Flora and Fauna

The Green Thumb Festival was simply breathtaking. Beautiful blooms and greenery for as far as the eyes could see. I snapped a couple of pictures to share of some of my favorites. The blossoms on this orchid were enormous, I have never seen them this size and color. There were various orchids, bromeliads, herbs, butterfly attractors, trees, tropicals and cactus varieties as well. The day was perfect as far as weather was concerned, and the Festival was well attended. It was by far the busiest I have ever seen it. It is growing and growing every year (no pun intended).

One of the vendors that came out was My Mother's Garden, with their numerous organic herbs. I could have stayed in their booth all day, inhaling the sweet, intoxicating scents of the wondrous organic herbs. They even offered information and suggestions on how to use the herbs in recipes. I am looking forward to using the chocolate mint in my coffee tomorrow morning due to their tips.

There were some fantastic blooms on the tropicals, like the lobster claw heliconia. The bromeliads had their magnificent blooms as well. Another interesting vendor were the "Go Green- Worm Magic" with their organic fertilizer and composting worms. These worms reduce composting time from months to weeks and they eat your garbage, leaves and grass clippings. (hmmm, maybe the city should commission these worms for the dump) Also, if you release the worms into the yard, they loosen the soil and fertilize everything from the garden to the lawn. These are amazing little creatures. You can email them at wormmagic@earthlink.net for more information on the wormy guys.

There were also tons of creative vendors displaying their wares and artistic talents. I picked up a metal salamander painted in a splattered purple and signed by the artist, to hang by my front door and a beautiful hand-painted plaque with a quote by Rumi: "Be with those who help your being". It spoke to me and I had to have it, I love Rumi, his teachings apply to today as much as they did hundreds of years ago. My favorite glass blowers were out as well, Zen Glass. These guys are so talented and creative with their art. They did a wonderful job with their display and the garden theme in their booth. Josh is always a pleasure to converse with at the festivals and I look forward to ordering an original piece from them soon.

All in all it was a wonderful day for Naturally Living and I will leave you with more beautiful pictures from Green Thumb Festival in St. Petersburg, FL.

Here's to a beautiful last week of April!

ClearSkies