We love being outside, but the winter is also a great time to turn inwards and curl up with a gardening good book and a cup of tea. We’ve selected some of our favorite books for both for children and adults. We also have wonderful CDs from our favorite local musicians to provide the soundtrack for your day! So, if getting a gift for yourself, or for a beloved gardener friend we have the right size.
Botanical Interests 2022 Desk Calendar – NEW!
The award-winning design of Botanical Interests’ desk calendar is botanically inspired, with beautiful illustrations, by LOCAL artists, of their newly introduced varieties. Consider it a little window into your garden with space for keeping garden notes on the back of the tent.
This is one of their most requested items, as they are handy as well as beautiful, and make excellent gifts!
Nature Anatomy Puzzles – NEW!
Piece together a fascinating visual exploration of the natural world. Featuring illustrations from Julia Rothman’s best-selling book Nature Anatomy, this jigsaw puzzle will open your eyes to new ways of seeing earth and sky, flora and fauna. With each of the 500 pieces you put in place, nature’s wonders unfold: the crystalline structure of a single snowflake, the different types of feathers on a bird, a constellation of stars. A distinctive blend of art and science, this sweeping study of the universe will delight, educate, and enlighten.
Also offered is the Nature Anatomy: Birds Puzzle, a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle featuring a selection of Rothman’s colorful illustrations of birds, nests, feathers, and more. These make great gifts for nature enthusiasts, design fans, homeschooling families, and curious learners of all ages.
Puzzles from Maia Toll’s Wild Wisdom series – NEW!
Enlightening, illuminating and visually extravagant, Maia Toll’s Wild Wisdom series sheds light on the magic and mystery that abounds in the natural world — animal, vegetable and mineral, and features the opulent art of Kate O’Hara. We are offering two of the stunning 750-piece puzzles from O’Hara’s fabulous illustrations.
Stella Natura Astrological Planting Calendar 2022
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 over 25 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!
Boulder Irish Session – Next Sunday at Conor’s CD
Now celebrating its 35th year, 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, until Covid, came together on Sunday evenings at License No. 1 in the Boulderado Hotel to share tunes and songs of the Celtic tradition. After the last 2 summers of outdoor sessions on Sunday evenings at Harlequin’s Gardens, beginning Sunday Oct. 3rd, BIS is trying out a new indoor venue. We’ll update you soon!
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. 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. We offer both of their excellent CDs, Sunday at Conor’s and the sequel, Next Sunday at Conor’s.
Jon Sousa and Adam Agee CDs
Jonathan Sousa (guitar/banjo) and Adam Agee (fiddle), both members of local Celtic band Take Down the Door, are Colorado’s rising stars in the Celtic music world, with two duet albums plus several other CDs Jon has made.
They have toured extensively in Europe, the UK and North America to enthusiastic reviews. Ceol na gCarad is their latest duo CD, preceded by their Suantrai album. Twilight is Jon Sousa’s solo album, featuring many of his original compositions, and Canyon Sunrise is a duet recording with fabulous fiddler, Andy Reiner. In addition, we offer Take Down the Door in which Jon combines his talents with Adam Agee, Jessie Burns, Eric Thorin, and Beth Gadbaw.
Los Boyos CD
Last year, my good friends and music compatriots, Los Boyos’s (Mason Brown, Richard Gee, and Sky Kelsey) released a debut album! These local boyos are all spectacular musicians, and their arrangements together are sublime! The album features a rich tapestry of traditional Celtic songs and tunes weaving multiple strings and voices to create an aural equivalent of Celtic knotwork.
Michael Reshetnik’s SUITES CD
There aren’t many Reshetniks left in the US, and yes – you guessed it – this one is my beloved big brother. And I couldn’t be more proud of him for this exquisite recording, a true labor of love, which I love to listen to, repeatedly. I believe you will, too!
Originally inspired by the singing TV cowboys, Gene Autry and Roy Rogers, Michael started guitar lessons at a tender age, and quickly moved on to studying classical guitar. Hearing him practice was actually a pleasure. Later came Folk and Blues, and eventually my bro joined me in playing Irish and other Celtic traditional tunes with the Boulder Irish Session. The selections on this album are all his original transcriptions and arrangements.
“This album draws from the last 20 years of listening, arranging, playing and passionate involvement with the guitar. The seeds for Bach transcriptions were sown by the music of Andres Segovia and Julian Bream, both of whom were performing in NYC when I was a kid. The ‘traditional’ tunes are a selection from music heard much later on at music camps and at the Boulder Irish Music Session, played on other instruments. All of these pieces have an elegance, an emotional richness, something beautiful, that I hope speaks to you.”
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]