Journal


Spring 2021 Update

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.

oznorTO

Fall Markets, Fresh Offerings, & Infinite Garden Moments

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

Aruma Fall Market

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.

Sunset
August Moon

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.
Harvest Baskets
Velvet Moisture Blend
St. Johnswort Oil
Big Bang Salve
Jewelweed
Rose Geranium Essential Oil
Gift Bags

Safe shopping with us

As everyone adapts to the ongoing social distancing and stay-at-home policy, we would like to explain how to place orders with us no matter where in Canada you reside (unfortunately we are currently unable to ship internationally due to the pandemic).

Shipping

First, if you live outside the Mississippi Mills area, or if you would simply prefer delivery to pickup, then you can shop in our online store as normal. Shipping options and costs for your address will be automatically calculated by Canada Post at checkout time, and you will be able to choose your preferred method in the “Shipping” section on the checkout page. We will mail your order as soon as possible and will provide you with a Canada Post tracking number that you can use to track your package. Please be aware that deliveries tend to be delayed across the country at present.

If you do live locally and would like to pick up your order (with no shipping costs of course), then please choose the “Local pickup” option in the “Shipping” section on the checkout page. We will contact you via email to schedule a convenient pickup time and location.

Payment options: PayPal or e-transfer

As always, payment via credit or debit card is securely handled via PayPal at checkout. Note that you do not need a PayPal account to use this service.

If you prefer you may select “Payment via e-transfer” on the checkout page. We will contact you after your order is placed and provide e-transfer details.

As always please contact us directly with any requests, inquiries, comments, or just to say hi.

Best wishes, stay safe and healthy, and thanks again for your support!

-Kelli


The Year Around

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.

Balsam Poplar
Balsam Poplar buds at dusk
Balsam Poplar Buds at dusk 3/2020
Balsam Poplar Buds at dusk 3/2020
Balsam Poplar and St. Johnswort Oil
Balsam Poplar and St. Johnswort Oils
Clary Sage overwintering
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.
Maple bucket at sunset
Maple bucket at sunset