Good morning everyone! Happy Sunday and Happy Second Day of Rain is Falling Over Salem, Massachusetts Day! I’m so happy to finally see some precipitation. We need it!
We also need our bees! As we know, our pollinators are in peril. There are several theories about why we’re loosing them, but time and again research points to the use of pesticides as the reason for the decline and in many cases, collapses of bee populations worldwide.
I was recently approached by Harbor Sweets Handmade Chocolates, a wonderful chocolate company here in Salem, and asked to sample their new line of local honey infused chocolate. I don’t do too many reviews on The Salem Garden these days, but in this case I couldn’t resist sampling Gather.
I love chocolate, and chocolate infused with honey and sold with the intention of bringing attention to the plight of the honeybee was irresistible. A portion of the profit is being donated to the Pollinator Partnership, to aid in their efforts to preserve and protect our pollinators!
This is a wonderful product in so many ways! Gather helps our honeybees, it’s absolutely delicious and it’s a very unique and special gift or indulgence if you’re feeling decadent.
I shared each piece with a member of my family since I was required to taste each one so that I could write about it 😉 . My favorite was the Coconut Cluster, but each piece was special and delicious. My youngest son loved the caramelized honey truffle and Michael enjoyed the Sesame Crunch.
Gather launched on September 6th and is available on the Harbor Sweets website by clicking here. Gather can also be purchased at the Harbor Sweets retail store here in Salem, or at their retail locations.
Harbor Sweets gave me a box to give away to one of my readers. I want to make it an easy entry so everyone can participate. Just say hi in the comments section below, or share your favorite pollinator plant if you’d like to. I’ll randomly draw a name and mail the box of chocolate to one of you, wherever you are in the world! Please enter by Tuesday at 8pm USA Eastern time!
Be sure to check out the video below to learn a little bit more about Gather and click on the links above to the Harbor Sweets website to order online or to visit a Harbor Sweets retail location. The holidays are just around the corner! Gather is a perfect holiday treat!
John is the Program Coordinator of Mass In Motion Salem and said that he would use the calendar to help the Salem Public School Gardens! Since those gardens are so close to my heart I’m happy to think that the calendar will be used for them.
Here’s my process, just so you know that he won fair and square! While I had lots of views of this post, the comments were light so the chance of winning was quite high. Note that John had two entries because he talked about how he would use the calendar in his comment.
I placed the entries into one of my favorite little baskets.
And the basket maker, who happens to be sick today, drew the winning entry.Congratulations John! I’ll email you with the coupon code for the free premium subscription to Gardenplantingcalendar.com.
Don’t forget to use coupon code salemgarden20 to save 20% off of a premium or standard subscription!
I’m sorry for the delay in announcing the winner of my giveaway… this getting back to school (and activities) is a tough business!
The winner is
Vera! Congratulations Vera! And thanks to all who played. Yes, that is Michelle’s garden. It’s a large part of her initiative to decrease childhood obesity and to connect children with their food source. I’ll publish a separate post with more photos of the garden in the next few days. It goes without saying that I’m very happy that the garden’s benefits to children are being highlighted by the First Lady.
I thought it might be fun to try a giveaway so here we go! The question is:
Who’s garden is this?
Since lots of people are looking but no one’s guessing, here’s a hint, I would have looked at it through a large metal fence while on vacation this summer..
Leave your answer in the reply box just below. All correct guesses will be entered into a random drawing for a $10 Home Depot Gift Card! Now is the perfect time to look for a pot or two of perennials (on sale!) to plant and enjoy next year! You have until noon on Tuesday to enter, one entry per person please! The winner will be announced on Tuesday afternoon.
This is not sponsored by or affiliated with Home Depot in any way, it’s just a fun little contest! Please feel free to share widely with your friends!
The Salem Garden 