Roped In! and Totally Hooked!

via The ROPES Maine

  

The Coast of Maine is one of the spots I breathe best.  As a New England Girl from head to toe I try hard not to miss a chance to be where the world is "the way life should be".

 So whenever I am meandering through the small towns from York Harbor to Bar Harbor I am always on the lookout for Made in Maine that I can carry with me or wear throughout the days when I can't be by the coast.  This trip I literally stopped in my tracks... while hopping through Bath I spotted the ultimate Maine wrist candy in the window of Springer's Jewelers.  Springer's is over 140 years old and features classic gracious jewelry in a charming old mercantile shop along Front St (they also have locations in Portland and Portsmouth NH)... there in the window were colorful and happy pieces that roped me in and hooked me at hello! 

The ROPES are made from genuine nautical rope and hardware that instantly say Hi, I'm from Maine and put me on your wrist NOW!  :)  Nautical classic, traditional, but totally on style.  Handmade in Maine from the real stuff--fisherman's ropes and hardware, appropriately named lobster claw hooks pull them together.  Designed by Maine native and RISD grad Shana Aldrich Ready, these sea worthy styles come in a rainbow of colors and widths including multi-strands and necklaces all named from favorite port towns such as Cape Elizabeth, Portland and Kennebunkport.

The ROPES are at home in any boating spot or with any summer style, but you don't have to be bobbing along to wear them--you just have to want to be by the sea-even if it is only when you look down at your wrist.

In a Child's Garden

All the names I know from nurse:

Gardener's garters, Shepherd's purse,

Bachelor's buttons, Lady's smock,

And the Lady Hollyhock.  Fairy places, fairy things,

Fairy woods where the wild bee wings,

Tiny trees for tiny dames--

These must all be fairy names!  Tiny woods below whose boughs

Shady fairies weave a house;

Tiny tree-tops, rose or thyme,

Where the braver fairies climb!  Fair are grown-up people's trees,

But the fairest woods are these;

Where, if I were not so tall,

I should live for good and all.

Robert Louis Stevenson, A Child's Garden of Verses

In so many ways all gardens are a miracle and a gift...but the gardens of Maine never cease to astonish me.  To survive the crazy often cruel New England coastal winters only to slowly burst forth a lot later than most gardens do, the gardens of the Maine Coast in Summer are a wonder!  Wherever you look the colors pour from beds and boxes and planters, happy as I am to spend a summer's day in Maine. This week on a sweltering morning (it was over 100 even in Maine!) I wandered through the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in hopes of catching a sneak peek of the Gardens' newest and very anticipated addition -The Bibby and Harold Alfond Children's Garden.  The Children's Garden was set for its Grand Opening on Thursday but I was able to catch some glimpses as the many final touches were being painted,planted and primped.  The two acre garden is breathtaking, a joy for every age! For someone who adores both magical gardens and storybooks I quickly found myself climbing over the construction tape to get a closer look!

The Children's  Gardens are a celebration of discovery and every inch reveals a new adventure, places to play,explore and learn about the wonders of nature. There is a Tree House to climb, a 28ft tall Windmill complete with weather instruments,a spouting whale fountain, a crooked house, a boat to board and lobster traps to toss on the Blueberry Ponds, an archway made of garden tools and giant watering cans that lead to the Learning Garden where veggies grow, a Maze to conquer,and a Storybook Keeper's Cottage and Story Barn complete with a Giant Storyteller's Chair where imagination lives and reads!!

I cannot wait to return and watch these very special gardens grow!  For more information on the Maine Botanical Gardens and the Bibby and Harold Alfond Children's Garden along with the special events and programs available  visit Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens and for a great Behind the Scenes look at the planning and construction of this enchanting spot be sure to read Dig It! The Garden's Blog.

To see more of this magical spot and to learn about the many books that inspired the gardens Come Visit

 Down The Garden Path and The World at Your Feet!