Aromatherapy

Here’s what we have growing now

July 13, 2017 in Aromatherapy / Distillation / Gardening / Healing Herbs by Kelli

Clary Sage. Up close and inspirational.

It’s difficult starting again, but as always the plants show me the way. Here’s what I have growing now. Some began as seed and some from seedlings that I purchased.
Clary Sage- An incredible flower to distill. The hydrosol is perfect for hot flashes and any preparation containing the essential oil goes right to the head, heart and soul. It can be quite euphoric.

Clary sage, a different point of view

Rose Geraniums – 6 Lovely little plants which are growing and will make a nice distillation for hydrosol at the end of the summer. I mix the oil into my Deep Sleep blend which has great balancing effect opposite Frankincense and Jatamansi.

Potted Tulsi or Holy Basil or Ocimum Sanctum (from my own seeds) and there will be more of this but It would really benefit from a hot greenhouse. Hopefully soon! An ultimate in adaptogenic stress relief.

Ocimum sanctum
Holy Basil, not your regular basil.

Lots of Mint – growing well despite the torrential rains. And Lemon Balm, and Lemon Verbena.

Lemon Verbena
Aloysia citrodora

Skullcap, Valerian, and Chamomile – mainly for tea (and maybe tincture) but I wonder what a co-distillation for hydrosol might be like? Maybe I’ll try it…

Valerian

Chamomile

Two kinds of Arnica – Chamissonis and Montana (from my own seeds)

Arnica chamissonis, spreading.

Inula helenium or Elecampane – Awesome herb for coughs when used properly

Acmella Oleracea or Spilanthes (from my own seed) – Also known as the toothache plant.

A great place to get medicinal herb seeds from is Strictly Medicinals (formally Horizon Herbs)- They also sell some plants but only within the U.S. It was a hard blow to discover that I could not order plants from them to Canada. I had made big plans but I was fortunate that some one at Strictly Medicinals answered my email and suggested Richters Herbs here in Canada and that has been helpful getting started with some great plants. I’ve just discovered a few other possibilities and will try to give all the helpful information as I get it. Here’s one: https://www.onplants.ca/, a site that sells Ontario native plants.

Beginnings, endings and continuations

January 27, 2017 in Aromatherapy / Biodiversity / Food / Gardening / Healing Herbs / Wild Harvest by Kelli

Secretly Sleeping in December 2016

I wanted to put together some photos that showed the garden and greenhouse in the beginning as they were being put up. We hand dug all the beds and created the soil. The results are pure magic. We were only caretakers of something already there, even though you can’t see it. Something that is available to all. Nourishing. Healing. Teaching.

Now my journey will take me along again. To build again. To connect again. I think I will miss this more than the many other gardens that I have left behind. It has touched me in a special deep healing way. It has such life, a higher power lives here, even now at the end of January, especially now. Feeding the soil, feeding the birds, resting and preparing to come back again in all its glory. It will keep on teaching, keep on healing, like pure magic.

greenhouse being erected and only two beds dug at the top.

A blessing as always to work together as a family. This represents the deep change that is part of the season.

A blessing as always to work together as a family. Early Spring.

After the first season.

progress

2016

Sept 2016 greenhouse

Harvesting – Acorus Calamus

October 21, 2016 in Aromatherapy / Biodiversity / Healing Herbs / Wild Harvest by Kelli

I am very blessed to have some new connections in my field. I have recently connected with Lisa Jeanine from alchemillasapotek.blogspot.se, who makes spagyric tinctures. This is the traditional and original way the Alchemists made plant medicine. Each tincture contains the complete parts of the plants: the Body, Soul, and Spirit. Processing involves several steps including distillation and calcination and often takes months to complete.

I am sharing and trading many plants and ideas with her. This last weekend she brought me to a place where we could harvest Acorus Calamus root. This is a very aromatic root with unique and even magical properties. It has been on my list of plants to meet all summer.

A plant for finding your voice.

Soft, spongy and light. Acorus Calamus has been the easiest root to process. This root can also be distilled to obtain a fragrant oil.

Lisa and I at the pond. — Lisa and me at the pond, with our helpers.

Also on this day we visited Lisa’s friends and well known establishment urnatur.se.

What a treat for the kids and me! With hectares of handcrafted treehouses fitted with beds, cottages with the best living roofs I have ever seen, kitchens with handcrafted features and much more, the walk around the property was truly like, as they say on their website, a poem. I felt like the forest was hugging me back, speaking of calm and freedom. This place is truly unique, a celebration of nature. I hope to return some day.

We walked around until it was dark and found the very large oak we were looking for.

Harvesting Tulsi Holy basil

September 22, 2016 in Aromatherapy / Distillation / Gardening / Healing Herbs by Kelli

Nearly every day I harvest baskets full of tulsi. Some goes on to the drying racks and some into the still. The action of harvesting is aromatherapy from the source; it transports you into a meditative state of mind. Crisp and transforming, it is easily a replacement for the morning coffee as far as my mind is concerned, but my kapha type body needs a little more right now as the temperatures cool down and the seasons begin to change. A ritual of herbal teas, aromatherapy and exercise (yoga or a walk in the woods) is helpful to support the body and mind at this time of transition. I have a new blend in the webshop called Transition which is appropriate for personal or seasonal changes.