Wild Harvest

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.

The Year Around

March 6, 2020 in Aromatherapy / Environment / Healing Herbs / Wild Harvest by Kelli

I try to engage with every transition. Sunrise, Sunset, the Moon, the Stars, The earth: the above and the below ground. But I am here on the ground observing. Sometimes time flies by but usually I have that little bit of awareness to slow it down and notice – notice the sky, the winter cattails, and that silver falcon I can’t seem to name. To notice the trees with their sliver slicing against the sky in all apparent states. And there are so many of them, different- but all together, providing so many different things and taking what they need and giving when they can. This is how I thrive in the crunch times, the whorling effect of all the things going on around, The effects of the common upon my triggers and the negative self talk I raised myself on. This is what I aim to do, Day in and day out, night in and night out, being present The Year Around. Asking for guidance and sharing, This week saw a transitioning season that brings a run of abundance. You need to be there physically to participate by emptying the buckets of sweet sap and plucking the full buds of sticky aromatic resin in the cold before their metamorphic change into leaves. I can only strive to be as transformational as this.

I offer aromatherapy and botanical infusions to others in hopes that they help anyone through the day, stay on track, rest, remain positive and hopeful, and thrive in joy. Aroma is an amazing transformation in itself, both as it arrives from the plant and as it enters your body and affects the 1 trillion scent receptors located all over and in the body. https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20130710-how-our-organs-sniff-out-smells

I try to share with you the nature that has been shared with me and hope that you can use it to ease discomfort, lighten the load, and heighten the experience of joy. Many of us, for various reasons, experience a constantly overstimulated nervous system and soothing the receptors through Aroma and the senses, we can find our own paths through the forest.

Clary Sage overwintering in the double greenhouse

Rose Geraniums, Passionflower, Clary Sage — Rose Geraniums, Passionflower, Thyme, and Clary Sage overwintering in the pump house at 6-8 degrees Celsius.

Fir Distillations

October 28, 2019 in Aromatherapy / Distillation / Products / Wild Harvest by Kelli

Regular market season has come to a close, and now we have begun distilling evergreens for new products for winter markets.

This week we are distilling 2 Fir species: Balsam Fir (Abies balsamea) and Fraser Fir (Abies fraseri). The plant material is from local trees, provided to us by the Cedar Hill Christmas Tree Farm.

Fresh cut Balsam and Fraser Fir (*Abies balsamea* & *Abies fraseri*)

Firs are strongly aromatic, with a complex chemical profile in the stems and needles. Essential oils of several fir species have been extensively researched for their medicinal properties. Some representative studies can be found here and here. Needless to say, distilling the plant material fills the house with the most sublime, uplifting aromatherapy one could ask for.

This round of distillations yielded record amounts of essential oils:

Fir essential oil accumulating in the separator

Some of the essential oils we get from the ongoing distillations will be used in a new batch of our Winter Woods Salve. The hydrosols and the remainder of the essential oils are the main ingredients of a brand new room spray that I am currently formulating. Both products will be sold at Cedar Hill Christmas Tree Farm this season, and as always we will be selling Winter Woods Salve along with many other unique products at the upcoming Winter markets.

Balsam Poplar

March 18, 2019 in Aromatherapy / Biodiversity / Environment / Healing Herbs / Wild Harvest by Kelli

Sticky and aromatic Balsam Poplar buds

Young Balsam Poplars

I have been looking for this tree, Populus balsamifera. I wanted to get to know it and make an oil with some of its buds, a traditional medicine. Today I found a small stand and have permission to harvest. The trees are a bit invasive where they are and so need to be managed and smaller ones removed so we can work together, a best case scenario! So grateful.

Almonte Farmers’ Christmas Market December 8th and Cheerfully Made Saves Christmas December 21-22!

December 7, 2018 in Aromatherapy / Distillation / Healing Herbs / Markets / Natural Skin Care / Products / Wild Harvest tagged holiday / markets by Kelli

Yay! The time is here for Holiday Markets and I have some extra special items to make everything smell and feel good!!

The Almonte Farmer’s Christmas Market is this Saturday, December 8th from 9-2 at the Almonte Community Centre.

Special Holiday Gifts: Lotion Bars, Frankincense, and Diffuser blends

In addition to our regular stock, I have created really nice gift packs, sets of diffuser blends, and a new luxurious lotion bar with Shea Butter, Cocoa Butter, and Palmarosa essential oil that is great for dry skin and excellent for cuticles!

I love working with the resins of evergreens and yesterday we hand-harvested our own Spruce resin and combined this dissolved traditional remedy with some of our own steam distilled essential oils, along with sustainably harvested fir and cedar oils to create our Winter Woods Salve, a favourite among our customers, family, and friends!

Ancient Gifts Salve: Frankincense, Myrrh, and Cinnamon Bark

The resin of Frankincense has been a special remedy and joy for me and this year I have some extra special infusions just for the holiday markets! Ancient Gifts oil and salve are each their own unique aromatic treasure. No need for potpourri as these are rich, warming holiday treats!

Cheerfully Made Saves Christmas

Two weeks later, on December 21st and 22nd, we are very excited to participate in the Cheerfully Made Saves Christmas market at the Bell Sensplex!! Tickets for the night market on the 21st must be purchased in advance, and can be bought here. We (and many other vendors) will be offering some specials for that night only, and everyone who attends the night market will receive a tote bag and two raffle tickets.

Handcrafted Aromatherapy and Botanical Preparations