Dear [NAME],

Farmers may make hay while the sun shines, but the rest of the crops like pumpkins, grain, corn and squash may have been harvested by the light of the moon.  In the early days before the invention of modern farm machinery such as combines and tractors, farmers relied on the light of the moon to assist them as they worked into the night to bring in their crops at the peak of harvest time.  The Harvest Moon was named because it rises within a half-hour of when the sun sets and remains bright throughout the entire night.  Perhaps the most dramatic of all lunar spectacles, the Harvest Moon is the fullest moon of the year and is the full moon that occurs closest to the Autumnal equinox.  During the Autumnal Equinox, the sun crosses the celestial equator and moves southward in the northern hemisphere during the September equinox.  The location on the earth where the sun is directly overhead at solar noon is known as the subsolar point. The subsolar point occurs on the equator during the September equinox and March equinox and the length of day and night become equal.  The Autumnal Equinox signals the end of summer.  This year both the Harvest Moon and the Autumnal Equinox occur simultaneously on Thursday, September 23rd.  

Rising from the Ashes:   

On June 15, 1991, the second largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century took place on the island of Luzon in the Philippines, about an hour's drive from the capital city Manila. The eruption lasted for 9 hours and caused numerous large earthquakes due to the collapse of the summit of Mount Pinatubo and the creation of a cauldron-like crater called a caldera.  In an extremely unfortunate meteorologic coincidence, the eruption occurred almost simultaneously with Tropical Storm Yunya which was passing  to the northeast of Mount Pinatubo, causing a large amount of rainfall in the region. The ash that was ejected from the volcano mixed with the water vapor in the air to cause a rainfall of volcanic fragments that blanketed almost the entire island of Luzon.  This tragic combination of natural elements resulted in massive lahars or volcanic mudflows which caused catastrophic loss of life and property and blanketed the area in volcanic rock.

Now almost 20 years after the eruption, the region continues to recover and rebuild from this disaster and new life and new industry has been born.  The area has now been developed for tourism featuring Mount Pinatubo hot springs, a spa, restaurant and activities such as hiking, jeep tours and kayaking.  Even the volcanic rock that covered the area from the lahar or volcanic mudflow is being transformed by Philippines craftsmen to create beautiful stone urns and planters.  

These wonderful volcanic creations from the Philippines are available  here at Garden Accents.  The material is called LavaStone and has all the visual and tactile beauty of stone or concrete but with only half the weight making it a natural choice for planter material.   Not only are these containers extremely durable, they are aesthetically gorgeous with unique volcanic ash look and texture.  The planters have drainage holes with rubber plugs so they can be used indoors or outdoors.  When exposed to the elements, LavaStone's nooks and crannies will develop a beautiful patination of moss and lichens when placed in a damp, shaded area.  LavaStone is also pH-neutral making it suitable for even the most delicate of plants.  We have two beautiful designs, the Lattice Pot in two sizes, 20" and 24” and the Rolled Rim Pot in three sizes, 16”, 24” and 28".  Both are in Natural Stone finish, a wonderfully neutral, authentic color which looks great in any setting and will get more beautiful with age.  Volcanic stone has been used for years in the construction industry due to its incredible strength and light weight and is now being recognized as the perfect medium for garden containers.  Even the largest pots are still light enough to move easily without sacrificing the look and feel of real stone.  We think they're a fantastic choice!