With summer on the horizon, my mixologist husband has started to plan for our annual hot-weather mocktails. He often has a theme in mind. For the last couple of years, he’s been working on functional fizzy drinks that are refreshing and match our wellness goals. This year—maybe because we are at an age where we’re starting to think more about ways to support our remaining brain plasticity and cognitive faculties—he’s focusing on herbs with nootropic properties that support the brain. So far, he has come up with two keepers using brain-friendly herbs that are going to make my patio afternoons delightful this summer.

Welcome! Today, hopefully, you will learn something new about the fruit of the bitter orange tree, which originates in Asia but has been part of “Western” herbal medicine for around 1,000 years. Perhaps better known, at least in some circles, for the production of essential oil from its flowers, the fruit of this tree is considered a very important herb in Chinese medicine. Western herbal medicine, however, has never seen it as a significant herb. As the acclaimed Eclectic physician Harvey Wilks Felter stated in 1922, “[It is] stimulant, carminative and tonic, but [it is] used chiefly as a flavoring agent.”

When it comes to waste, we know the basics: reduce, reuse, recycle. But the real question is, how do we transition from these fundamentals to a truly circular system? As the Sustainability Specialist at Mountain Rose Herbs, I am deeply committed to advancing our Zero Waste Program. This means that from the office to the warehouse to the production floor, we collect and sort every piece of discarded material that would normally end up in the landfill. Along with being the first company in Oregon to be certified, achieving the highest TRUE Zero Waste certification level (Platinum) was a significant milestone in 2016, and we have maintained this standard ever since. But even as we reach this goal year after year, our dedication to waste reduction continues to grow.

Stumbling upon a pristinely white piece of fabric is an uncommon, likely even nonexistent occurrence around my household. White tea towels, clothes, bed sheets, and just about every milky-toned fabric in between has, somewhere down the line, fallen victim to my highly mess-prone and creativity-hungry hands. Whether it be my unintentionally stained “coffee tie dye” kitchen towels or my most beloved DIY indigo-dyed pants, altering the original hue of fabrics is one of my favorite ways to express myself creatively.

Iron is at the core of how our bodies function. It's what helps deliver oxygen, keeps our metabolism ticking, and powers our energy levels. But the unfortunate truth is that many of us are running low on this important nutrient, leaving us feeling drained and sluggish.

At Mountain Rose Herbs, our independence allows us to keep corporate social responsibility at the heart of our values. That’s why changing our corporate charter to become an Oregon Benefit Company in 2018 was a natural step for us, formalizing our commitment to making a measurable positive impact on both our employees and our community. Not only did we formalize this change in our legal documents, but under Oregon law we are required to form goals, assess our progress, and report on our activities annually. With accountability at the forefront, we decided to choose B Lab’s rigorous Impact Assessment tool as the third-party standard by which to gauge our impact.

Each year when Mother's Day rolls around, I seek gifts that will make Mom feel loved and appreciated. I also aim to get her gifts that she will actually use. You would think I'd have it down to a science by now, but as May rolls around each year, finding the right gift seems to get even harder. Maybe it's because the older I get, the more I appreciate my Mom and want her to know that, or maybe it's that I've gifted her so many things over the years that I want it to be different. What I do know is that she most enjoys my homemade gestures of love. She knows I took my time to make her something, tailored it to her preferences, and created things she can use instead of things that will collect dust or create clutter. 

We love spring in Eugene! However, this is the time our stunning oaks, cedars, pines, and other trees release their pollen. Then we move into gorgeous early summer weather… except that is when the ryegrass and Timothy grasses that are so prevalent in our area join the trees in their pollen-fest. For people who have sensitivities to pollen, spring and summer in our beautiful city can be challenging. The silver lining for herbalism DIYers is this is an opportunity to try your hand at making herbal lozenges that can offer some seasonal relief.

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.

We are thrilled to launch the very first Mountain Rose Restoration Project of the year, and what better day than Earth Day? On Monday, April 22nd, we partnered with Friends of Trees, a local nonprofit organization, to coordinate the largest Mountain Rose Restoration Project, yet!

Back when we developed our DIY Four Thieves® Essential Oil Blend recipe for diffusing and external use, we received a lot of questions about taking the blend internally. We never recommend ingesting essential oils because they are too highly concentrated. However, the herbs that are the foundation of the not-edible essential oil blend are also a perfect foundation for a very edible (and delicious) herbal vinegar. Four Thieves vinegar is wonderful for culinary, body-care, and wellness recipes and is also an effective vinegar-based spray cleaner that just so happens to have a delightful aroma. Plus, there is something particularly satisfying about putting your personal spin on a classic formulation that has been part of the herbal lexicon for 500 years. This infused vinegar is a longtime Mountain Rose Herbs favorite!