Here at Mountain Rose Herbs, we understand that the modern commercialization of Mother’s Day sometimes makes it easy to forget that this holiday is rooted in age-old celebrations from around the world. One of the most ancient “mother holidays” was a festival held by the Greeks in honor of Rhea, the mother of the gods. At dawn, people made offerings of cakes, drinks, and flowers in her honor. Other celebrations, like the sixteenth century “Mothering Sunday,” evolved over the centuries to become a day in which grown children visited home and little ones picked flowers for their mothers. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

My family loves fruity vinegars. We use them multiple times a week in vinaigrettes, marinades, barbecue sauces, sipping vinegars, and shrub cocktails.

Albania's mountains and valleys teem with rich botanical bounty. Mountain Rose Herbs and United Plant Savers visited its fecund countryside at the peak of the autumn harvest to meet the farmers and wildharvesters who help bring culinary apothecary herbs and fruits to plant lovers across the world (like the ripe and ready hawthorn berries above!).

One of my first experiences with turmeric masks was at a relative’s wedding many years ago. It was the night before the big event, and the bride’s house was buzzing with excitement! There was chai on the stove, endless platters of food, aunties chatting, and a line of hands waiting for traditional bridal henna tattoos. Later in the evening, the bride sat in simple clothes while her family sat around her to perform a few wedding traditions; one of them was putting turmeric paste on her arms and face.

Palo santo is an amazing essential oil, but blending with it can be a bit tricky. It has a tenacious scent that is resinous, sweet, and woody all at the same time, with hints of citrus notes that weave in and out of the complex aroma. Palo santo oil is almost a blend in of itself, which makes it a beautiful addition to personal perfumes, energy or space work, and body care products.

Both my husband and I love to cook, and we delight in sharing our gastronomic adventures with those we love. However, I’ve always hated using plastic wrap each time we take one of our culinary creations out the door. So I set out to find a plastic wrap alternative. When I mentioned it to a like-minded friend, she suggested I get a set of silicone stretch lids. It seemed like a great idea, but I struggled to get them on my favorite handmade bowls. Then I found beeswax wraps.

Having grown up in a culturally diverse area of the country, I was incredibly lucky to be exposed to many different beliefs, forms of art, and my favorite cultural expression—food! I spent many of my formative years with friends whose family origins spanned the globe. One of my closest friends during these years was Middle Eastern, and having spent so much time and so many meals with his family, I developed a real taste for their cuisine. Lucky for me, they enjoyed my help preparing meals and even made me an honorary Armenian for my ability to roll “choreg” with the best of them. I learned many of the traditional spice blends that were used, but when I was first introduced to za’atar, I immediately fell in love, and it remains my favorite seasonings to this day.

When choosing a tea, the endless variety can be a little daunting. Formosa oolong? Green sencha? Perhaps genmaicha? How about pu’erh, or Darjeeling? What gives each of these teas its unique flavor? Many people don’t realize that these varieties' wide range of distinctive styles and tastes all begin with the same humble leaf: Camellia sinensis.

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.