clearwell-aja-ly-blog

[clearwell-aja-ly-blog]

myrtletorris:

“No worries there, our archives will be open super soon,” Myrtle said assuredly, using the wall of the town hall as a writing surface to scribble down the library’s phone number. “Mara and I - that’s my assistant, by the way - have been working almost every day in there, getting things in order. It looks a treat.”

Myrtle looked up questioningly when Aja didn’t respond, and found the woman staring at Myrtle’s arm, which hung stiff at her side. She was wearing her prosthesis, but it was still easy for someone to tell that it wasn’t a fully functioning limb.

“Oh, yeah,” Myrtle said, shrugging as she turned back to face Aja. “My right arm’s kinda defunct. I don’t usually wear my prosthesis, but sometimes a cyborg hand is better than none, you know?”

She smiled amicably and held out her finished note. “I wrote down the library’s digits and my apartment’s landline. Either Mara or I will answer when you call.”

Aja nodded, and took the paper from Myrtle’s hand, any “peculiarities” that had previously captured her attention immediately forgotten. The library and its going-ons were of much greater interest. Let’s see, the library number... and her personal number? Aja had never thought she’d receive one of those during a business transaction, but then again a library wasn’t exactly a normal business. 

She slipped the paper into her back pocket, and made a mental note to give the number a try once Flower Festival operations were done and over with.

“Excellent. I’ll be sure to call as soon as possible,” Aja said. ”Pleasure doing business with you.” 

She extended her for a handshake to seal the deal.

Community Advertising || OPEN

#ct.myrtle #Community Advertising #sorry its so short #i'm terrible at closing things out #especially given how awkward a character who lives in her own head can be xD

[clearwell-aja-ly-blog]

beekeeperofclearwell:

She waited patiently as Aja wrapped the second bouquet and thought she could hint a curiousity about her expression. She finally found her coinpurse, but Aja stepped to the side. Herbs, good. She could see their selection. She might need to come back at a later time though if she didn’t buy seed packets. She could only carry so much.

She nodded to Aja and stepped through the crowd of people behind her, then glanced across the displays as Aja gestured. “I was hoping to start a garden soon. Not today, but soon.” She then focused her gaze on the seeds. “Starts would probably be better, but I can come back at a better time on a day that’s not packed full. I don’t have anything to carry them in, right now, anyway.”

She did thumb through a few of the seed packets, specifically the sunflowers. “I’ll take a package of these today, actually, along with the bouquets.” She looked back up at Aja. “I’ll make a trip back out soon then to see the herb starts.”

Aja nodded. “Very well. I look forward to your return. ”

Everything from there was fairly standard. She gestured one last time for Thyme (ha) to follow her, leading them both back to the counter area. What needed to be bagged was bagged, and whatnot; Aja was back into the grove. She found herself giving a small wave as Thyme exited.

With the growing possibility that Thyme might be a fellow plant lover, Aja had begun to feel an odd sense of… something… stir within her. It was already starting to affect her;  earlier, she meant to say the standard store “we look forward to your return” rather than the spontaneous “I”. But after some deliberation, Aja figured it didn’t matter too much. It wasn’t like she lied or anything. 

She really was going to look forward to meeting the curious Thyme again. 

Rainbouquet [Open || Mult]

#ct.flowerfestival #rainbouquet #ct.thyme #should we call this the end? #i honestly have no idea since this is my first time rping #sorry if any of this was weirdly paced #but anyway thanks for doing this with me!!! it was fun

[clearwell-aja-ly-blog]

“Thyme, hm?” Aja muttered, setting the bouquet aside (being the plant oriented person, her mind assumed ‘thyme’ rather than ‘time’). How in the world did “Thyme” come from “Tamara”? Before she could ask, her curious customer had already zipped off, picked more flowers, and returned. Where there was yellow in the previous arrangement was now a sea of pink, dotted with some white. It was a more common arrangement than the last, typically given to young children and women, but whether that was the case with this one was hard to discern. 

That aside, it also had to be the first time today that someone had inquired about anything other than flowers today. 

“Indeed, we do sell herbs,” she said. She placed the second bouquet beside the first, and stepped out from behind the counter after waving for an employee to cover for her. It would probably be a bit difficult to navigate through this crowd based on directions alone. “Here, allow me to show you our selection. If you could follow me, please...”

Motioning for Thyme to follow once more, Aja tried her best to not to get too far ahead, and in a few moments time they had arrived to the shelves stocked with seeds.  

“The seeds currently on display are for this season and the next, but if you’re planning for later, I can bring some samples from the back. We have flowers over here, fruits and vegetables there, and all the rest.” She waved her hand vaguely to the other sections, labelled appropriately for the sees they contained. “What were you looking for specifically?”

Rainbouquet [Open || Mult]

clearwell-aja-ly:

Aja blinked in surprised. She wasn’t expecting such affirming words from a customer–or any words at all, for that matter. And during busy hours like this, most shoppers usually just wanted to get their goods and go.

How interesting. 

She looked back at Thyme attentively as she finished wrapping. But, just as she was about to hand the bouquet over, Aja was surprised yet again.

“Oh, uh, of course,” she said after a beat. Her arms lowered slightly, still holding the flowers. “I can hang onto the bouquet for you while you look, Miss… Miss… ah…?”

“Ah, Thyme!” She turned and quickly made her way outside. She let her fingers run over the various displays in contemplation. This time, she did pick out a majority of pink flowers, and filled the rest in with more white. She picked a different wrap as well and brought them back inside.

She stepped up to the counter and laid the flowers beside Aja. “Sorry–My name is Tamara– I go by Thyme.” She smiled and began to dig into the folds of her clothing for her coinpurse, her weight gently bobbing up and down with her heels. “Do you sell garden herbs as well?”

#ct.flowerfestival #ct.thyme #rainbouquet

[clearwell-aja-ly-blog]

beekeeperofclearwell

She began thinking of the crafts she could accomplish with the ten flowers; she could dry some and perhaps press the rest, among other ideas. At Aja’s words, she looked up and smiled. “True… They are a hard type of person to find.” It made her think of her mother; she would have to call her in the near future, let her know how things were going.

“Ah, no gift tags, that’s fine.” She offered Aja a smile. An idea began to form in her mind after the word ‘gift.’ She knew what she’d do with them. “Ah, actually, do you mind if I go pick out ten more?”

Aja blinked in surprised. She wasn’t expecting such affirming words from a customer--or any words at all, for that matter. And during busy hours like this, most shoppers usually just wanted to get their goods and go.

How interesting. 

She looked back at Thyme attentively as she finished wrapping. But, just as she was about to hand the bouquet over, Aja was surprised yet again.

“Oh, uh, of course,” she said after a beat. Her arms lowered slightly, still holding the flowers. “I can hang onto the bouquet for you while you look, Miss... Miss... ah...?”

Rainbouquet [Open || Mult]

#ct.flowerfestival #ct.thyme #rainbouquet

[clearwell-aja-ly-blog]

beekeeperofclearwell:

Thyme nodded and turned back to the flower display, her eyes glancing across each type of flower. “Okay, yes, thank you Miss Aja.” She waited until Aja turned and disappeared back inside before stepping over to the displays.

Her fingers traced along the yellow flowers, and she noted the different species even if she didn’t know their names. She picked out five of the yellow before stepping to the side (and apologizing to someone she nearly bumped into).

She then looked over the white and pink flowers–should she finish the last five with an assortment? Or just the white ones? She thought quietly before deciding on just the white and yellow. She picked out five and held them together, appraising them, then sorted through the bouquet wraps.

After finally finding one she liked, she returned to inside the store and waited in the long line to finish.

“Interesting palette,” Aja noted politely once Thyme stepped up to the counter. She’d seen a wide manner of color combinations throughout the day, but not too many with only white and yellow. She carefully took the assortment and the paper in her hands, and continued to talk while she wrapped the flowers.

“Pure... respectable... compassionate...,” she thought out loud, brow furrowing slightly. Aja’s gaze remained fixated on her working hands. Memories of an old woman from long ago began to resurface. “I don’t see too many bouquets like this... but perhaps because people like that are hard to find.”

She looked back up to Thyme. “I can add a gift tag, if you wish. Is there a name for the receiver of this bouquet?”

Rainbouquet [Open || Mult]

#ct.flowerfestival #ct.thyme #rainbouquet

[clearwell-aja-ly-blog]

beekeeperofclearwell:

She followed behind Aja and patiently made her way through the crowd, though not without a few mumbled apologies for having to step through someone’s line of sight. She gazed at the buckets in surprise. It wasn’t quite what she had expected. She was expecting an actual bouquet, not a do it your own style set up.

Thyme quietly considered this deal. It seemed logical–ten for the price of seven, ten was a nice rounded number. Seven was a lucky number, as well. And for both to exist in the same instance had to be even more lucky–right?

She didn’t know as much about flowers as she did herbs, admittedly, but with as much emphasis as there is on flower language, it was unsurprising that a make your own bouquet style package would be so popular. Customization was very key.

It was almost summer, summer was yellow. Yellow meant sunshine. She should buy some sunshiney flowers. She would display them in her home for now and figure out what to do with them later.

“I think I would like to buy one–ah, how do I go about it? Do I just pick them?” She looked back to Aja.

Score. Aja slightly bowed her head into a nod. 

“Pick ten, then just bring them to the counter--” Aja made a quick glance toward the register inside, and made note of the line that snaked through the store and out the door. 

“--actually, just bring them to me when you’re done. I’ll wrap them for you. Feel free to choose some bouquet wraps--” She gestured to a barrel nearby, filled with bouquet wraps of various patterns and colors. “--or grab a pot or vase and ribbon from inside.

“If you can’t find me, just ask for ‘Aja’.” She pinched at the name tag on the breast of her apron.  “Got it?”

Rainbouquet [Open || Mult]

#ct.flowerfestival #ct.thyme #rainbouquet

[clearwell-aja-ly-blog]

beekeeperofclearwell:

Thyme scooted inside and stared at the flowers around the room as Aja herself scooted outside. Due to the boom of customers, the store seemed a bit more barren than she had expected, though that was the sign of a productive and successful business.

She turned as Aja came back inside, her eyes glancing across the woman who, for all that it was worth, seemed frazzled and covered in dirt. Perhaps she should have come at a different time, preferably when the store wasn’t so busy.

She flashed her a smile and stepped out of the way of a customer who was interested in one of the displays near her. “Oh, what’s the Festival bouquet deal?” She didn’t have anybody to give the flowers to (well, maybe Calliope), but she could at least decorate her house or use them somehow.

Now that was a question that Aja didn’t mind answering no matter how tired she was.

“It’s right over here, if you so desire.” Aja motioned for Thyme to follow her, and reopened the door to the hustle and bustle of her Festival display. She waded through the crowd to one of the many rounded, tiered shelves she had set up before hand, each holding several buckets of the respective Festival colors.

“People are complicated,” she said matter-of-factly. “Flowers are not. Yet every year, tradition holds that you give a certain color to certain people... It makes it a bit difficult to decide.”

And to convince people to make purchases, Aja thought to herself.

“So instead of just one color, why not many? Pick and choose ten flowers of any color for the price of seven. Surely you can capture your true feelings for someone in that many flowers, yes?”

Never mind the fact that I have never given Festival flowers to anyone in my life.

Rainbouquet [Open || Mult]

#ct.flowerfestival #ct.thyme #rainbouquet

[clearwell-aja-ly-blog]

beekeeperofclearwell:

Funnily and with an unknown but faint sense of coincidence, Thyme’s own first Flower Festival had come as just as much of a surprise as Aja’s once had. She had started her way through town expecting to go for a short stroll but found the town aflutter with all sorts of excitement–crowds of people gathered to buy flowers, and more flowers than she thought would be in a single place in Clearwell. It was both surprising and comforting all at once.

As she had traversed the town, it reminded her that she had yet to visit Clearwell’s greenhouse and flower shop, which she would need to do if she were going to prepare for Summer’s sales. With luck, since the festival was currently happening, she’d be able to buy some flowers ahead of time and get started on her soap making. Perhaps she could even pick up a few herbs to finally settle in on her garden.

After departing the town square (and after making a friend along the way), she found herself wandering ever closer toward the flower shop in hopes that it’d be open–she hoped it would. It was the esteemed Flower Festival.

Her fears were diminished as she stepped closer and noticed the bustle of people in and out in a slow fashion. With a flower adorning her hair settled behind her ear, she gathered her wits and made her way inside.

“Welcome to Capra,” Aja said to a customer in passing, taking advantage of the now-opened door. Swiftly (and carefully), the shop keep placed the flowers she’d been cradling into the outdoor display, and popped back inside. She was satisfied to see that her preparation didn’t go to waste. For the entirety of the Festival, business had been booming. Her only regret was that she didn’t hire more people--now where was Addie when you needed her--?

“Could I interest you in our Festival bouquet deal?,” she recited with a hint of exhaustion. Walking around and talking to people all day really did a number on the introvert, but she was too proud of the business she was getting to stop. She refocused her eyes until she could see the green irises that belonged to the person in front of her. 

Rainbouquet [Open || Mult]

#ct.thyme #ct.flowerfestival #Rainbouquet #hello to you as well! #and thanks for taking the bait #I've been trying to think of ways to catch up behind the scenes lol #hopefully this shorty can get things going!

[clearwell-aja-ly-blog]

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For addtional information visit: http://www.herbal-supplement-resource.com/herbs-for-asthma.html

#plants

[clearwell-aja-ly-blog]

“Iridaceae,” Aja said to the woman, appearing from behind. She was referring to the cluster of irises they currently stood by; though Aja wasn’t typically one to initiate a conversation, she’d been practicing specifically for the Flower Festival. Previous years had proved that people tended to be weary of a shop keep who silently skulked about. 

She took a few more steps closer. The woman, with her raven-colored hair, yellow dress, and slender form, reminded Aja of a sunflower. 

“More commonly known as irises, and a reference to the Greek word for ‘rainbow’, as they come in a wide variety of colors. Perhaps... there are some colors you are interested in?” Dutifully, she gestured toward the arrangement with a tilt of her head. 

Stop and Smell the Flowers [Open, Multi]

Calliope had never participated in any kind of festival before. In the past, she had been so busy with work on the farm that she didn’t even know that there were events that went on in town. But she had convinced herself to make more frequent trips into town, and in turn, she had come to learn about the different festivals that took place in Clearwell.

The children in her class were eager for the day of the festival, excited to take part in the flower themed arts and crafts that Calliope had planned for them. And now that the weekend had arrived, she was eager to attend herself, even if only to walk around and look at all the beautiful plants. Sunflowers were her favorite, but she knew it was not the season for them. But the other flowers were just as beautiful. She was so excited, she even wore her favorite yellow sundress with her worn cowboy boots (she couldn’t remember the last time she wore a different pair of shoes).

She and Anna walked into town that morning. It was a bit of a walk, but the day was warm, the sun was bright, and she was feeling particularly happy just to be outside. Bear trotted along with her happily as they made their way into town, following Calliope as Anna drifted off on her own, amazed by the variety of colorful flowers unlike any she had seen at home in the city. the dog’s nose twitched in the air at the aroma of the flowers. Calliope sucked in a deep breath. Nothing was more pure than the air in Clearwell.

She took her time moving through town, admiring the flowers, calling to Bear from time to time when he had wandered away from her side to follow his nose. Calliope knew it was tradition to give bouquets of flowers to people in town, each color representing something different. But she couldn’t possibly remember what every color meant. Except red, of course. The most intimate or flower colors. Surely that was intended for romantic relationships, of which Calliope did not have. But perhaps there was something she could get for Anna to make up for their earlier fight.

She wasn’t quite sure what her relationships were, really. She felt like she was still just getting to know everyone in town. She didn’t think he was nearly close enough to any of them to give them a bouquet of flowers and was pleasantly surprised - touched, rather - when she did receive a beautiful orange bouquet from Riley, left sitting on her desk. Otherwise, that was the downfall to keeping to herself on her farm, she supposed - never having a chance to really form any friendships. She just hoped it wasn’t too late for her.

She paused, her eyes drawn to a particularly full, extravagant display of flowers, each color complimenting one another with just the right touch of greenery around them. She bent slightly to put her nose to the petals, inhaling their strong scent, and smiled, hardly noticing the footsteps that approached from behind her.

#stop and smell the flowers #ct.calliope #ct.flowerfestival

[clearwell-aja-ly-blog]

myrtletorris:

Myrtle’s eyes widened at Aja’s unexpected affirmation. "You will? Fantastic! Wow, I had no idea what you were going to say for a bit there.“

Though she hadn’t said much around her rambling, Myrtle was getting the vibe that there was much more to Aja than meets the eye. Her scientific-method-like introduction and extensive botanical knowledge made Myrtle think that Aja had at least some post-secondary education, and she seemed to be in a consistent state of deep thought. If so, it was refreshing to meet someone in Clearwell with a similar background to her own.

“I’ve got some time this afternoon to start work on this,” Myrtle said, her eyes drifting past Aja now as she visualized the steps necessary to bring the seed library to the community. “I can get a rough draft to you on what Clearwell Library can do for the project within… Hmm, a day or so? I can shoulder half of the responsibilities for sure, and I’ve been looking for a project for my assistant to work on, so there’s an extra set of hands. I can order in some research material on seed libraries from Havencrest, too - if I do that by Monday and put it on express, they’ll arrive by the week after…”

She thought for a moment more on the matter, then refocused on Aja and grinned. “I can’t wait to get started on this! Here, I must give you my number so we can discuss properly later on this week.” Myrtle plunged her hand into her shoulder bag, searching for a pen and paper.

Aja nodded gently as Myrtle talked, slowly mulling things over. The librarian spoke with a quickness that reminded Aja of Havencrest and its patrons, many with mouths that could barely contain the dreams of their beholders. This was an observation Aja didn’t quite know what to make of, but she by no means thought less of Myrtle. If anything else, it made her more at ease.  

She took the opportunity to speak when Myrtle paused. “Just give me the draft when its ready,” Aja said, though not unkindly. Her tone became somewhat reminiscent of a chiding tutor.  “And take the time to look over the resources. The library isn’t even open yet, so try not to over commit--”

As Myrtle brought her hand to her bag, the movement had redirected Aja’s gaze to Myrtle’s right arm. 

Community Advertising || OPEN

#Community Advertising #ct.myrtle #no worries #i've got uni to deal with too :)

[clearwell-aja-ly-blog]

Rainbouquet [Open || Mult]

Aja’s first Flower Festival had come as a surprise. Sounds of chattering had awoken her bright and early in the morning, prompting her to take a peak out of her bedroom window. A small group of people had clustered by the darkened front of the store. Like a child observing an anthill, Aja peered over the sill, a myriad of questions filling her head. What in the world was going on? Had she hit the statistical jackpot with moving to Clearwell? Was she really so brilliant that the shop was already a huge success, pay her college tuition, and retire early? 

(She’d never admit to thinking such things; in retrospect, she often found old thoughts embarrassing and silly.)

Opening the doors to the eager customers only increase her confusion. With a weary eye, she observed them buying very specific colors of flowers, and leaving just as quickly as they came.  For while, she had the inkling suspicion that there was some sort of elaborate prank being pulled on her, and eventually the shopkeeper ventured to ask one of the patrons. She was met with kind laughter that continued on into an explanation: Flower Festival... every Spring... usually a stand... As usual, Aja listened to their words stoned face, but her mind was racing. The previous owner of the shop had failed to inform her about this. And there was so much to do.

Since then, Aja made sure to prepare well in advance. The greenhouse would be cleared (carefully) and stuffed with planters for flowers to sell during the festival. Spring in general was a rather floral season, so fortunately there wasn’t a lot of extra set up involved, but there was still a challenge in the scale in which she’d have to produce them. Then, when the Festival finally came around, she’d have to make sure her stand was set up properly. Aja’s setup had came to be several large barrels, each containing a trademark color. Simple, efficient, and quite elegant looking, if Aja could say so herself.

And, as a change of pace from previous years, Aja would also be selling pick-and-choose your own bouquets.  Originally, the simple color symbolism associated with the flowers, its simplicity bugged her. Flowers were not that simple. Feelings were not that simple. So, after making sure she was good on inventory, she decided that it made more sense to give multiple colors to people to convey more complex feelings. A rainbow bouquet, in which a person could pick and choose the colors that went into their gift.  Want to tell that cool-headed colleague how much you respect them? Blue, purple, and yellow should do it. Got a bouncy nature-over in your life that you love to bits? Get them a cluster of orange, green, and red. Someone so pure that they’d put freshly fallen snow to shame? Just straight up give them a bunch of white roses, maybe with some pink here or there. The combinations were endless.

And also good for business. The sort of flowers one picked could tell Aja a lot about a person, and perhaps reveal any emotional undercurrent running through town. It was a brilliant way to collect experimental data on town, she told herself. What she wouldn’t admit was her own simple curiosity--she wasn’t exactly an expert on people.

In any case, Aja hoped the bouquets would prove to be something people wanted. She had already debuted them at her shop in the form of pick-up orders, and several people had already made custom bouquets of their own. It would save them waiting in line, and perhaps provide a fun little surprise for whoever received them. 

I wonder what that’s like.

Aja startled herself with her own thought, and immediately tried to brush it aside. No, of course not. She sold the flowers. Heck, she created them. She’d know immediately if someone attempted to get flowers for her, and she certainly didn’t need any more foliage taking up her living spaces. Furthermore, she was more of an observer than anything else, and always had been. It was how she learned, and what she was comfortable with. She had watched her grandmother care for her and the plants, seen experiments done by her own hand at university, and had come to learn to look at the faces of Capra’s patrons to find what they truly desired, and wanted in their seeds. The Flower Festival shouldn’t be--and wouldn’t be--any different. 

And while she wouldn’t admit to thinking such a thing, Aja couldn’t wait to see the Festival light up people faces, and give her a better view.

#ct.flowerfestival #rainbouquet

[clearwell-aja-ly-blog]

bumbling-fawn:

Aja Ly, how pretty, Fawn smiled meeting the woman’s hand with her own. “My name is Fawn, It’s a wonder we haven’t met before, I used to pride myself in knowing everyone in town.” Much had changed over the years, including very likely this very room the were standing in. The grubby owner that used to be here, didn’t care as much about plants as Aja Ly obviously did. It was probably a vault rather than this beautiful greenhouse. It might not have been there at all. “Do you mind if we take a seat? My handwriting is a mess unless I have a hard surface under the pad.” Fawn looked over at one of the tables, there wasn’t a lot of space but it would be better than hoping she could read all her notes later.

----------

“Oh, ah, yes. Of course,” Aja bumbled.“Let me just... hm...”

Aja swept away as much of the center table’s contents as she could, loose leaves of paper fluttering too and fro. After a few more moments of shuffling, a majority of the yellowed, scratched surface was visible. It was a first in awhile; nothing pretty, but hopefully Fawn would find it accommodating.

She didn’t hesitate to wonder.

“How’s this?” she asked, scooting two plain stools toward the table. She didn’t bother waiting for an answer, and continued to search for some scratch paper. It had been awhile since she had been a student herself, but Aja was encouraged by Fawn’s apparent eagerness. All she needed to do, the botanist-turned-florist reminded herself, was to take it slow.

After having plucked several fresh sheets off the floor, Aja placed them in a haphazard stack on the newly-cleared table, and thumbed the top sheet over to the side to write on. (She tried her best to leave enough room for Fawn to take her own notes; it wasn’t a huge surface by any means, but it would have to do).

“Owlwood Forest.”Aja began drawing slightly off-center toward the upper-left of the page; simple upward-arrow shapes to represent pines, and various cloud-like shapes for bushes and other foliage.

“Deer Lake.” Toward the right of the page, a somewhat ovular shape appeared. Aja was sure to make little wavy lines to make it clear that it was water.

“Falcon Peaks.” Large triangles were drawn toward the edges of the page, and a waterfall was made close to Deer Lake.

“...and Clearwell Town is here in the middle.” Finally, crooked rectangles appeared in the center of the page as crude representations of buildings.

She flipped the paper over so it would appear upright to Fawn.

“Following so far?”

Capra Magnolia [Open]

#ct.fawn #capra magnolia #sorry for taking so long! #I should be posting more regularly from now on #for whatever reason blockquote is not working :(

[clearwell-aja-ly-blog]

myrtletorris:

“You have? Wonderful,” Myrtle said, smiling again. “My assistant told me about the concept recently, and it sounds really neat. Now you’re obviously the plant expert here, but with Spring right around the corner I figured local farmers must be beginning their year’s planting soon? It couldn’t be a better time for this type of program.”

And it wasn’t just the local farms. Almost all the houses in the residential district had small vegetable plots in their gardens, and when Myrtle had arrived in Clearwell in the summer, vibrant flowers and greenery could be found in every corner. In such a rural area, almost everyone was in touch with horticulture and the environment.

“And the library has so many untapped agricultural resources,” she continued, speaking faster in her excitement. “Just yesterday I found a box of introductory plant care leaflets - they’re a bit dusty, but totally usable! A seed library could be a way for us to get these resources out in the community in a way that will capture local interest.

“However,” Myrtle said, raising her eyebrows meaningfully at Aja, “what we’re missing is the most important bit. I’m a librarian with a couple potted plants, but I’m no botanist. I don’t know what seeds would be the best choice for a seed library, what works best with the local soil - hell, I don’t even know what farmers around here grow half the time! That bodes well for a rural librarian, right?”

It was nearly impossible to discern if Aja was interested in the idea behind those faraway eyes of hers, but she might as well press on with her main point. “So anyway, here’s what I’m getting at. I think if your shop and our library got together and shared resources, a seed library - even a small one - could be a super great project that Clearwell would benefit from. It could help conserve native plants, help farmers out, and generate business for both of us! That’s at least what I’m hoping.”

Myrtle paused, taking a breath. She should probably let her companion get a word in edgewise. “What do you think?“

The gears turned in Aja's head.

Though it was tempting to jump right in, the hurdles of such an endeavor weren't something the botanist could easily ignore, nor could she claim to have done anything like it before. Sure, she had made extensive use of the ones available in Havencrest, but those were old and established. There were also a number of other factors to consider--whether there'd be a membership system, any associated fees, how'd she'd go about providing the first batch of seeds, other rules and regulations... And that was under the assumption that Myrtle was reliable enough to get all the other parts of the libraries up and running 

But, to be fair, all Aja had done with her degree was start a small shop in a tiny town.

"I’ll do it.”

Community Advertising || OPEN

#ct.myrtle #community advertising #I'm back!

[clearwell-aja-ly-blog]

Florida swamp-lily, string lily, or southern swamp crinum (Crinum americanum).

[clearwell-aja-ly-blog]

bumbling-fawn:

Fawn followed along quietly as she was lead somewhere, she had a hunch it would be to more plants, but the trip did put a little doubt in her mind. This woman was a stranger, and while Clearwell was a very friendly place to be, there had to be a few bad apples hidden in there somewhere. But still, she followed.

Letting out a sigh of relief when they entered the greenhouse, Fawn was amazed by all the plants and equipment, she had no idea that caring for a plant needed so many things, her mother didn’t even have a watering can for her plants, she used a glass from their cupboard.

looking around at all the plants, Fawn slowly made her way over to the woman and the file she was holding. the young woman tried her best to listen, but her notepad was left empty. So much of what was said went way over her head.

Chuckling softly, Fawn shook her head, “Shows how much you love your craft, no wonder my mum loves this store, you seem to really know what you are talking about. But….”

“I didn’t really understand a lot of what you mentioned… could we maybe go over it slowly and with um.. names I would be familiar with?”

This time, Aja really took a moment to scrutinize the girl. She was young, bright-eyed, and eager to learn; not so unlike Aja when she was around that age, though perhaps a bit more vibrant. And, she had listened so patiently all this time…

Aja nodded.

“Right,” she replied. “Pardon me. I can get… quite passionate about my work… oh, and ah, my name is Aja. Ly. Aja Ly. Though you may have seen that already…”

Aja glanced down at the name tag pinned to her apron, gears turning in her head. She extended her hand toward the young girl.

“And I suppose this could take some time so, uh, what’s your name?”

Capra Magnolia [Open]

#ct.fawn #Capra Magnolia #sorry for taking so long to reply! #there be wifi issues

[clearwell-aja-ly-blog]

Botanical illustrations by Ulisse Aldrovandi (1522 — 1605)

#plants