Understanding Aroma Notes for Essential Oil Blending: Base Notes
The art of essential oil blending is a delicate and thoughtful process that I often compare to the individual layers added to a painting. Just as each brush stroke on a canvas gradually builds on the layer of paint underneath to create a harmonious result, crafting essential oil blends applies the same principle. In the world of perfumery and essential oil blending, the three commonly recognized “paint” layers are known as fragrance notes, which encompass top notes, middle notes, and base notes. At the foundation of these blended layers, you will find base notes.
Also referred to as the fixative note, dry out note, or bottom of the aroma, base notes are the rich scents that linger the longest in an essential oil blend. Typically, base notes make up between 5% and 20% of a blend. Although this percentage may sound small, base notes truly make the age-old saying “a little goes a long way” live up to its name.
Mountain Rose Herbs Releases Its 2023 Impact Report
In a world where every action leaves a mark, the question isn’t whether we make an impact but rather how we make an impact. Enter the realm of “impact reports”— a transparent lens where companies provide a comprehensive overview of their operations, initiatives, and contributions. It’s not just about the triple bottom line — it’s about revealing the full scope of their footprint. This transparency helps bridge the gap between intention and action, ensuring companies build strong relationships by following through with commitments to responsible business practices.
Seedkeepers, with Rowen White | Tea Talks with Jiling
Rowen White is a Seed Keeper, farmer, and author from the Mohawk community of Akwesasne and a passionate activist for indigenous seed and food sovereignty. She is the Educational Director and lead mentor of Sierra Seeds, an innovative Indigenous seed bank and land-based educational organization located in Nevada City, CA. Rowen is the Founder of the Indigenous Seedkeepers Network, which is committed to restoring the Indigenous Seed Commons, and currently serves as a Cooperative Seed Hub Coordinator.
Organic Rising: Demystifying the Organic Movement
Nowadays, we are all aware of the term “organic,” but what does that really mean in the world of agriculture? Last week, I had the opportunity to attend a film screening of “Organic Rising,” the first feature-length documentary to demystify organic agriculture for the consumer. This event was organized by several Oregon nonprofits, followed by a panel discussion with the film director. I am excited to share groundbreaking insights and community reflections with you.
The documentary opens with a sweeping exploration of the American agricultural landscape, highlighting the contrast between two predominant farming methods—conventional and organic—and how they impact human health and the planet. Expert interviews, scientific studies, and real-life cases are seamlessly woven together to paint a comprehensive picture of the impact of each method, delving into the critical choice between chemistry and biology.
Interviews on Herbal Radio with Thomas Dick | Featuring Ruby Daniels
This week’s episode of Herbal Radio features the botanical spiritualist, conservation-focused farmer, and owner of Creasy Jane’s herbal remedy store, Ruby Daniels. As a young girl, Ruby spent many of her summers in West Virginia roaming around the outdoors and crafting herbal concoctions with plants she’d find along her adventures. Inspired by her grandmother, a wise herbal healer in her community, Ruby was intrigued to unlock the spiritual connection between humans and the botanicals surrounding us. Today, Ruby is an advocate for sustainable farming and wild harvesting practices through her soil conservation work with USDA, along with sharing Afrolachian history and herbal remedies through her business, Creasy Jane’s, which was inspired by her grandmother and many other herbal healers in her community.
Exploring the Senses Through Aromatherapy
Our senses tell us about the world around us. One of the most interesting sensory explorations is smell because our olfactory system sends signals directly to our brain and is one of the most immediate ways to trigger emotions. As you may have seen in the “blind tea tasting” video we shared a few weeks ago, blind tasting and smelling offers insights into how we can connect with plants before putting a label or perceived function on them. With that in mind, we’re excited to share this video of our friend, Erika Gentian of Sovereignty Herbs. Erika recently visited our headquarters in Eugene, Oregon to show us how blind hydrosol smelling can help us get to know our herbal allies. Learn more about how the power of smell can help you work with hydrosols for gentle, effective support.
BIPOC Community Herbalist Group Discussion | with Lucretia Van Dyke
Welcome back to Herbal Radio plant people! We’re thrilled to share this special episode with you this week to highlight the BIPOC herbalist community in acknowledgment of Black History Month. We’ve opened our platform up to amplify the voices of 5 BIPOC community herbalists and activists for an impactful and thought-provoking group discussion.
Our featured guest host and long-time good friend, Lucretia Van Dyke, is joined with Christina Lynch, Khetnu Nefer, Tyrone Ledford, and Ruby Daniels to explore the topic of Black History Month and share their unique and collective experiences being Black individuals in the world of herbalism.
We’d like to extend our gratitude for joining us for this necessary and impactful discussion today. Thank you, as always, for tagging along for another botanical adventure!
Sustainable Benefits of a Bioswale and Rain Garden
In Oregon, winters are notoriously known for rainy days, cloudy skies, and wet everything. Some may find it challenging to live without consistent sunshine, but there are many benefits to a seasonal abundance of water. The bioregion of Cascadia consists of numerous rivers, streams, and waterways that carry life to the land, providing nourishment for all species from the top of mountains down to the Pacific Ocean. In some areas, annual rainfall can reach up to 200 inches! So, what do we do with all this water?
Here at Mountain Rose Herbs, we are always thinking about how our business impacts our local watershed and how our company decisions regarding landscaping, stormwater runoff, and rainwater management can affect habitats further downstream. Our headquarters in Eugene, Oregon are adjacent to Amazon Creek and the Stewart Pond Wildlife Refuge. We have a clear daily visual of the ecosystems directly impacted by our presence. We built a rain garden and bioswale to prevent pollution and debris from entering our beloved waterways.
The Oral Tradition of Caribbean Herbalism
The Caribbean islands, scattered between North and South America, are a hotspot of weather, plant biodiversity, and culture. Islands range from tropical rainforests to chilly mountain peaks, some densely saturated with remote mogotes: isolated, steep-sided mounds on otherwise flat plains. The high humidity and rainfall contribute to a lush flora and fauna. There are over 11,000 discovered plant species, 189 amphibian species, and 564 bird species. The Caribbean’s herbal traditions are rooted in this abundance of biodiversity.
When I am in Puerto Rico visiting my family, I wake up to humidity and roosters calling. I remember this from my youth, too. I grew up mostly in Charlotte, North Carolina, but I came to Puerto Rico for long summer vacations and holidays to visit my grandparents and cousins. As an adult, I come back to see my family, to reconnect to the land, to learn more about myself. The knowledge my family and others have about the plants on the island is not a niche concept that makes them “herbalists” or “healers;” it is the common knowledge of a people about the world they inhabit.
Plant Stories | Featuring Kristy Bredin
This week’s Plant Stories episode features the marine herbalist, purveyor of seaweeds, and founder of Mermaid Botanicals, Kristy Bredin. With a passion for exploration, wildcrafting, and utilizing the medicinal plants of the Pacific Northwest, Kristy found herself drawn to the eldest marine ancestors of all botanicals we know today, seaweeds! We sit down with Kristy and learn about her journey that began through apprenticeships with wise herbalists who embarked her on her journey into the vast ocean of herbalism, wildcrafting, and seaweed activism. Kristy shares with us her profound knowledge of the ancient history of seaweeds, responsible seaweed harvesting practices, utilizing seaweeds as plant medicine, and even her recipe for kelp pickles!
