Happy Birthday Fair Share and Birth of Lions Share Community Garden

Happy 2nd Birthday Fair Share and best wishes to Joel Tippens as he prepares to relocate Fair Share, his non profit entity to Cattanooga, Tennessee. I'm very happy that Joel will be in a community where he will be rewarded and sustained financially for his urban agriculture work. But I'm sad to see him go, and I'm sad that more of Daytona Beach was not willing or able to support his project.

Moira and I were there 2 years ago breaking ground to install the first raised beds. It's amazing to me that she doesn't even remember the first time she was at the garden. I love this picture that I found of the 3 of us taking a break in the archive...

Joel has "passed the shovel" on to us the remaining active gardeners. It's up to us to keep up the good work.

The future looks exciting from down here.

With lots of help from the college kids on Saturday, we got the water collection barrels aligned on level ground.

Our overflow pond was set in place.

And barrels were interconnected. Thanks for the design work Scott.

We even have a new name for the garden, The Lions Share Community Garden. You can follow our continuing adventures at the garden in our Flickr Group, Yahoo Group, or Facebook Group page.

Raw Butters, Waxes, and Lotion Bar Kit Now Available

I'm very excited about a new Lotion Bar Kit that I recently put together. It took me a little while, because this is the first kit I've ever made. It wasn't so hard to put the kit together, so I'm already planning another kit for next month also. My lotion bar kit makes 12 richly moisturizing lotion bars and comes with the following:

4 oz Raw Organic Cocoa Butter



4 oz Raw Unrefined Shea Butter


4 oz Candelilla Wax (vegan)


8 oz Extra Virgin Olive Oil packed in your choice of a plastic or upcycled glass container, 1 heart shaped Silicon Mold, 1 round Silicon Mold, 1 small square Silicone Mold, 3 lotion bar recipes, including: a basic unscented recipe, a variation with Beeswax, and a Aromatherapy recipe, 1 surprise free gift which will be a special 'in-stock' additive that you can use in one of your lotion bar batches.

Cocoa Butter, Shea Butter and Candelilla Wax are also available individually here.

Up Close with Horsemint: Monarda punctata in Winter

The newSpotted Horsemint, Mondara punctata, leaves are already coming up again in a wild patch at the garden, fresh and green, from where I cut back the seeding tops a few months back. I took these photos with our 20x digital microscope.

These leaves are high in Thymol and make a substitute for thyme in a cough syrup. It is also a great ingredient in the pain relief liniment that I make.

Hope you like the pictures. I will be sure to get more photos when it is flowering.

If you would like to grow some too, the seeds are available in my shop: Horsemint.

How do you like to use Horsemint? Please feel welcome to leave a comment below.

Microscopic Fairy Fun: Violet, Lemon Balm, Lemon Verbena and Rosemary

I stayed up way to late last night playing with images from Moira's new digital microscope. It was a really great gift for only $20. I'm pretty sure this is the same unit. The photo above is of a violet leaf from my garden out front. I couldn't resist adding some fairy clip art from WebStarWest.

Lemon Balm (Melissa officionale) is pictured below. Don't you love the tiny prickly hairs? I had to add the mom and baby fairy, since Lemon Balm is such a wonderful herb for kids. I used a tincture of it that I made recently for Tessa when she had a stuffy nose.



The Lemon Verberena Fairy is my favorite from the collection. I made this image first. Such a beautiful green, and the scent could really make you want to dance.


A pensive Rosemary Fairy. I love being able to feel AND see just makes the tender tips of the Rosemary Leaves so stickly. I took the leaves from my potted Rosemary Christmas tree. This is another herb I've been using a lot this winter. This is an herb that I use all the time in oil based infusions. It mades a great base for a pain relief salve or a congested chest rub.



I have many more plant pictures to share, but I thought I would start out with these fun ones.

Be Mine! Rose Geranium & Rosewood Soap by Aquarian Bath

Rose Geranium & Rosewood Soap by Aquarian Bath
Originally uploaded by AquarianBath

Looking for some Valentine's Gifts for your sweet Heart? Check out my great selection of Valentine's Items on Etsy. Hope you see something you like. This heart shaped soap is also available in full sized rose-topped bars.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/AquarianBath?section_id=5785417

Handmade Market Place by Moms at the Little Gym in Port Orange Friday February 4th

My products from Aquarian Bath and Delicate Adornments will be set up at the special Handmade by Moms Marketplace in Port Orange on February 4th from 4pm - 7pm at the Little Gym. Come out and shop for something special for your Valentine. Other shops participating include Shanti Aromatherapy and the Wooden Bee and many more. Please post with a comment if there is anything in particular that you would like from my shops. I will plan to have a sampling of items from Aquarian Bath and Delicate Adornments, with an emphasis on Valentine Gifts. Please let me know if you are shopping for anything in particular though.

Lucile's Enticing Kitchen of Artistically Rendered Recipes

With my busy schedule it is rare that I can afford the time to just get lost in browsing shops online. However, I was completely drawn in to one particular shop after finding it in this gorgeous Etsy treasury that my Rose soap was inluded in.

Etsy Art shop Lucile's Kitchen features food and herb illustrations from her Paris kitchen. Her work is colorful, vibrant, and uplifting. On each of the five pages of her shop I found so many works that I was drawn to. I could cover my walls in her work and find gifts there for most of my friends. It was so hard to choose just a few to share on this blog post. You really must visit and check them all out, especially if you are looking for a little inspiration in the kitchen. With so many culinary and herbal friends in my life, I kept finding many that reminded me of friends and their kitchens.....

The forager:

The spicy soup lover:

The nose:


Plus something for the raw foodist, the pizza maker, the herbal tea lover, the baker of sweet treats.

Oh wouldn't I love to mix up some Bath & Body recipes in Lucile's Kitchen. Enjoy.

I Heard Your Suitcase Say Goodbye

This treasury took my breath away. I hope you like it too. My Dead Sea Mud Shampoo bar for oily hair types was included.

'i heard your suitcase say goodbye.....' by junkgarden

vintage luggage pos... warmwhispers $8.50	Junque Drawer Neckl... blacksheepdesi... $28.00	vintage wooden embr... littlebyrdvint... $20.00
GOODBYE 6pk orangebeautifu... $16.00	Gigantor Mothra 9 MySelvagedLife $23.00	Gray Shawl With Lac... afra $46.00
A 3D Study in Frenc... MaisyandAlice $20.00	Vintage Kodak Tin R... TheVintaquaria... $32.00	New For Winter...So... Gingeroni1 $18.00
HUMMING BIRD II- Or... TheBrickLane $12.00	25% OFF FEBRUARY DE... SweetlyFallen $18.75	Black and tan, vint... mamabetsy $38.00
cloverleaf celadon ... ralphnuara $27.00	Dead Sea Mud Shampo... AquarianBath $5.00	Salvaged History - ... fullcirclestud... $33.00

Generated using Treasury HTML code generator by Whale Shark Websites.

The theme of the treasury comes from a song. Do you recognize it? ; ) I'm not really a fan of the song, but I love the treasury.

"I guess this time you're really leaving,
I heard your suitcase say goodbye.
Well as my broken heart lies bleeding,
You say true love, it's suicide......"

Winter Soap & Herbal Classes at Maggie's Herb Farm In St. Augustine 2011

Happy New Year's to you all. Hope 2011 is treating you right so far. I have some new classes coming up for the Winter Season at Maggie's Herb Farm in St. Augustine. Hope you can join us for some of them. Please call the farm to register in advance. 904-829-0722

Soap Making For Sensitive and Problem Skin Types February 5 Saturday time 10-2
Learn to make soap from scratch using the cold process method and the specialized hot process method for sea salt spa soaps. We focus on hypoallergenic formulations for those with sensitive skin and those well loved by persons with multiple problems including acne. Specialty herbal additives for problem skin types in formulations will be discussed. Bring lunch, safety glasses and gloves, and a small cardboard box. Fee $35

Herbal Powders For Body Care March 5 Saturday time 10-2
Learn to dry and process herbs for making body powders. We will used dried herbs from the farm as well as other clays and ingredients for creating your choice of body powders from among 5 basic recipes. We will cover face masks, deodorant powders, anti-heat rash powder, baby powder, and foot powders. Bring a sack lunch and a toothbrush. You will have a chance to sample and experiment with herbal tooth powders. Fee $35 Bring a sack lunch

Herbal Valentine's Day: Herbal Love Potions Saturday February 12:
Learn about various herbs used as aphrodisiacs and tonics. We will make a passion potion (herbal syrup), heart-shaped lotion bars with aphrodisiac and calming essential oils, and a rose body butter. $40 Bring a sack lunch