Since 2013, Mountain Rose Herbs has hosted the Free Herbalism Project, a free biennial, community event located in our hometown of Eugene, OR. Each event, we host two experts in the field of herbalism, and these inspiring instructors go in-depth on any number of botanically inspired topics. Past presenters have included Rosemary Gladstar, Dr. Tieraona Low Dog, Guido Masé, jim mcdonald, and many more!

Herbal sprinkles are a quick and easy DIY project that will help you fit more healthful herbs into your meals. Instead of having your spices tucked away in the cabinet, keep a few versatile blends on your table, and you’ll find that eating herbs at every meal is easy—when they are right in front of you, you can’t help but use them! Pretty soon, you’ll wonder how you ever got by without such a pleasing array of spices at your fingertips to liven up breakfast, lunch, and dinner. 

We all know that many conventional cleaning products contain harsh chemicals that can be harmful to both our bodies and the planet (not to mention the budget-busting expense and all the waste produced by those empty plastic bottles and extra packaging!). We’ve been creating our own cleaning formulas for years, and we love how easy and inexpensive they are to whip up. 

Althaea officinalis, or marshmallow, is one of my favorite herbs. I love to grow this ancient botanical in my garden because it’s a stunning plant with a fantastic history. People have long viewed marshmallow as a food as well as a gentle remedy, because it is both pleasantly edible and a demulcent. When it’s growing in your garden, you can cook the young stalks and leaves just like any other pot herb or green; they’re wonderful in a salad, you can boil them or fry them, and they disappear into smoothies!

Our farm liaisons travel to the Southwest US to visit the family that's been channeling the region's heat into their top-quality organic chili powders for nearly a century!

Climate change may well be the greatest challenge humanity has ever faced. Carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions from extractive industry, agriculture, and modern lifestyles have resulted in today's increased ocean temperatures and acidification, dramatic weather patterns, droughts, fires, floods, and climate refugees seeking relief from the impacts of these disasters.

For as long as I can remember, I have had an affinity for anything relating to aromatherapy, be it the lovely scent of a new lotion, the pleasant fragrance warmly wafting from a candle, or the memories evoked by a classic perfume. As a child, I would spend hours carefully selecting flowers and herbs from the garden that, when combined, would produce “the best” aroma I could imagine in the moment.

Working with essential oils can be exciting, inspiring, and confusing all at the same time. There's a good bit of non-intuitive math involved. We purchase in ounces or milliliters, but then often measure and blend in parts, teaspoons, or drops. Such discrepancies can quickly become VERY confusing, not to mention stressful—essential oils are precious and potent, after all, so correct measurements are important to achieving safe, consistent results.

Pure essential oils can be effective and efficient additions to your aromatherapy, home, and body care creations. However, these powerful plant extracts come with a great responsibility to exercise restraint. A single drop of essential oil contains an incredible concentration of herbal properties, so all this plant potential must be dispersed to levels that are safe for our bodies to process.

I like to keep my routine simple when it comes to skin care, and single body oils have always been my personal favorite for moisturizing in the morning or at night. Because we all have slightly different skin types and reactions, a little trial and error is necessary to determine which oils are best for each individual. By becoming familiar with the different properties of particular oils, you can save yourself a lot of time (and avoid having to experiment endlessly!). While argan oil or jojoba oil will always rank among my favorites, camellia seed oil is quickly surpassing them as my go-to moisturizer. 

United Plant Savers' Susan Leopold and Mountain Rose Herbs' Jennifer Gerrity travel into the Balkan mountains at the peak of the autumn harvest to visit our organic farm and harvest partners in the Bulgarian countryside.

Amidst the stunning foliage of a golden autumn, I journeyed into the lush valleys and mountains of Bulgaria to seek out the wild plant collection sites where our regional partners harvest an array of our botanicals. Accompanying me on this trip was my esteemed colleague, ethnobotanist Dr. Susan Leopold, Executive Director of United Plant Savers. We wanted to gain a deeper understanding of the horticulture of Bulgaria, meet the people who harvest these plants, observe their traditional methods firsthand, and learn about the culture surrounding plants in the Balkans.