Cottonwood

Oh Cottonwood, how I love you.
your scent is warm, inviting, comforting and intoxicating all at the same time.
When I am harvesting and processing cottonwood buds I feel like I am reaching back in time, as if I am with all of the people who have used and loved this tree for centuries.
the sticky resin is the magic
some of the buds look old and decrepit, like a strange animal talon. While some of these are old and hollowed out by time, some are full and rich with resin-y goodness.
here is a leafy part on its way to be a bud and it is sooo sticky and good

this was the harvest from last year this time. I infused the buds in olive oil in a double boiler on lowish heat for a good long time. Maybe 3 hours. I let it sit (infuse) in the oil for a month or two. Not because it needs to, because I don't think it does, but because it will keep and I am busy.
Also, it looks amazing in the jar, the buds, some floating and some suspended by the resins look otherworldly and ancient.
Once I finally strain the buds from the oil, I simply heat it and add beeswax enough to make a solid and pour it into tins and voila! the best natural perfume ever.
I know, there are a million medicinal uses for cottonwood, but this Balm of Gilead as a magical scent can heal things you never knew ailed you.

this resin will take awhile to come off, but with it's heavenly scent, I'm not so worried.
xo

the other

my other blog is more about the store, this one as it turns out is more about the herbal side of things.
check the other one out and let me know what you think
xo

Sunday Perfumery

When I make perfume I like to listen to Joanna Newsom. She's odd & quirky and her singing makes me get into a zone that is perfect for listening to the essence of smell. That probably doesn't make sense but it works for me.
However, Joanna Newsom is not the most appropriate retail background music and we are retail even if I am geeking out in the back room.

Today, Sunday, I went in with the intention of working on a blend that I have been thinking about and tinkering with for a good long time, something along the lines of two years, in fits and starts.
In all that time, it has been with me, all of the scents that I dream up live with me. I carry them around like so many small children.
Perhaps that's why Joanna Newsom is so right for the work. She is the perfect serenade for so many small aromatic and at times slightly vexing children.

Today the store's computer crashed and the computer guy (my guy) was fixing that up and Sadie was covering my shift so that I could try to get this blend made up and even with all of the chaos I just gathered my ingredients and started blending. And figuring.
As I always say: "it's mostly math". Don't fool yourself. The magic of perfumery is totally there, but if you don't keep very diligent track of every tiny detail, it's a one time thing.
If you want to recreate something, even if it is just to change it, you have to mark down the measurements and the source of each oil and so on and so forth.
As I was dropping aromatics into tiny beakers, there was a moment in which I was questioning Sadie's choice of music and a split second later I was reminded as I often am of the perfect match of all the lovely people who work and help at Flora and how amazing it all is and how it always works out. Sadie had chosen for this Sunday at high noon none other than Joanna Newsome. Perfect.

The perfume, you ask? Yes, of course.
The blend is in two at this point or it is two separate scents. I am not quite sure.
They are similar and have a kindred nature, but they are each their own distinct selves.

I was going for a masculine scent. One that is warm and rich, that will give comfort and be sexy all at the same time.
I love the femmy scents of rose and jasmine but I also love the earthy and deep vetivert and oak moss.

One of the images for the scent is of campfires, open sky and dusk falling.

I was imagining what an iconic masculine scent would be and I thought of my dad.
The scents that I remember most about him are cigarettes, sawdust and coffee.
My dad was a man's man, whatever that means and the scent I am going for evokes a past that is reminiscent of an ideal.
This is the scent of the Marlboro Man or Don Draper or the dream of being a little more manly than you really are, or of bringing out something hidden in you.
Cicero wrote "A man's chief quality is courage."

The scent has dignity and strength and it smells great on women as well.

One of the scents is a bit sweeter than the other and we are tentatively calling it "bandito nights"
The second is darker and moodier and tentatively named "Middle Earth"

My brother and sister-in-law came into the store later in the day and my sis-in-law asked about the scent on the counter. I let her smell it and she swooned. She had my brother smell it and he seemed surprised by how much he liked it.
She wanted to buy some for him. It was just the in-store tester that we were playing with and trying to set a name to. But what could I say? I poured half of it into a bottle for her to take home.
Even though I didn't give them the story behind the scent, it seems fitting that my brother is gifted in a magical way with a scent inspired, at least in part, by our dad.

Lavender Sugar Cookies

I wanted to make something special for an event at the store and I wanted it to be simple.
Simple = sugar cookies + lavender = Special
I tried the recipe once to make sure they would be "good enough" for the art opening and they were.
I made them again to everyone's delight including the guest of honor, our artist of the month Trish Grantham, who has turned into our featured artist for the past 2-3 months. She keeps on painting and folks keep on buying it.
Yay! Supporting local art is a deeply political and spiritual act. Investing in art is Righteous.
We also really love that when she brings in new art, she stays and moves everything around so everything is all freshy-fresh.

It's been awhile, but here's the recipe:

Lavender Sugar Cookies

I make these entirely in the food processor

1 heaping tablespoon dried lavender in food processor
with 3/4 C organic brownish sugar or regular brown sugar,
add a stick of soft butter, mix well.
add an egg, 2 tsp vanilla extract.
blend,
then add 1.5 C flour, 1/2tsp salt, 1/2 tsp baking soda. mix, not too much.
scoop dough by the teaspoon,
roll into little balls by hand,
roll in vanilla sugar (or any sugar)
don't flatten,
I know you'll want to, but don't.
Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 5-7 minutes.
don't let them brown.

if you don't have a food processor, blend the lavender and sugar in a mortar & pestle or a coffee grinder, then proceed how you would with any other cookie recipe.
They will be fragrant and lovely and should stay soft for days.
They are so dreamy!
enjoy.

Protection Tea

I had a request from a friend to help her protect herself psychically at her job. I believe she was looking for a little spiritual guidance, and that is fine, I have loads of that, but I like things to be grounded and supported by earthly things, plants in particular.
So does she.

For awhile I was anticipating the work to prepare something amazing for her and as is usual for me as soon as I started to think about it, not in a sacred space anymore than my kitchen at dinnertime can be, I began reaching for herbs and putting them together and seeing the work in my mind's eye even as vegetables sat partially prepared on the cutting board.

But really, this is how magic is for me. Right there all the time. No bells and whistles needed or wanted. I bore easily and don't have time for all the geekery of your standard magical practice.

Here are the herbs I chose, the herbs that asked to be in the blend:

Elderberries - protective, connects to old ways/ancestors, forest mother, responsibility

Roses - protective (thorns), connects to mother mary/guadalupe, astringent (helps to keep you in you, less room for others to get to you), love, love and peace
Orange Peel - radiance of the sun, courage, power, remember the skin is protecting your flesh/family/that which is under the skin, AND the skin (peels) are super magic and can symbolize your work self
Chamomile - a sweet little delicate looking flower that is a complete powerhouse. looks can be deceiving. this plant is calming and soothing like a little badass grandma
Licorice Root - just a smidge to ground the blend and to sweeten it up.

I would stay away from plants the bees especially love (lavender, mints) at work unless you want to be swarmed.

I would use this tea for anyone who would like support with boundaries and protection.
Drink it with intention or not, the plants are magic whether or not you believe in them or not.
Of course, intention is it's own kind of medicine and can be a big helper in getting you what you want and need.

Best wishes and much love

Datura

I don't know why I am posting two poisonous plants in a row, but here they are and aren't they gorgeous?
Again, let me say, this plant is poisonous. I do not recommend ingesting it in any way. I am sharing my own personal experience in an anecdotal way.

Datura is known by many names: Moonflower, Jimson Weed, Devil's Weed, Angel's Trumpet and Thorn Apple are the most popular.
It belongs to the nightshade family.

Datura grows wild and domesticated all over Portland and all over the US and Mexico.

I made a flower essence from it many years ago. It was amazing.
I always say and truly believe to get the real essence from a flower essence, make one.
The essence will be with you forever. Just make a couple in your lifetime. It's like a constitutional.
A constitutional remedy is a remedy that works on a deep cellular level to bring the body and emotions back to a state of health and balance. ...
Let your instincts guide you to the plant you will make an essence from and just be with it, meditate on it, commune with it. Sit in the sun while the flower is giving itself up to the water.
When I made my Datura Flower Essence I meditated and visioned for it's gifts. It was really just a deep listening.
(I used white datura stramonium for my essence)
After I was completely transfixed and transformed by the experience I composted the flower and poured the water into the perfect vessel. I then sipped from the remaining
liquid in the bowl.
There were a dozen of us, each with our own flower essence and in the end we each left with a dozen essences. It was, as I keep repeating, incredible and yet, I have never needed the remedy ever again.
I can see in my mind's eye where the remedies are in my herb room and there they will stay until someone else needs that specific magic.
The lesson? The wisdom of the Datura flower essence that I received?
The ability to connect with those who have past and the ability to release them into the light and carry on.
To connect to the reality of death without being traumatized by it.
To accept death as a natural part of the cycle of life.
To glimpse the places that separate life and death.

It's lovely and exotic and it smells like peanut butter.
And, it's poison.

It is full of alkaloids. Part of the family of eens: nicotine, caffeine, morphine and so on.
Many beloved, many demonized.
The sweet violet flower has a similar alkaloid taste to tobacco.
All to varying degrees, poisonous alkaloids.
And oh so pretty.

*This Datura was photographed at a co-op in Bellingham, Wa, late this summer. It was with the ornamental garden plants.

Scotch Broom

Scotch Broom is generally an unloved plant.
Considered a noxious weed by most, I don't recommend planting it, nor do I judge you for ridding your property of it. What I do hope is that the next time you happen by it is to take a small moment to recognize and appreciate it's beauty.
It looks almost as sexy and exotic as an orchid to me.

As we begin the descent into Fall, I find myself romanticizing the passing Summer. I don't love the reality of summer, just the fantasy. It's too hot and unstructured for me, although I do love to sleep in.
(I took this picture in June in Portland.)