As the springtime sun begins to shine through the clouds and blossom-speckled botanicals make their annual debut, there is no better time of year to celebrate the profoundly magical flora that surrounds us. Each year, the first Saturday of May we celebrate Herb Day. This holiday is an opportunity to bring together herbalists, environmentalists, and plant enthusiasts alike for a day of honoring our planet’s beloved botanicals. Throughout existence, plants have served as a lifeline of oxygen, energy, food, and medicine that play a crucial role in the future and longevity of Earth’s living creatures. For thousands of years, plants have been utilized around the globe as an integral healing resource that has shaped the world of herbal wellness we know today.

First impressions play an important role in shaping our perception of the world around us. Although lasting a mere few moments, our initial encounters with a new person, place, or thing, can leave a lasting impact that sets the tone for how we make decisions in our day-to-day interactions. First impressions are particularly persuasive when our sense of smell is involved, as our emotions and memories are tied closely to our olfactory system.  

In my last blog on understanding aroma notes for essential oil blending, I dove into the foundation of a blended fragrance, known as the base note or fixative note. In this article, I’ll be delving deeper into what is considered the heart of a fragrance, commonly referred to as the middle note or mid-note.

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.

Whether your unique mane coils into bouncy ringlets, twists into wild waves, or cascades down as straight as a pin, you’ve undoubtably experienced bad hair days. On too many occasions to count in my life, I’ve stumbled out of bed in the morning and glanced into the mirror to find a sight only explainable by a bird crafting a nest out of my frazzled locks overnight. After reaching for every fancy spritz and spray buried in my cabinets, I’d more often than not be left with relatively tamed frizz, greasy roots, and a wafting heavy perfume fragrance that was less than desirable. Inevitably, I would succumb to the classic slicked-back ponytail or throwing my mop of hair under a big hat on days such as these.

There are over 12,000 species of seaweed drifting in synchrony with our ocean currents, but one type of these uniquely diverse sea botanicals has taken wellness communities by storm in recent years. Recipes and advertisements highlighting the nutritional benefits of “sea moss gel” have been buzzing around just about every corner of the wellness world, and for good reason! I first encountered sea moss on a Pinterest blog detailing a vegan “bone broth” recipe, which instantly hooked my attention. As a vegan with over a decade of my life spent experimenting with plant-based foods, replicating a vegan version of such an animal-oriented fare was not something I had considered to be a possibility before. This recipe sparked my interest in uncovering the endless array of creative uses and nutritional benefits the ocean provides for us in the form of aquatic grassy tangles: seaweed!

In the worlds of fine wine or artisanal cheese, you’re likely to encounter terminology that can seem foreign to those who are not waist-deep in the art of vinification or caseiculture. Tea-tasting is similar in that tea connoisseurs use a unique language to describe the subtle nuances that you can find in a quality cup of tea. Fear not tea-enthusiast friends—I'm here to help you decode the descriptive terminology used in professional tea-tasting!

If you’re at all familiar with Mountain Rose Herbs, chances are you’ve heard us proudly shout from the rooftops that sustainability is always on the brain here. The idea that all life can harmoniously co-exist alongside our planet—absent of imbalance between what is taken and what is provided—is a concept woven deeply into our company’s seams. Whether that be our commitment to organic agriculture, fair trade relationships, zero-waste innovation, plant and river conservation, or community support, we truly keep sustainability at the forefront of our minds.

If I had a quarter for every time I’ve found myself guiltily staring down at the seed-speckled mushy remnants of a squash I freshly gutted, I’d be retired and roaming somewhere around the Oregon Coast by now. “What in the world am I supposed to do with all these seeds?,” I’d grumble to myself as the seeds seemingly stared back up at me with a desperate look of maybe, just maybe, this will be the day I use them to their full potential. Repurposing seeds that would otherwise be destined for the compost bin can feel intimidating, time-consuming, and messy (full disclosure – the messy part is true!).