This is one of my favorite soups, and worth suffering the rampages of the plant for.

  • 2 medium onions
  • 1 head celery
  • 2 large potatoes
  • 2 ounces butter
  • 3 large handfuls lovage leaves
  • 425 ml water = 14.3 fluid ounces
  • 275 ml milk = 9.3 fluid ounces
  • 150 ml cream = 5 fluid ounces

[Read More]

HARLEQUIN’S GARDENS SPRING 2014 Newsletter

Dear Friends and Fellow Gardeners,

Welcome to Spring and to Harlequin’s Gardens. The theme of this year’s newsletter is healing. That is because so many people around the world are in need of healing, including flood victims in Colorado and my dear wife and partner, Eve, who was run over by a car in mid-January. After 10 days in intensive care and 6 weeks in the hospital and rehab, she is now at home. Her recovery has been amazingly rapid, but it may take months to complete.

The daily corporate news shows all the terrible qualities of human beings, but sometimes it takes a natural disaster or a life-threatening accident or illness to expose both the extraordinary and ordinary goodness in us humans. In September we found we could dig mud and muck out of other people’s basements, make room in our homes while others were homeless, make food for people without working kitchens, and share our money with people in need. And in January, when Eve had her terrible accident, she and I both realized that we really do live in a community as we received so many offers of help, cards, donations, food, prayers, healing energies and caring well-wishes.

So what does healing have to do with gardening? Many victims of the flood have had soil and plants washed away, and soil and debris dumped on their gardens. And there is concern about contamination. At Harlequin’s Gardens, we have great faith in the goodness of the life force to regrow from the ground up, and to renew and refresh the soil by the positive power of the invisible microorganisms. This is not a blind faith, but an awareness based on our personal and referred experience. (See our April Class “Flood Recovery for the Garden.)

Human health depends on healthy food and a healthy environment. Healthy food comes from healthy plants that come from a healthy soil. Chemical fertilizers undermine soil health and are lacking in important micronutrients. Soils can be built up by supporting and partnering with soil biology to create long-term soil fertility that will grow nutrient-dense foods. And we can grow varieties of plants that are high in antioxidants and other phytochemicals that build our immune systems and general vitality. We can help you do this.

This year Harlequin’s Gardens opened on March 1st for business on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Starting in April we will be open every day 9-5 and Thursdays til 6. We take payment in cash and checks only.

Eve assembles our selection of vegetable and herb starts on the basis of considerable research and personal experience. For many years we have been trialing and evaluating new varieties in our own gardens. We attend local tasting events (including our own Taste of Tomato) and participate in local culinary garden group discussions. We have heard evaluations and taken recommendations from our customers and staff, and we have tasted produce grown by our local farmers and talked with them about what’s successful for them. Every winter Eve pores over the most interesting and reliable seed catalogs, searching for new and special varieties that resist disease and pests, produce generously, taste fabulous, and that we think will likely be successful and rewarding here on the high plains and in the mountains. Our selection aims to include the best vegetable and herb varieties for a wide range of garden sizes and growing conditions (high altitude, hot, sunny and dry, shaded, short-season, raised bed, container, ornamental edible, etc.) and culinary uses (fresh, cooked, canned, frozen, dried, stuffed, fermented, sauce, high nutrition, ornamental value, etc.) and preferences (mild, spicy, sweet, acidic, etc.). We think you’ll find the very best choices at Harlequin’s Gardens. Please give us your feedback on what you grow from us.

WE ARE GROWING dozens of varieties that we cannot describe here. Please go to our website under Plants/Edibles for a complete listing and descriptions of our veggies.

A message from Eve

The outpouring of concern, love, prayers and support Mikl and I have received since my injury has been absolutely amazing, and the extent of this caring community is beyond anything we could have imagined.  I am so deeply grateful!  My room in the rehab facility was filled with flowers, the fridge filled with lovingly home-made food, and the walls festooned with many dozens of cards, prayer flags and artwork from so many of you, surrounding me with healing energy.  I have no doubt that the love has been a big factor in the good progress of my recovery.

Of course I am itching to get back to the nursery (patience is my biggest challenge!), but I still have a lot more healing to do. In the meantime, I want you to know that our fantastic staff stepped up to take on many of my duties and they’ve done a great job in my absence.  I also want you to know that Mikl has proved himself a true super-hero, shouldering tons more work and still making lots of time to be with me and run my errands.

I’m very happy to be back at home now.  I’ve made a couple of brief forays into my garden with my walker to see the crocus, iris, snowdrops and hellebores blooming, and to watch the bees at work. Spring is here, and it’s so good to be alive!

A FEW of our NEW TOMATOES  (75 varieties of tomatoes in 2014) 

Cour di Bue – 75 days. Indeterminate – Italian Oxheart, a favorite in Italy for many years.   Brought to our attention by our Staff Member, Engrid, and rated highly at the 2013 Tomato Tasting. Delicious for fresh eating or cooking.  Hard to find and beautiful.

Azoychka Tomato  – 70-80 days. Semi-determinate – The fruit of this Russian heirloom are glowing lemon-yellow in color, round, flat, 6-8 ounces. Flavorful flesh that has a citrusy quality; performs well at high altitude

Beam’s Yellow Pear – 70 -80 days. Indeterminate – Yellow pears have been around since the 1700’s. Mild sweet flavor, ideal for salads, uniform fruits are 1 ½ inches long. These are just like the little yellow pear tomatoes that your grandmother grew.

Honey Drop Cherry – 70-80 days. Indeterminate, OP – a prolific yellow cherry tomato with an incredibly sweet complex taste that may rival Sungold.

Red Peach  – 90 days. Indeterminate. Russian Heirloom red which is fuzzy like a peach, deliciously flavored, 2” fruits

Olga’s Round Yellow Chicken – 75 days. Determinate.  A Russian variety, bright orange and perfectly round with a nice acid/sweet balance. 2 1/2” fruits

Amelia – TSWV Certified (resistant to Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus) – 75 days. Indeterminate. High yields of firm, uniform red fruit

Bella Rosa – TSWV Certified 75 days. Determinate.  Heat tolerant, round, firm, and highly flavorful with  a good balance of acid and sugar

Health Kick – TSWV Certified 74 days. Determinate. F1 hybird. Very flavorful, extra large plum shaped tomatoes with 50% more lycopene than any other tomato. Excellent in salads or for making sauce and paste.

Bolseno – TSWV(Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus) Resistant 75 days. OP Heirloom.  Indeterminate. Beautiful, blemish free,  smooth semi-flat red tomato with attractive slight green shoulders, tangy flavor.  Medium 6 to 7 oz. fruit.

Indigo Rose (80 days, ind, hyb)  2 inch round fruit are dark blue purple and deep red fruits are extra nutritious containing high levels of the antioxidant anthocyanin. For the best flavor and texture, harvest when the colors have deepened and the fruit is soft to the touch. Great plate appeal.

Mammoth German Gold (85 days, ind, OP) Very productive plant with huge, up to 1 1/2 pound, bicolored tomatoes that are gold with red streaks. The fruity flavor is described as tropical, but not overly sweet.

Rutgers Determinate (75 days, det, OP). Bright red fruits average 6-8 oz, with a small seed cavity and good color throughout. Hearty tomato flavor and meaty texture. Compact, bushy plants

Siberian (57-60 days, det, OP). very early fruit set on very compact plants Egg shaped 1-2” fruits with wonderful flavor.

Speckled Roman Paste (75 days, ind, OP) High yield producer of intriguingly beautiful, 4-6-inch long, orange-red with wavy yellow stripes paste tomato! Good flavor and meaty texture makes a delicious tomato sauce.

Sungold (57 days, ind, hyb) A customer favorite cherry tomato. Very early, beautiful, plump, tangerine colored fruits are quite simply, very sweet and juicy! Provide support for vigorous vines that easily reach 6 feet long. Allow tomatoes to fully ripen for optimum flavor

New PEPPERS

Pueblo Chile (Mosco Pepper) – 75 days.  A Colorado Original – developed by the Colorado Agricultural Experiment Station with thick fruit walls and high yields. More pungent than a typical Anaheim-type pepper, with 5,000-6,000 Scoville units.  Reported to rival Hatch Chili for flavor.

Red Mini Bell – 60 days – Tiny red bells with thick red, very sweet flesh on 2’ tall plants. Very prolific and great for stuffing. Great for containers and small gardens

Calabrese Hot Cherry pepper (97+ days) This is a small, round hot pepper, 1-2 inches in diameter. Bright red when ripe, moderate heat. Use fresh, pickled, or even dried.

Pasilla chile pepper (78 days, OP)   very mild with a berry, almost herbal, flavor. Strong, upright plants produce good yields of thin walled, long, slender, dark black-green maturing to dark brown. Classic pepper for mole’sauce.

Long Purple Cayenne pepper (67+ days) Blossoms and spicy pods are lovely bright purple in color, maturing to a deep red, making them quite unique and colorful. Attractive tall plants will be covered with dark fruit; great for hot sauce, chili and soup and pretty enough for a flower bed.

Serrano chile pepper (78 days) Whether used green or red, this is one very hot pepper! Flavorful peppers are perfect for chile sauce, salsa, hot pepper vinegar and pickles. Prolific, vigorous 30″ plants covered with 2″ thin-walled fruits.

Shishito Japanese pepper (60 days) By popular demand.Slender fruit is usually mild,. Its thin walls make it ideal to roast, fry or grill taking on rich flavor; popular with chefs and gourmet cooks. The bushy plants are productive and good for container growing.

Eggplant

Purple Fingerling Eggplant (68 days, OP) A tender, mild flavored Asian type, the elongated fruit are borne in spineless clusters; good in containers. Highly productive, harvest when fruit are 2″-6” in diameter.

New Cool Season Vegetables

Broccoli Romanesco (75+ days) Italian heirloom widely grown and eaten in northern Italy. Spiraling apple-green heads have sweet nutty flavor if eaten raw or lightly cooked. No wonder it is a chefs favorite! Very cool looking.

Collards, Georgia Southern (50+ days) No longer just for Southern cuisine! Larger leaves can be traditionally long or lightly cooked to keep nutritious qualities, while small young leaves add substance to salads. This is an excellent container variety, easy to grow.

Chard, Prima Rosa (25 or 50 days) A highly ornamental edible, plant as a garden border then harvest young red-veined green leaves to add color to early season salads. The mature leaves have deep red color earlier than other varieties.

Yugoslavian Red Butterhead lettuce, (55 days) Heirloom. Red-tinged leaves form large loose heads around creamy yellow-white hearts; succulent texture with mild flavor. Heirloom variety brought here by Slovenian immigrants.

Parris Island Romaine lettuce, (68 days) Crunchy, sweet leaves, pale creamy-green heart, and vigorous growth 10″ – 12″ lettuce with upright, dark green leaves, or use as cut-and-come-again baby romaine. Heat and mosaic virus tolerant.

Leaf lettuce, Black Seeded Simpson (40 days) After more than 150 years, this heirloom stands out as one of the most tender and delicately flavored varieties. Has large, crumpled, light green leaves with inner leaves blanch almost white. Withstands hot, dry conditions and light frosts.

Mizspoona Salad – (20 or 40 days) cross of Mizuna and Tatsoi gives the vigorous growth and cold hardiness of both its parents. The mild mustard flavor gives a peppery edge to salads but is softened in cooked preparations.

And of course, many, many more varieties of Broccoli, Cabbage, Eggplant, Squashes, Melons, Lettuces, Spinach, Kales, Chards etc. (Eve couldn’t help put this together this year.) see our website under Plants/Edibles

“Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food”   Hippocrates

And then there is the healing that our environment is needing, that effects the bees, all the beings, our health and our children’s future. This not only relates to the necessity to ban fracking to protect our precious water and air, but also the importance of escaping from our reliance on toxic chemicals and pesticides. It is known that 85% of the 82,000

chemicals registered for use in the US have never been tested for toxicity. The average American child has more than 200 industrial chemicals in her blood. And the most effective controls for Emerald Ash Borer are nerve toxins that are lethal to bees. (see Mikl’s article on EAB under Mikl’s articles at www.HarlequinsGardens.com and call Sen. Boxer to reform the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act : 202-224-8832)

In addition, a study by the Pesticide Research Institute found that 7 or 13 samples of garden plants sold at Home Depot and Lowe’s (and possibly most big box stores and nurseries) contained systemic neurotoxins called neonicotinoids (neonics), which have probable links to the decline of bees. These toxins remain in all parts of the plants for months to years. The European Food Safety Authority found that neonics pose an unacceptably high risk to bees.

So little Harlequin’s Gardens is already taking action. Eve began communicating with our suppliers last fall to determine which suppliers will provide us with plants free from neonicotinoids. Because they are the most widely used class of insecticides, and persist in plants so long, neonic-free plants are hard to find. But in 2014 NONE of our roses will contain neonics, and of course none of our organic veggie starts and herbs contain any chemicals, and none of the Harlequin-grown perennials contain neonics. Most of our fruit trees and berry bushes, and most of our shrubs and trees are free of neonics. We will continue to select, pressure and educate our suppliers so more of our perennials will be free from neonicotinoids. It is essential to save our bees, but also the bees are indicators of what is going on under the surface for all of us. (see www.BeeAction.org)

More people die from lack of access to clean water than from all forms of violence together.               Maude Barlow

Items of Interest:

We will again be carrying seeds of grasses for low-water lawns and meadows: a Mountain Native Mix, a Foothills Native Mix, a Very Xeric Meadow Mix, plus Crested Wheat for a dry lawn, several cover-crops, and a Native Wildflower Mix. We think the “New Lawn” could be a water-saving, bird and pollinator-supporting and beautiful MEADOW. See Classes for “How to establish a Meadow” and see meadows article on our website.

SUCCULENTS: We are increasing our stock of beautiful, sculptural, low-water succulent plants that can be grown in containers (we’ll have those, too) outdoors in summer and indoors in winter.

 DAHLIAS:  This spring we will again carry tubers for an assortment of gorgeous dahlias grown by Arrowhead Dahlias in nearby Platteville CO !

GARDEN SCULPTURES & ORNAMENTS: For many years we’ve been searching for garden art we really liked – original, beautiful, durable, and reasonably priced. We finally found it! We’re very excited to be offering metal garden art from Charlotte and Ben Zink.  These delightful, lyrical sheet-metal sculptures, made in their Front Range studio, will be available in many designs, sizes and finishes. We will post photos on our website soon. We hope that Eve will also be making more ceramic garden ‘totems’ – fun!

We will host the ‘Taste of Tomato’ festival & tasting event along with Boulder County CSU Cooperative Extension on Saturday September 6. Last year was great fun with 100 varieties to try. Bring at least 3 known tomatoes of a known variety to get in free. It will be held at the Gateway Park Fun Center  4800  28th St. in Boulder  9 am.-1pm

Research at Kansas State Univ. monitoring recovering surgery patients, found that “patients in rooms with plants required less pain relief, and they had lower ratings of pain, anxiety and fatigue, than did patients in rooms with no plants.”   HortScience

HARLEQUIN’S  FAVORITES:

Here are plants you are unlikely to find anywhere else. Many have survived in our low-water conditions with heat and wind, grasshoppers and rabbits for many years. They like Colorado. We take cuttings and seeds from our gardens to reproduce these sustainable plants. They are grown organically in our own potting mix, formulated to produce strong, healthy plants.

Alyssum oxycarpum-our new Favorite Plant: a low Basket of Gold, 4” high and 24” in diameter, gorgeous silver foliage summer and winter, with soft yellow flowers in spring

See them in our Groundcovers Display Garden. Harlequin’s Exclusive. Colorado-tough.

Dianthus gratianopolitanus: many selections with nicer names, but this is the most enduring dianthus in our test beds. Sweet pink, very fragrant flowers; makes a ground cover. Propagated from cuttings from our garden where it has survived sun, grasshoppers, rabbits and dry conditions for 10 years.

Dick’s Wine Veronica: Wow, wait till you see this creeping veronica 16” in diameter bloom with its rose-pink flowers. It looks fragile, but we’ve grown it for years in low water conditions. Give it water once a week to be nice. High Country Gardens copied us this year.

Teucrium sp. ‘Harlequin’s Silver’ was selected amongst our seedlings. This silver-leafed germander is a beauty; 4” high and 24” wide; purplish flowers. We have tested it in hot, dry conditions and find it needs little water. The silver leaves look beautiful summer and winter Please tell us your experience with this plant. We think it is worthy of Plant Select.

‘Clear Gold’ Thyme: “The best gold thyme” for Colorado, 4” high by 16” wide. The fragrant gold leaves become greener in summer, lavender flowers provide summer nectar for the bees . Low water in part shade. Best out of winter sun.

Keller’s Yarrow: a wonderful, heat tolerant, non-spreading yarrow; very attractive blue-green ferny foliage; clusters of white flowers provide nectar for beneficial insects. 6”x 18” wide; undemanding and enduring; low water needs. Not bothered by deer or rabbits

Sedum populifolium: has fleshy, poplar-shaped leaves, grows 8”-12” tall with some off- white flowers. Very unusual and attract form, deer-resistant, part-shade preferring

Iberis saxatilis: the evergreen candytufts are some of the most beautiful and successful plants for Colorado. Their rich evergreen foliage looks so good in winter, and blesses spring with masses of pure white flowers. This species is a dwarf, 4” high by 12” wide; propagated from our 10 year old specimen that has endured everything with grace.

Ohme Garden Thyme: a very vigorous creeping thyme with mauve-pink flowers in early summer providing herbal nectar for the bees; it forms a groundcover that suppresses many weeds.. 3”x 24”-30”; Heat tolerant, Low water; rabbits and deer are no problem

Paronychia kapela: We call this thyme-like groundcover “Tough-as-Nails” because it is more xeric than thyme and holds up better in flagstones than thyme. 1”x18”. White bracts

Jasmine Dianthus: of course you don’t know this treasure if you don’t haunt Rock Garden Societies or shop at Harlequin’s. Who would sniff a flower with a name like Dianthus petraeus noeanus? Yet the white filigree flowers have a most wonderful jasmine fragrance. A single tiny flower is enough to raise eyebrows of delight; a mature plant can lure you from 10’ away. The foliage looks grassy so be careful not to pull it out; 6”x 18”; low water needs

Reiter’s Thyme: a tough, resilient creeping thyme often grown as a groundcover or small lawn. David Salman says “…rich, olive-green foliage grows so thickly that it also chokes out most weeds.” 3”x 30”; lavender flowers in the summer for nectar for the bees. Cut off spent flowers with a hedge shear or sharp lawn mower; low water but best irrigated in summer

Veronica allioni: this is the true rock garden gem with 6” spikes of blue flowers on a 12” mat. This is not the groundcover sold under the same. Tough, low water and really cute.

Dianthus ‘Blue Hills’: a rugged, low, creeping dianthus with the most blue foliage; 3”x 12” ; very spicy fragrant pink flowers; sweet and tough in a rock garden; 3 or 4 make a mass along the front of a border or on the sunny side of a shrub. Harlequin’s Gardens brought this in from a rare-plant nursery and is propagating it from our successful plants.

HARLEQUIN’S FAVORITE SHRUBS AND TREES: both native and non-natives that have proved their value in Colorado conditions, many under Harlequin’s water restrictions. We source from local growers whose quality we trust AND we grow some in economical 2 gallon containers in our own soil mix with mycorrhizal fungi, Mikl’s compost and other organic ingredients. These shrubs know what to do when they meet real soil. Here are a few we carry

Wavyleaf Oak, Peking Cotoneaster, Cercocarpus ledifolius, Fernbush, Sungari Cotoneaster, Ephedra equisetina, Arizona Cypress, New Mexican Privet, Mock Orange-Mikl’s Selection, Euonymus Manhattan-Mikl’s Selection, Euonymus ‘Minima’, ‘Julia Jane’ Boxwood

Do you need help planting trees or shrubs that you buy at Harlequin’s Gardens? If so we have organized a planting service that will be carried out by two of our staff as part of their side-businesses. They can deliver, dig the holes and plant: put in the proper amendments, fertilizer and mycorrhizae and mulch, just as you choose. Ask at the desk for details.

HERBS AT HARLEQUIN’S GARDENS   are organic and we carry both culinary and medicinal 

A Sampling of Native Plants from Boulder County Seed: Preserve our native gene pool!

Helianthus pumilus-yellow daisies on dwarf yellow sunflower, 12”-20” high, xeric

Grindellia squarrosa-Gumweed: attractive yellow flowers Aug-Oct., xeric medicinal, 15”

Penstemon virens-2”x6”, short spikes of violet blue  flowers; shiny, dark evergreen leaves

Gaillardia aristata-yellow and red pinwheel flowers all summer, 10”-16” high, very xeric,

Penstemon secundiflorus-bright lavender-pink flowers on 12” stems, bluish foliage, xeric

Ratibida columnifera-Prairie Coneflower; yellow or red daisies all summer, low water

Liatris punctata-purple-pink gayfeather, 12”-16” tall, late summer, xeric, butterflies

Monarda fistulosa-native bee balm, pink-purple flowers bees love, fragrant foliage, 16”

Lithospermum multiflorum-Many Flowered Puccoon, 12”-24”, funnel-like yellow flowers

Solidago rigida-Stiff Goldenrod- 16” tall stems, golden-yellow clusters of flowers, butterflies

Whether we and our politicians know it or not, Nature is party to all our deals and decisions, and she has more votes, a longer memory, and a sterner sense of justice than we do.                     Wendell Berry

EVENTS AND SALES

March 1   Open for the Season: Open Fri. Sat and Sundays  9-5

Beginning April 1   Open every day 9-5; Thursdays 9-6

April 28,29, May 1, 2,3,4,  Harlequin’s Gardens Annual May Day Celebration and Plant Sale.  Plant Sale Monday thru Sunday; on Saturday May 3 from 10:30-11 don’t miss the Maroon Bells Morris Dancers  who will bring us fertility and merriment, at 11:30  hear the very fine & lively Boulder Irish Session Band and at 1:45pm Magician Stuart Hayner will amaze us and entertain the children.

On Sunday, May 4, World Laughter Day, refreshments will be served, and from 11-12:30enjoy some good old-time music with singer-songwriter-activist Elena Klaver & friends. At 1 listen to the sweet and wonderful harp of Margot Krimmel. From 2pm  & throughout the day watch for Stele Earth E Man, Eco-Troubadour & children charmer

August 25,26, 27,28,29,30,31           Members Fall Plant Sale

Sept 1  Harlequin’s Annual Fall Plant Sale begins for everyone. This sale continues every week in September and October

Sept. 6 Taste of Tomato: a tomato tasting festival; CSU Co-op Extension with Harlequin’s Gardens; Held at Gateway Park. 9-1 Bring your favorites; call/see our website for details

October: open every day 9-5, the Sale continues.    Closed for the Season-TBA

December Holiday Market with Local Artisan Goods and Goodies every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in December

 

Please subscribe to receive our newsletters by email.

We are delighted that we now have over 9,000 customers on our mailing list, but so far only 2,500 have subscribed to receive our newsletters by email. Here are some really good reasons to join our email group.

1) Receive our occasional blogs with timely garden advice and reminders, as well as news of stock arrivals, upcoming classes, special events and sales, etc. Our blog is a way we can give you detailed and up-to-date information at the time when it is relevant. 3) Save trees. 4) Help Harlequin’s Gardens to save money. We’re very happy to give you a ‘hard copy’ newsletter when you visit the nursery, or continue to mail it to you if you prefer.

Go to www.HarlequinsGardens.com to subscribe. Please remember to add us to your Contact List so your email server doesn’t throw us in the trash.

FACEBOOK : We wish you could LOVE us on Facebook, but since that’s not possible, we hope you will LIKE us. We’ve just inaugurated our Facebook page, and will be adding content as we get the hang of it. FB is a good medium for giving you real-time updates of plant and product arrivals, impromptu events like mini-classes & demos, 1-day sales, etc. and enables you to stay connected. We will use it to post photos of plants when they’re displaying their most beautiful or interesting characteristics, photos and info about beneficial insects and pests to put you on the lookout for them and help you identify and relate to them.
https://www.facebook.com/HarlequinsGardens

It ain’t what you don’t know what gets you in trouble. It’s what you know for sure, that just aint so.        Mark Twain

CLASSES FOR 2014

In our classes you will learn more than information. Our teachers are people who have spent years honing their skills. Their experience in Colorado will help guide you to success. We are charging $15 for most classes to support our speakers and Harlequin’s educational direction. It is best to pre-register for these classes both in case they fill up or too few people register and we have to cancel the class. Pre-payment assures your place in the class. More details at www.HarlequinsGardens.com     CLASSES ARE $15 unless otherwise noted

Sat, April 5, 1pm: SEED STARTING SUCCESS with Janis Keift of Botanical Interests Seed Co. Learn all the background and tips for getting good germination and a healthy start with seeds, indoors and out.    $15

Sun. April 6, 1pm: SUCCESSFUL HOME COMPOSTING with Mikl Brawner.  How to turn waste into wealth by cultivating soil microorganisms. Nature does the work if you know how to lend a hand. In this class you will learn what works in our climate, and what doesn’t. Mikl has been composting for 30 years.  $15

Saturday April 12, 10 am: EDIBLE LANDSCAPING with Alison Peck. Learn how to grow fruits, nuts, vegetables, vines and herbs in your yard, beautifully. Learn which plants are the most successful and how to integrate them into your landscape. Alison has been designing edible landscapes for 25 years; she owns Matrix Gardens landscaping.   $15

Sun. April 13, 1pm: FLOOD RECOVERY FOR THE GARDEN with Darren Klotz & Mikl Brawner Learn how to stabilize eroded soil, use biology and organic amendments to clean up and enrich polluted ground, how to relate to trees with soil piled over the roots or soil washed off roots, etc. Bring your questions. $15            

Sat. April 19, 10am: GROWING THE BEST PEPPERS with Carol O’Meara, Boulder Co. CSU Cooperative Extension. Learn how to choose and grow the best peppers for the Front Range.     $15

Sat. April 19, 1 pm:  BUILDING TOPSOIL & FERTILITY with Mikl Brawner. Learn how to support soil life, enrich poor soils and improve plant health and nutrition from the bottom up: composts, fertilizers, mulching, worms, deficiencies and tilth.    $15               

Sunday April 20 EASTER: EASTER BONNET CONTEST-Wear a bonnet constructed only of plant materials from your own yard! PRIZES!           

Sat. April 26, 10am: RAISED BEDS with Bryant Mason, the Urban Farm Co. A step by step class on how to start an easy and productive raised bed vegetable garden: soil development, bed construction, planting timing, fertilizing, weeding, harvesting and recommended crops.   $15               

Sat. April 16, 1pm: RAISING BACKYARD CHICKENS with Michele Bailey. Learn how to select, purchase, and care for a flock of chickens. Find out what they need and the benefits they provide.   $15          

Sun. April 27, 1pm: VERMICOMPOSTING with “The Worm Man” John Anderson. How to compost with worms to make a rich and plant-available soil amendment for your gardens.This has been John’s passion for many years. Worms will be available for purchase at the class for $35 plus the class fee of.   $15              

Sat. May 10, 10am: EDIBLE WEEDS AND WILD MEDICINALS with herbalist Emily Kallio, Forage, taste and delight in the wild foods Nature has to offer. Learn to prepare scrumptious snacks from the weeds that grew themselves. A fun and very popular class. Emily has 15 years experience working with wild plants $15                                                                                                             

Sat. May 10, 1pm: HANDS ON CONTAINER PLANTING with Elaine Walker and Staff. Learn how to put together a beautiful and successful planter using ornamentals and/or vegetables and herbs. Choose from our planters or bring your own and our wonderful selection of plants. You will take home a completed planter for yourself or as a Mother’s Day gift. Bring a trowel and gardening gloves(or buy them here).   $15+materials    

Sat. May 17, 10am AND 1pm: BEES, BEES, BEES with Miles McGaughey, President of Boulder Co. Beekeepers Assn. Miles has 20 years experience keeping bees. He will talk bees then demonstrate how to work with them using our live Top Bar hive. Wear light colored clothing and avoid scented body products.   $15   

Sun. May 18, 1pm: SUCCESSION PLANTING with Tracey Parrish. Learn to maximize the use of your garden space & keep your vegetable garden in continual production.Tracey is expert in culinary gardening   $15  

Sat. May 24, 10 am:  DO-IT-YOURSELF DRIP IRRIGATION with Alison Peck. Drip irrigation can be easy! It is a key part of most water conserving landscapes, but it can be intimidating.  Come learn a simple, easy to design and install system which Alison has been using for years, plus new efficient sprinklers. Save money, save water, reduce weeds and have healthier plants.  Alison Peck owns Matrix Gardens, which has been designing and installing sustainable landscapes in Boulder Valley for 25 years.  $15

Sat. May 24, 1pm: TIPS AND TRICKS OF XERISCAPE with Mikl Brawner. Gardening with less water is not that hard if you know how. There are tricks that will improve your success. Mikl’s xeriscape experience of over 25 years has taught him tricks that will cost you a lot less than it cost him.  $15

Sat. May 31, 10 am: RAINWATER ‘HARVESTING’ with Jason Gerhardt. Jason will cover the legal issues of water harvesting in Colorado and focus on what we can do to benefit from the free rain. Harvesting water in the soil, instead of in cisterns, helps us make the best possible use of our precious rainwater. Jason currently teaches a permaculture program for Naropa University and has a service: Real Earth Design    $15   

Sat. May 31, 1pm: BEST FRUIT TREES FOR COLORADO with Mikl Brawner Learn which varieties are successful here, which are not, and which are good flavored: Apples, Cherries, Plums, Pears, Peaches, and learn how to care for them. Mikl’s 1st orchard was in 1976.  $15

Sun. June 1, 10am: MAKE YOUR OWN HYPER-TUFA TROUGH PLANTER with Tamara Winter. Dress to get dirty: bring particle mask, rubber gloves, bandana; forms provided or bring one. These planters are ideal for alpine treasures, cacti & succulents etc.; $25 includes materials for 1 trough; must pre-register    

Sun. June 1, 1pm: CANADIAN ROSES with Mikl Brawner. Canadian roses are some of the most sustainable and well-adapted roses for Colorado. Grown on their own roots , they are super-hardy, disease-resistant, repeat flowering and easy. Mikl has been growing them for more than 15 years.   $15              

Sat. June 7, 10am: THINK GLOBALLY, GARDEN LOCALLY with Alison Peck, owner of Matrix Gardens. Just as eating locally and mindfully transforms us and our communities, we can garden with new garden designs, plants, methods, tools, seeds and materials that can bring health to us, build a green economy, reduce toxins, conserve resources and provide a better home for all life. Bring some aspect of your yard or garden that you are unhappy with, and Alison will put her 30 years of sustainable thinking to the task.    Only $15

Sat. June 7, 1pm: GROOVIN’ WITH THE OLDIES with Linda Taylor. Explore the beauty, fragrance and pleasure of the old garden and heirloom roses. Every garden deserves an old rose! Linda has grown roses for over 20 years in Colorado and Montana where she had a rose nursery.   $15     

Sun. June 8, 1pm: MANAGING PESTS WITHOUT POISONS with Mikl Brawner. Learn how to look for and identify common pests, and how to judge if anything needs to be done. Learn which organic solutions are the most effective, for what, and how to do it. Mikl has been walking this talk for 35 years.    $15       

Sat. June 14, 10am: MEDICINALS AS ORNAMENTALS IN A XERISCAPE-A TOUR with herbalist Leslie Lewis. Tour her successful and beautiful low-water front yard in Old Town Longmont. See how she is using medicinal herbs ornamentally in a very public front yard. Leslie is a long-time practicing herbalist.   $15 

Sat. June 14, 10am: DAVID AUSTIN ROSES with Sharron Zaun. English Roses bred by David Austin are among the most beautiful and fragrant of all roses. Austins are hardier and easier than most Hybrid Teas, and more fragrant and beautiful than most modern shrub roses. Sharron will talk about their history, their culture and show how to incorporate them into your garden. This class will be a treat for your eyes and noses. Sharron has grown Austin Roses for over 15 years.                                                                                                   $15 

Sat. June 14, 1pm:  BERRIES & SMALL FRUITS for COLORADO with Mikl Brawner.  Small fruits are delicious, high in antioxidants and vitamins, take up less space & bear sooner than trees: strawberries, currants, raspberries, grapes, gooseberries. The best varieties for CO. & how to grow them.  $15                                     

Sat. June 21, 10am: NATIVE BEES with Kristina Williams. Learn about the more than 500 species of native bees in Boulder County, and how to make your garden friendly to them. Kristina is a scientist and passionate observer of insect life and of native bees in particular. Real insight into native pollinators.   $15

Sat. June 21, 1pm:  GARDENING for BEES, BIRDS & WILDLIFE with Alison Peck.  Learn easy ways to provide food and shelter for wildlife, how to include plants that are particularly important for wildlife, and how to discourage ‘urban wildlife’, such as deer, skunks and raccoons.  Alison Peck is a Landscape Designer specializing in xeriscapes, native plant landscapes and other earth-friendly landscapes: Matrix Gardens   $15  

Sun. June 22, 1pm: A GARDEN FOR COLORADO CONDITIONS with Eve and Mikl Brawner. Tour our most recent demonstration garden. We will discuss soil prep, the native and non-native shrubs, trees and perennials, and how the garden survived, even thrived, though it was planted in the heat of the summer. $15 

Sat. June 28, 1pm: GARDENING AT HIGH ALTITUDE with Diane Badertscher  Gardening above 6000’ has its own challenges. There are certain plants and certain strategies that can improve your successes. Diane lives and has gardened  at 8000’for many years. No book can help you better.  $15                                          

Sat. July 12, 1pm: BASIC PLANT IDENTIFICATION with Diane Badertscher. Ever wondered what kind of tree or shrub that was? Diane can show you some ways to identify some of the more common plants.   $15 

Sat. July 26, 10am: BASIC LANDSCAPE DESIGN with Elaine Walker Elaine is a landscape architect who will show you the elements of designing areas of your property. Learn how to observe your site, identify goals, take a site analysis and create a bubble space diagram. This class could save years of redoing.    $15

Sun. Aug. 10, 1 p.m.: PRUNING for STRENGTH, HEALTH & BEAUTY (offered again on Sat. 9/13) Mikl Brawner will give a talk and demonstration. Learn to train young trees, to restructure shrubs and trees broken by storms, to prune roses. Mikl has 35 years experience in pruning.     $15                                              

Sun. Aug 24, 1pm: LOW TECH GREENHOUSE DESIGN AND OPERATION with Mikl Brawner. Mikl has been researching, building and using simple greenhouses for 20 years. This class will focus on five designs on site at the nursery.   $15           

Sat. Sept. 6: FOURTH ANNUAL TOMATO TASTING see details under Event and on our website

Sun. Sept 7, 1pm: ROCK AND CREVICE GARDENING  with Mike Kintgen, senior horticulturist at Denver Botanic Gardens. Learn the methods and plants to enjoy the natural, beautiful jewels of rock and crevice gardens from one of the most knowledgeable rock gardeners in the region. A rare opportunity.  $15

Sun. Aug. 25, 1:30 p.m.:  PRUNING for STRENGTH, HEALTH & BEAUTY with Mikl Brawner (this is a REPEAT of the August 10th class) $15                                                                                                                

Sat. Sept 27, 10am: GARDENING AS WE AGE with Chris Woods. Interaction with Nature has many health and therapeutic benefits, especially as we age. Topics will include: modification of existing beds/areas, equipment and tools, designing for accessibility and safety, and plants that evoke sensory stimulation. Chris has a degree in Horticultural Therapy and is a Landscape Designer with Matrix Gardens.    $15

MEMBERSHIP IN HARLEQUIN’S GARDENS

Membership is the solution for how a small business like ours can afford to have many display gardens. We learn best by example and by doing, so we devote land, time and plants to Demonstration Gardens that inspire and educate all of us.

We now have 8 gardens for you to enjoy and learn from. But last year our membership fell and our maintenance expenses went up, so we are hoping that this year 20-30 more people will support our gardens.

Here is our expanded current offer: Members will give us $20 for a one year membership and in direct return will receive these benefits 1)Free Harlequin’s Class of your choice, worth $15. 2) 25% discount on books all year 3) During the May Day Week get $10 off a $50 or more purchase of plants (except roses & fruit trees)

4) during May Day Week, take 10% off roses (except quarts), then 5) in August begin the fall sale a week early with 20% off most everything. 

If you do not become a member, you will continue to get the same excellent plants and the same personal help in selecting the best plants for your particular situation.

However if you do become a member, your $20 will go to a good cause, creating botanic garden-like demonstration areas and educational programs not only for yourself, but for the community. If you like what we’ve been doing so far, help us to make it possible.

You can become a member anytime you are at the nursery, or mail a check for $20 to Harlequin’s Gardens, 4795 N.26th St. Boulder, CO. 80301. We will put you in our Membership file. A membership is valid until the end of the calendar year . THANK YOU TO ALL OUR MEMBERS!!!

Don’t it always seem to go, that you don’t know what you got til it’s gone.      Joni Mitchell

We are very proud of our staff, who have worked with us for so many years, so to help you to get to know us and our specialties, here are our portraits.

Elaine Walker has a degree in landscape architecture with an emphasis in ecological practices. She has her own landscape design practice, and her recent work includes designing outdoor living spaces, retaining & boulder walls, water features, native and drought tolerant plantings.

Linda Taylor specializes in heirloom roses. She started and operated her own rose nursery in Montana and she knows the tough and hardy varieties. She does consulting on Horticultural Therapy and landscaping.

Diane Badertscher earned a degree in horticulture with honors, and has qualified as a Certified Colorado Nursery Professional.  She specializes in trees and shrubs, especially the natives. Her 16 years of experience gardening at 8,000’ is very valuable to mountain gardeners.

Matt Patrick is trained as a CSU Master Gardener and has operated his own landscape business for the past 9 years. He was raised farming tobacco in Kentucky. He has worked for the Boulder County AIDS Project, Boulder Human Relations Comm., & Foothills United Way. He excels in recycling.

Engrid Winslow has a degree in Urban Horticulture and has taken Master Gardener training. She is a good and educated gardener, and her new greenhouse is allowing her to propagate organic veggie starts for us. Engrid makes the best jams and preserves.

Michele Bailey has worked for more than 16 years in the landscaping and nursery industries. Her special interests are perennials, natives and vegetables—especially for children. She enjoys teaching customers and she represents Harlequin’s at fairs and events. She has a garden maintenance service.

Justin Sackschewsky is very knowledgeable about bonsai and trees in general. As part of his landscaping business, he will be doing planting of trees and shrubs purchased at Harlequin’s. He has worked in other nurseries, and is a valuable addition to our production staff.

Heather Stone worked with us 7 years ago until the birth of twins called her home. She holds a certificate in clinical herbalism, and has been gardening locally for 12 years. Her special interests include herbs, vegetables and perennials. She volunteers at Coal Creek Elementary in the Garden to Table program.

Marilyn Kakudo has a degree in Biology, is a former teacher at the Culinary School of the Rockies,  has assisted many small local businesses, and is an excellent gardener. Marilyn is transplanting many of our seed-grown plants in our solar greenhouse, and provides great assistance to us in many realms.

Eve Reshetnik-Brawner has always had a passion for gardening and for studying, growing and drawing plants. She has a degree in landscape architecture and over ten years of professional experience in that field. She has a special love and knowledge of roses, fragrant flowers, ornamental grasses, clematis, natives, vegetables and herbs.  Eve, with Mikl, designed the rose garden at the Boulder Dushanbe Tea House. In her “spare” time she is a musician, a ceramic artist and loves to cook. Eve is available for garden consultations

Mikl Brawner got his initial training along the creeks and woods of eastern Iowa. He studied biology at the University of Iowa, then went to India with the Peace Corps. Back in America, he managed a small organic apple orchard, and started a tree care business. Studying plants, researching alternatives to pesticides, and developing a xeriscape garden led him from the tree tops to a plant nursery. Now the evolving Harlequin’s Gardens is his life-work, helping the gardening community  to bring nature into their personal lives and homes using sustainable plants, materials and methods. His current passion is soil biology and soil health. Mikl is available for consultations. He was honored with the 2009 PaceSetter Award for the Environment

And we’re delighted to have occasional help from: Sharron Zaun, &  Marty Crigler.

 If there were an award for staff, we should get one, because our  people are very knowledgeable, experienced, dedicated, conscientious, good-hearted and fun. Our staff is so good that we have borrowed the slogan from Harrell’s Hardware: “Together, we can do it yourself.”

And then there is the healing of planet earth. This is no longer a concept. Like New Orleans, New York, Somerset England and the Philippines, we have been touched by a change that is global. Author and 350.org activist Bill McKibben has said, “The atmosphere holds about 5% more water vapor than it did 40 years ago. That means we get deluge and downpour in unprecedented fashion. It is the hundred year flood every 3 or 4 years.” It may not be every 3 or 4 years in one place, but somewhere there is a disaster happening.

So we have to reduce long-distance transporting of products, rely more on renewable resources, design reuse and recycle into what we make, pay more for products that can be repaired and last longer. We need to invest in our local communities to grow food and make goods. We need to partner with Nature to build topsoil and grow nutrient-rich foods. We need to conserve water, stop poisoning our planet and invest in alternatives to planet-threatening technologies like nuclear.

Since January 2014, 300 Gigawatts of power is being produced by wind, around the world—as much as from 114 nuclear power plants.         SierraClub.org

For 2 years in a row, Harlequin’s Gardens has been awarded Best Green Products and Services in the Daily Camera’s Boulder County Gold. That is because sustainability has been our goal and mission since we began 22 years ago. We have always managed the nursery organically, so we know and carry non-toxic products to help manage pests. And we carry the most organic and healthy soil products to build soil fertility naturally, plus the books, classes and advice to guide you in gardening organically.

Very Special Products for Your Benefit 

Compost Tea-enriches soil, prevents disease, supports & inoculates soil life, increases plant growth and flowering. We are making our own this year from Biodynamic Compost. Local fertility: Try it!

Yum Yum Mix- 2-2-2  Vegan/Organic fertilizer for alkaline, nutrient-poor Western soils, feeds plants/microbes.Made from alfalfa, cottonseed meal, kelp meal, rock dust, green sand, humate 

Mile-Hi Rose Feed: formulated specifically for Colorado soils, mostly organic, contains 12 essential nutrients and trace minerals for roses, adds organic matter, supports microorganisms. We’ve been using this for 12 years at the Boulder-Dushanbe Tea House with great results.

Biodynamic Compost Starter-speeds decomposition, adds nitrogen bacteria, helps make humus, improves mineral availability, contains 55 microorganisms, long history of success

Biodynamic Field and Garden Spray-speeds the breakdown of cover crops or sheet mulch; planting 2 – 3 weeks after spraying & turning under, or before adding to sheet mulch; 55 microbes

PlantersII-a rock dust product containing over 30 trace minerals. Use when doing soil prep. or side-dress every 2 years.Great for rock gardens, cacti, natives and vegetables, supports plant health

Menefee Humate-, natural carbon product; high concentration of trace minerals and humic acid for plant growth, development & unlocking of vital nutrients. Stimulates microorganism activity

Alpha One: locally made organic fertilizer for Colorado 7-2-2; alfalfa based with high organic matter

Greensand: organic source of 3% Potassium, holds moisture, high cation exchange capacity, contains many trace minerals, slow release over a long time

Soft Rock Phosphate: natural source of phosphorus and calcium, immediately available over a long time. Does not reduce mycorrhizae like petroleum-derived phosphorus

Corn Gluten-a truly organic weed and feed; keeps weed seeds from growing, fertilizes with 9% N

Pharm Solutions for safe pest management: this great line of USDA certified products are made from organic essential oils & other non-toxic and good smelling ingredients.

Pure Spray Green Horticultural Oil: THE best non-toxic pest management product I know; baby oil grade has no burning on leaves; smothers aphids, mites, sawflies; no harm to lady bugs, birds

Eco Skin Sunscreen: zinc oxide UV protection; no titanium dioxide, non-nano, no fragrances; good moisturizer, ideal for sensitive skin; does not sting eyes; very effective

Tulsi Tea: Organic Holy Basil Teas have many health benefits including reduced stress, support immune system, aids digestion, balances energy, anti-allergy etc. Excellent company cultivating ecology with organic/biodynamic practices while supporting social justice and dignity.

Solar Caps: Season extending device that’s a big improvement over “Wall-o-Water”. Sturdy wire frames are covered with a water-filled lining, they don’t blow over, light transmission is excellent. They can be left on all season to keep the soil warm at night, which is very beneficial for tomatoes and peppers.  We planted a tomato in one April 11,  it was ripe  July 15.

Green Cure: non toxic cure for powdery mildew & blackspot, tomato blight, proved effective locally

Bobbex Deer Repellent-both a fertilizer and a repellent; many reports of success with this one, even in Evergreen, Colorado. Best to alternate with Liquid Fence which guarantees success. We will carry products for repelling deer and rabbits. Plantskydd- lasts twice as long as other repellants, for deer, elk, rabbits etc. 6 month dormant, 3 months in growth; rainfast in 24hrs

We cannot command Nature except by obeying her.    Francis Bacon father of the scientific method

PRODUCTS to amend soils for fertility, aeration and biological health

Expanded Shale: a shale product that is mined and fired just south of Boulder to create a porous, light “gravel” that holds both water and air, and creates optimal housing for microorganisms. Aids in water penetration of tight clay soils (a Real claybuster).Texas A&M recommends using 3” expanded in the top 6” of soil. (or mixing 10%-20% by volume). It does not break down, so it holds soil structure and reduces watering needs for a long time.

Composts hold water when mixed in soil supporting plants and support soil life which both bring water to plants and support them nutritionally. We carry: EcoGro-locally made from landscape and beer wastes, Mushroom-by-product of local organic mushroom farm; Eko Compost-made locally from egg-laying chicken manure and wood wastes, Western Grow-made from local landscape wastes and food wastes; Dairy Cow-from low salt Dairy Cow manure and bedding

Mycorrhizal inoculants: multiplying the microorganisms especially the beneficial fungi mycorrhizae, supports a system for bring water beyond the reach of roots, to the plants and supporting their nutritional health, helping with stress.

Special Soil Products:

Biosol-an OMRI certified fertilizer that is 90% fungal biomass, 6-1-1, made from organic soybean meal, org. cottonseed meal, sucrose, lactose and trace minerals; holds water and stimulates soil life; without salt, non-burning, weed-free

Maxfields Organics: new local company making premium soil mixes without peat from high quality ingredients: compost, coir, expanded shale, alfalfa fertilizer, rice hulls, biochar and beneficial microorganisms.

Maxfields Soil Conditioner-for amending clay soils and building raised beds

Maxfields Planting Mix-for filling planter boxes and large containers, like Earth Boxes (better than Eko Potting Soil that we carried last year?) And for topdressing vegetable gardens and planting trees and shrubs.

Mulches keep water from evaporating and keep the soil cooler. We prefer mulches that also add nutritional value (unlike redwood and cedar which repel microorganisms) like: Fine Wood Chips, Soil Pep-partially composted bark, EZ Mulch-paper granules that are spread over newly seeded lawns or meadow helping germination

Water-absorbing Polymers: Hydrosource: a water absorbing polymer used as a soil amendment to help establish plants and save water; lasts 8 years in soil. OSHA says nonhazardous; Not OMRI Okd; Plant roots like it.   Soil Moist-starch-based: organic-based water-absorbing gel made from cornstarch. More costly than Hydrosource but natural; effective for 3 years; said to release water to soil faster; has good value in helping to establish plants, reduce watering in containers; recommended for veggie gardens

In Addition: 

Row Cover: light weight fabric over plants keeps them cooler when it’s hot, warmer when it’s cold; protects from bugs& critters; helps keep seed moist to get started.  Loop Hoops hold the fabric up for air circulation

POTTING SOILS: 

Maxfield’s Potting Soil-for transplanting seedlings, small containers, (for seed starting?)

Good Karma Potting Soil (formerly Gordon’s) made from 25% earthworm castings for healthy plants, good growth, resistance to diseases; great for top-dressing house plants or growing veggies

Fox Farm Potting Soils: these are peat based, but we were searching for improved potting soils and all three of these performed well in our tests. They do contain earthworm castings and beneficial microorganisms.

Ocean Forest Potting Soil-their top grade with kelp meal, bat guano, crab & fish: nutrient rich: performed well

Coco Loco Potting Soil –made from Coco fiber instead of peat, looks good, we’re trying it this year

Light Warrior Seed Starting Mix- peat, perlite, humic acid & microbes; Mikl was skeptical, but it worked well

Home-grown Fruit: Harlequin’s Gardens has won Best Tree Nursery 2 years in a row.

One of our specialties is fruiting plants that are adapted to Colorado conditions. All the apples we carry are resistant to fireblight and good-tasting. And the cherries we sell are all proven successful in Colorado. Our grapes are the most hardy of any you will find, delicious fresh, in juice and a few are good for wine. And we have productive & good tasting currants, gooseberries, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, etc. See May  classes and see Edibles (under Plants) on our website for varieties available in 2014. Limited quantities on some varieties. Here are a few especially good ones:

Caroline Raspberry: large, delicious red raspberries are heavy producers over a long period. Proven successful in Colorado, especially if mowed in spring and harvested late August into Fall. Disease resistant. Better than Heritage except under hot & dry conditions

Tasti-Berry Gooseberry: a cross between a black currant and a gooseberry. Is thornier than the currant and sweeter too. Ranked “most delicious” at taste tests at Ft. Collins Wholesale Nursery. 3’-4’ high and wide; an easy-to-grow home fruit, fruits annually

White Imperial Currant: Loose clusters of beautiful, white, translucent fruit said to be “the richest and sweetest flavor of all currants.” Ripens in mid-July; very old variety hardy to zone 3; 4’x4’.

Crandall Clove Currant: one of the best home-fruit plants for our region, produces volumes of large, black currants every year; the taste is both tart and sweet and good to eat off the bush or made into tarts, pies, jams or on vanilla ice cream. 5X Vitamin C of oranges, high in anti-oxidants.  5’x5’. Very fragrant golden flowers in the spring; red-orange fall color

Cortland Apple: from 1915; fine-grained, crisp, juicy; very good for fresh eating, excellent in pie and apple cider; slow to brown in salads; good fireblight resistance; harvest in Sept.; 12’-20’ on standard rootstock, Hardy to –40 degrees F.

We will carry several good apple varieties, some unusual one in limited quantities

Mount Royal Plum- dark purple plums with yellow flesh, tender, juicy and sweet for fresh eating, jam preserves, drying and canning. Self-fertile, natural semi-dwarf

Green Gage Plum (“Reine Claude”): from the 1500s; small fruit that is “sweet as honey” highly prized in Europe for dessert quality, good cooked too. Easy to grow; small, low-branched tree is good for kids; very hardy; 12’-15’; does not need a pollinator

Bali Cherry: Natural dwarf tree to 12’ with 1” dark red sweet-tart fruit; good for fresh eating when ripe and for baking. Extremely hardy (-50 degrees F) High yielding. Tough

Strawberries: We are carrying many good varieties, each for good reasons. Ft. Laramie,

Tristar, Alexander Alpine, Earliglow. 

ROSES: We are known far and wide for our selection of sustainable roses and for our expertise in helping people choose the best varieties for their gardens and landscapes. We sell roses on their own roots not grafted, which makes them more cold hardy, longer lived, with more flowers. Most of our roses are disease-resistant and very hardy and none should need spraying with toxic pesticides. The Boulder-Dushanbe Teahouse Rose Garden is an example of our roses in action for the past 16 years. We do sell popular varieties like the ‘Knock Out’ roses, but many we carry are far superior to the highly advertised latest craze, including:

John Davis-super cold-hardy Canadian shrub or climber to 7’ with rich medium pink, beautifully formed flowers. Really tough in wind and even poor soil. Disease resistant and excellent repeat flowering. We have tested this rose for over ten years. Very easy.

Abraham Darby-a David Austin Rose with a very strong fruity fragrance  and very double and large pink-salmon-apricot flowers. Two specimens at the Dushanbe Teahouse have proven their adaptability to Colorado conditions over the last ten years. Wonderful, 5’ shrub

 ‘Darlow’s Enigma’-this excellent rose is an enigma, because it is the only rambler that blooms repeatedly through the year. Long, flexible canes grow to 10’ or more as a climber, has sweetly fragrant small single white flowers in great masses, is cold hardy and has very small, attractive hips in the fall. It tolerates shade and is easy to grow

Excellent Tools: unbendable trowel, sharp hand pruners and loppers, saws, West County Gloves, ergonomic spades, garden forks, trowels & rakes   and more.

Landscape Consultations: This year, Eve and Mikl will only be available for consultations from Midsummer. Call to Schedule 303-485-7715.

All spiritual traditions recognize that when we serve the needs of others, beyond our own self-interests, we are being good. Then we are connecting with the natural ground of goodness that is in all of us. So it is up to us to heal ourselves, each other, the wide diversity of beings including plants, and our rare and precious planet. Global Climate Change, the internet and other factors are expanding our awareness. The tide is turning. Sincerely,

Mikl Brawner & Eve Reshetnik-Brawner

If you did not get our big Get a Jump on Spring postcard, it is because our records think that you have not visited us in the last 7 years, and therefore we will remove you from our mailing list. If this is wrong, please let us know and we will keep you on our list.

When Pete Seeger was 94, he did an interview on Democracy Now where he retold Jesus’ Parable of the Sower: “The sower scatters seeds. Some seeds fall in the pathway and get trampled on, and don’t grow. Some fall on the rocks and they don’t grow. But some seeds fall on fallow ground, and they multiply a thousand-fold. Who knows where some good little thing that you’ve done, may bring results years later that you never dreamed of.”

Spring Invitation

 

HARLEQUIN’S  GARDENS  2013

Dear Friends and Fellow Gardeners,

Welcome to Spring, to Harlequin’s Gardens and to once again joining with the uplifting energy of Nature’s renewal. It is a hard heart that doesn’t swell when the seeds she or he has planted, germinate and push their little sprouts out through the soil. And no matter how good or bad the season is from a human view, Nature perseveres with an indomitable forward vision that we gardeners can connect with. Like Nature, we can’t afford to be optimistic or pessimistic as we prepare for the gardening season. We know that 2012 was the driest year on record and the worst drought nationally in 50 years. Scientists tell us that the earth is warming. Spring is coming sooner each year, and the result of heat and drought is lower food production with higher prices and more stress on landscape plants. So how do we prepare for warming conditions and for the unknown? [Read More]

Plants for Bees and other Pollinators

“You can join the fight to save the honeybees by planting a pollinator-supporting garden.” This is a recommendation made by a Penn. State Master Gardener program. Is this weird? Not at all. The European Parliament has approved creating bee “recovery zones” across the Continent. These recovery zones will provide bees with nectar and pollen in areas that are free from pesticides. Why is it a big deal that honeybee populations around the world are declining? One reason is that one third of the human diet comes from plants that are pollinated by honeybees. Another reason is that honeybees may be the “canary in the coal mine”; just the first to show that there is a problem that hasn’t yet surfaced in other pollinators and other beings.[Read More]

HARLEQUIN’S GARDENS Spring 2011 Newsletter

Dear Friends and Fellow Gardeners,

Welcome to Spring, to Harlequin’s Gardens, and to another gardening season of growing food, cultivating beauty, and giving and taking the world’s resources. So far, human beings, with all our tremendous powers to destroy life, have not learned how to create life, nor have we learned how to synthesize matter from sunlight. That is why we need plants more than we need oil. Oil is merely a plant concentrate with a limited supply. In terms of human survival, plants are the real deal, because all land beings are fed by them, directly or indirectly. Plants have the power of photo-synthesis. [Read More]

Spring 2010 Newsletter

HARLEQUIN’S  GARDENS  2010 (download this newsletter as a pdf file, 254K)

Dear Friends and Fellow Gardeners,

Welcome to Spring, to Harlequin’s Gardens, and to another year of getting outside in the fresh air and sunshine and communing with the natural world.  The issue of health care seems very important this year, but what is far more essential to our well-being is having good health, having loving relationships, meaningful work, good food, clean water and air, and a peaceful community with a healthy economy. Right? And We The People can actually do something about these aspects of our lives by focusing on meeting our own needs locally.  [Read More]

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In This Section

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    • Perennials
    • Pest Management
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    • Sustainability
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    • Xeriscape

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We do not ship plants!

Our plants are for sale ONLY at our Boulder location. We DO NOT ship plants. Come visit us!

Hours by Season

MARCH HOURS
Thursday-Sunday, 9AM-5PM

APRIL-OCTOBER HOURS
Tuesday-Sunday, 9AM-5PM

Mondays, CLOSED

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Contact Us

303-939-9403 (Retail)
staff@nullharlequinsgardens.com

4795 North 26th St
Boulder, CO 80301

Sign-up for E-Newsletters!

Sign-up for our weekly e-newsletters to receive empowering gardening tips, ecological insights, and to keep up on happenings at Harlequin’s Gardens — such as flash sales and “just in” plants. We never share customer’s addresses!

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Our Hours

Seasonally, MARCH to OCTOBER.
MARCH HOURS:
Thursday-Sunday, 9AM-5PM

APRIL-OCTOBER HOURS:
Tuesday-Sunday, 9AM-5PM

Mondays, CLOSED

The plants we grow are organically grown. All the plants we sell are free of bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticides.