Freshly harvested Salvia officinalis
Today we harvested and distilled sage for the second time this summer. Our Salvia officinalis is thriving this year.
Sage hydrosol is one of our favorties; it has both floral and strong medicinal aromas.
The summer solstice is an important point in the year at our latitude. There is light in the sky all night, and the plants seem to reach a critical point in their lifecycles; virtually everything wild blooms, and cultivars seem to double in size overnight.
Wild Rosa dumalis, June 20, 2016
This year on the solstice we walked all around the area where we live collecting wild roses (Rosa dumalis). These roses can be found all over the Swedish countryside, and they clearly love the solstice sun. We harvested and distilled the fragrant flower petals, and are very thankful for this midsummer gift from nature.
Rosa dumalis ready for distillation, June 20, 2016
Angelica (Angelica archangelica) – June 5 2016
Angelica bursts into life in the spring, and by the end of May the plants are enormous and beginning to flower. Last week we made candied Angelica stalks, and today we harvested flowers from two of the giants in our garden, and are distilling them as I write this and the smell of Angelica floats through the air.
Norway Spruce (Picea abies) and Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris) saplings- June 3 2016
Scots Pine ready for distillation – June 3 2016
We live near the edge of the forest, and today we found a stand of Scots Pine and Norway Spruce saplings in the meadow. Last year we distilled needles from an adult Norway Spruce, and we were eager to try again with more of our local evergreen species. These saplings were the perfect choice: very green and fresh, with vibrant aromatic constituents and growing in a spot they might get mowed down.
First we distilled the Scots Pine, after chopping it into small bits by hand. The whole house smelled wonderful during the distillation, and the hydrosol came out great.
The Norway Spruce was next, and again we prepared it for distillation by chopping it into bits, with both needles and branches included. The two hydrosols smell very different.
Today was a beautiful sunny day and we harvested Chamomile and Lavender from the garden, along with Rose Geranium from plants we had overwintered indoors, and made a triple co-distillation. These three soothing and balancing aromatic herbs combine together to give us a real aromatic treasure.
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