Plants

The benefits of Bay

We are lucky to have a huge supply of Bay in the garden thanks to a rather old and beloved Bay tree. I love adding the leaves to our herb bundles for burning.

Did you know that Bay leaves contain Linalool a compound known for its calming properties, also present in plants such as Lavender. Studies have shown that Linalool reduces elevated stress levels to almost normal conditions.

These lovely leaves also contain Eugenol which is known for its antiseptic, anti-inflammatory and pain relieving qualities. As mentioned in our previous post, burning is an effective way to release the therapeutic benefits of a plant into your environment.

You can find Bay in our best selling herbal garden smoulder sticks.

Plants

The magic of Goldenrod

It is lovely to watch the flowers that you have planted grow, but it is extra special when they find their own way into your garden themselves, which is exactly what happened with some Goldenrod this year.

Goldenrod is known to be richer in antioxidants than green tea. Its Latin name, Solidago translates as ‘to make whole or heal’ and reflects its long use in herbal medicine. It has superb anti inflammatory action and pain relieving qualities thought to help arthritis, cold and flu symptoms and bladder & kidney problems.

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Botanicals

What is a Salve?

If you haven’t used a salve before, it is probably different to the consistency of a lotion or cream you may be used to. A salve is completely water-less (like all of the products we concoct) which means there is no need to add a preservative to the product. When water is used in skincare, it gives a lotion like texture to a product but requires the addition of a preservative to keep microbes and bacteria from developing. Some preservatives can be harsh for the skin and we prefer to steer clear of them, opting for a completely natural product.

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