Gardening

Spring 2021 Update

May 9, 2021 in Aromatherapy / Biodiversity / Environment / Gardening / Markets / Natural Skin Care / Products by Kelli

I’m very happy to be starting the 5th growing season here in Canada. It seems like a lifetime ago, as always. The time passes so quickly and I am an ALL in person, committed and ready to love, heal, grow and give.

I plan to attend the Almonte Farmers Market again this year, from May 29th onward, but due to the pandemic the timing is not 100% guaranteed. But, you can reach out to me by email, Instagram, or Facebook and you can place an order in the webshop located within our website. I will continue to fill out the descriptions of products and oils blends and try to give as much information as I can. Following me on social media allows you to see any products as they become available and to see what I have growing (and all the wildlife). I ask that you reach out to me directly for any custom orders or needs. I have many healing hydrosols and resins of the forest. I am going to be restocking the lip salves and have a couple of neat things that are new like the Queen of Hungary tonifying spray and an educational sampler mix of truly Fair Trade Frankincense and Resins that will fund raise for the Global Frankincense Alliance that will be added in the shop as soon as we possibly can! I have struggled with what to do about the ethical use and trade of these precious and endangered resins and for now I will continue to make and sell the resin based boswellic acid-rich salves and oils for healing emotional, mental, and physical stress but I will donate 10% of the sales of these products to GFA and continue to source all resins from trusted Fair Trade Sources like Apothecary’s Garden – Dan Reigler and Floracopeia.

Floracopeia is a leader in Eco projects for sustainable harvesting and replanting projects and continues to be my number one trusted source for all essential oils (and some carrier oils) and I continue to learn from its founder David Crow through his many classes on herbs, Ayurvedic health, and essential oils.

I am also nurturing my own soul through education with wonderful teachers like Matthew Wood, Judith Hill, and Sajah Popham. I am growing as an herbalist and gardener through my relationship with the plants. When asked what brings me happiness or joy when I am at my lowest the answer is truthfully – the birds and the plants. The only time that I don’t have doubt is when I am working with them. That is slow time, breathe time, real time. So I crawl along this Spring (literally in the mud) and wait for my vaccine, desperately miss my granddaughter who turned 8 this April, and see my children through the 7th and 11th grades, while nourishing my significant others through great change and challenge and find joy in the Sandhill Cranes and Cardinal’s song each morning, the fox, the bears, the bees, the little sprouts pushing up, the wild ramps, the violets, the peepers, the turtles, and the snakes.

I am thankful to have this garden, If you are local and are interested in doing some work in trade for plants or herbs then feel free to contact us to see if we can make it happen. And of course this will be after the lockdown!

Acknowledging that all these lands are of Anishinabewaki and Algonquin peoples.

Fall Markets, Fresh Offerings, & Infinite Garden Moments

September 16, 2020 in Aromatherapy / Gardening / Healing Herbs / Markets / Natural Skin Care / Products / Wild Harvest by Kelli

There are five more Almonte Farmers’ Markets this season. and then there will be the combined Harvest & Holiday Market November 7th.

We are very excited about this weekend’s Aruma Artisan & Farmers’ Market. We’ve missed this normally weekly market, held in a beautiful setting on the Clyde River. So Sunday’s one-time market will be a special event for the community, with extensive Covid safety measures, and we hope to see you there!

The season has been different in too many ways to say but the plants keep the rhythm. They are the ones who provide the magic that enables us to keep up with all it takes to grow a large bio-diverse aromatic herb garden. From Sun up to Sun down, from Moon to Moon, under the endless stars in the sky, we cultivate each population of plants and sometimes the individual one too. Attachment parenting for all living things. The purpose and the primary goal of Laine Herbals is to share this beauty and joy with you through the products that I handcraft myself.

I am working hard to stock up on all of your favourite organic products., including some themed gift bags that help make your shopping easier and save you money.

Arnica Body Oil (including an additional new blend containing Cedar, Frankincense, and Marjoram). We are so happy to have such an abundance of thriving cultivated Arnica. I have never taken it from the wild. I focus on supporting wild populations of medicinal plants through my actions and memberships in organizations like United Plant Savers.
Aromatherapy blends including new batches of Deep Sleep, Inspiration, Transition and Balance. and the return of an old favourite Peace blend made with Fair Traded Eco project Palo Santo from Floracopeia! All ethically sourced and expertly blended in oil ready to apply to skin.
Resin based Boswellic acid rich fair trade Frankincense oils and salves
Six different tea blends made from our own organically grown herbs
New Winter Woods Salve, featuring our own wild-harvested Eastern White Pine resin and several of our own essential oils
Respiratory blends made with spruce, pine, and balsam firs and more for complex energetic symptomatic relief
There are many different of this season’s freshly steam-distilled hydrosols: Rose Geranium, Ontario Wild Mint, Clary Sage, Tulsi Holy Basil, Lavender, and many more
… and several kinds of skin care for all purposes.

Creative Co-distillations

September 19, 2018 in Aromatherapy / Distillation / Gardening / Healing Herbs / Markets / Products by Kelli

This warm weather has been such a gift to gardens. I’m not used to such a long growing season and it has allowed me to harvest and process so much more than usual. The shelves are full with many infused oils, dried herbs and family medicines; many are available at the Almonte Farmer’s Market and If you are looking for something particular please feel free to contact me via email. The seasonal abundance has given me the opportunity to be creative with the co-distillations for hydrosols. Last week I distilled a version of the the 4 Thieves blend, based on folklore that thieves who robbed the dead during the black plague protected themselves with these 4 essential oils. To make my new “5 Thieves” hydrosol, I added lemon balm (anti-viral, and aromatically pleasant) to the traditional recipe of sage, rosemary, thyme and oregano to create a room spray to steal away the germs in the air. The hydrosol is safer than the very concentrated essential oils, yet very effective.

tulsi and spearmint in the 5 ltr bubble

Today’s co-distillation will be spearmint and tulsi! I was sure of it as soon as the harvesting began. The two plants will compliment each other and become a cooling and uplifting mist, perfect for waking up or after meals. This one will be a bit astringent for the skin and so may be good for acne or a midday freshen up. The oil content halfway through this distillation is higher than normal and that is due to the summer’s heat and the lack of rainfall (I have not been watering the mint!). The oil will be nice in a diffuser this winter.

3 levels of separation. Oil and Water do not mix.

Helpers in the Garden

August 7, 2018 in Biodiversity / Gardening / Healing Herbs by Kelli

I’ve been delighted to discover all of these beneficial Insects working away in the garden beds.

I am amazed at the complexities of their life cycles and how they work synergistically to control the sometimes overwhelming numbers of leaf-hungry herbivores.

Gardening is a lot of work but It has become a very mindful activity for me while I watch how I use and move my body. Some of the plants I grow, like Tulsi, require a mindful and nearly daily tending, and this is where I get to witness many things over time that might be overlooked, such as nymphs and larvae growing into bugs and flying things, and seeing who is eating who. The four-lined plant bug (Poecilocapsus lineatus) tried to make a breakthrough in our garden this year but we were sure not to harm the beneficials by immediately overreacting, i.e. by using organic approved pesticides. Instead we mindfully picked off the adults for about a week or two and then their own life cycles were interrupted by the multitude of predatory beneficials who lay their own eggs and who effectively end the outbreak.

I am not an expert in this area but it is a very important part of permaculture and sustainable practices in agriculture. I am excited to be able to learn in this hands on, eyes on way.

Almonte Farmers Market – June 9th

May 31, 2018 in Aromatherapy / Biodiversity / Gardening / Healing Herbs / Markets by Kelli

We have been putting in this year’s crops and I feel good it is before June 1st. This work for me is one step at a time with an occasional flurry rush of team work. The result is abundance to share. That’s how it seems to work anyway.

I’ll be back at the Almonte Market on Saturday July 9th and I plan to have several new things to offer. One is a yoga mat cleaner and the other is lots of Tulsi plants. I’ll have instructions and growing tips. In addition, I will have potted Peppermint, Skullcap, and a few Arnica if you want to try for your own sun infused oil! As the season progresses I will begin distilling again and have new co-distillations for your pleasures, parched skin, and individual needs. And as always I will provide the few high quality aromatherapy blends to touch your senses and enliven the awareness that these plants are much more than roots and greens.

I’m still getting to know my new environment and always have my eyes open for plants and animals. Today I came across this beauty.

today’s gift
native yellow lady slipper

Here are a couple of the plants that will meet you at the market:

One or two Arnicas give enough beautiful fragrant yellow flowers to infuse 1/2 liter of oil. I’ll give you all the secrets.

This Tulsi seedling has been pinched back in order to help it to fill out at the bottom. This allows it to remain sturdy while producing abundantly.

Handcrafted Aromatherapy and Botanical Preparations