Wordless Wednesday: What I Did on Mother’s Day

One of my Mother’s Day traditions is to spend time in the garden. It feels almost decadent to have a full day of unstructured time where I can work with my hands in the fresh air. And last Sunday, the weather couldn’t have been more perfect for such a thing.

We went to the gardening center and picked out flowers and vegetables

Then I turned over the dirt in the raised-bed garden that my husband dug last year

then I added some peat and manure

and I mixed it all until it was evenly-blended

And here is my raised-bed garden, complete with veggies and shade plants. In the background, you can see a flower bed where my husband planted the colorful flowers in the first photo.

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Love Your Mamma and Mamma Earth!

The following post is by Katie Peige, Herban Lifestyle’s Sustainability Associate.

Mother’s Day – a time to show your appreciation and gratitude for the love, support, and caring of the wonderful mothers out there. This Mother’s Day, why not show your love for the special mother in your life and the greatest mother of them all: Mother Earth! In case you are still wracking your brain for the perfect gift or activity, here are a few ideas to make both Mammas happy.

As we have mentioned before in our Valentine’s blog there are many sustainable, local options for the traditional gifts (flowers, chocolates, cards) and plenty of fun things to do in Washington DC in the spring such as picnics, trips to the Smithsonian, and checking out some local festivals and events. Recently, Mary and I checked out the new sustainable boutique CARBON at the March SBNOW event. At this great little boutique, one can find the perfect Mother’s Day gift amongst the gorgeous clothes, shoes and beautiful jewelry made by local artisans (including one of our favorites, Melissa Lew, who makes gorgeous pieces from recycled silver). You can also check out these unique, creative, and totally awesome gift guides on two of my favorite websites Earth911.com and Treehugger.com. You can also snag a beautiful, unique piece on Ebay’s World of Good which will make your mother happy, mother Earth happy and bring economic opportunity to women abroad.

Organic Bouquet is waiving their shipping surcharge for orders placed by 3:00pm today (5/6/11). Not only are the flowers organic and sustainably grown, but if you go through this link, 10% of your order will go to Green America.

Personally, my sister and I are going to give the gift of food to our mother this year by whipping up some favorites in the kitchen. Check out our previous blog posts for some tasty recipes to delight your Mother’s taste buds. As always, the best place to find your ingredients would be at one of your local DC farmer’s markets, which are now in season! Don’t forget to look for ingredients that are local, fair trade, organic and free range. If you are looking to dine out or have been banned from the kitchen by your mother, my go to resource is the Eat Well Guide, which lists 54 sustainable restaurants in the DC area. Delicious! So many restaurants, so little time!

Remember to also check out our website for local, organic, and fair trade bath and beauty products such as our popular fuzzy soaps, lip balms, body butters, bath salts, and facial masques.

Have a blast celebrating your Mother and Mother Earth on Sunday!

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Love Your Mothers

photo copyright Organic Bouquet

Sunday, May 9th is Mother’s Day, a holiday when people in several countries (United States, Australia, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey and Belgium to name a few) make it a point to call, visit or send cards and gifts to our mothers. We take the time to show our gratitude for all they have done for us. And in light of the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day, I started thinking about the image of our Earth as Mother. The Earth supports and feeds us, so it seems fitting that we show the same respect and gratitude to our Mother Earth as we do to our human mothers.

And I was very happy a couple of years ago when I came across an environmentally conscious company that delivers earth-friendly flowers. At last, a way to honor both mothers at the same time.

According to the National Retail Federation, in 2009 consumers spent about $14.10 billion on Mother’s Day, about $1.9 billion of which went toward flowers. Unfortunately, commercial flowers of the type sent to so many mothers are typically grown using toxic chemicals that can negatively affect farm workers who handle the flowers. These chemicals are also bad for local wildlife and the environment. This is no way to show for love your mothers.

Organic Bouquet was the first company to offer eco-friendly floral products delivered right to your home. Organic Bouquet offers flowers and plants purchased from growers who are committed to using sustainable farming practices (Organic, Veriflora, Biodynamic, Fair Trade and Transitional) “that aim to improve the quality of farm working conditions, minimize damage to ecosystems, conserve biodiversity, and enhance environmental quality for future generations.” If you order by 3:00pm EST today, Organic Bouquet will waive their $10 Saturday surcharge.

If you live in the DC area, local florist Green Space in Georgetown offers organic flowers and plants in eco-friendly containers. All of their products are organic, recycled, biodegradable, fair trade and/or locally sourced from small farms and artisans.