Plants, Products and Our Special Team.

Every Autumn I have a good think, I try to work out which plants we'll be needing for the following year and in what quantity. Then I wander through the greenhouse, over the croft land and around our garden and work out where on earth I'm going to put it all. Some things are easy because their growing requirements are so generous - Calendula can be started in September, some is kept in the greenhouse for an early crop, some will over winter outside if we get the plants in fast enough to establish themselves before the winter wildness begins. Early outside planting, even in a sheltered spot is quite a high risk strategy because winter can start early here, not with coldness but with ferocious wind and salt laden air that scorches everything it touches. I also make an insurance sowing in early March in the greenhouse just to be sure I'll get what I need.

The picking season for Calendula is long so we can pick and bathe the flowering heads in oil over the whole summer and into autumn. This is really important because we want to have the freshest, most vital Calendula oil so being able to pick and soak a dozen or so times a year makes all the difference.

The Roses are a different matter, these are perennial shrubs so we don't need to sow seed, instead we need to nurture our existing plants so that they bloom happily from June to October. We've chosen David Austin varieties that generally repeat flower because we need so many flowers, although we do still grow some of the older varieties which produce one glorious flush of blooms per year. Interestingly we've found that the scent of the second flush of flowers is always milder than the first. 

We've also had to be smart in our outdoor Rose growing, the David Austins that I bought as a test have all stayed alive but are miserable, even in the most sheltered spot they suffer from root rock in the wind and salt burns the leaves to black causing them to crinkle up. It's a sad sight. I won't be repeating it

I realised that Rosa rugosa grew really strongly here but it's a lot of leaf and not much flower as you can see in the photo below, plus it suckers horribly, quickly creating impenetrable thickets where you can't reach the flowers because of the density of the growth. So I looked at the double flowering Rosa rugosa varieties which don't sucker but do produce a lot of beautiful blooms - both Roserie de l'Hay and Hansa have done really well here, remaining small and manageable, making the garden glow with colour and they don't sucker so we can pick easily. Living where we do, it's such a good plan to look at what survives and try different cultivars of the same plant to get good variety.

Then there are the new products I've created which need a particular plant that is new to us growing in Harris. This year we launched the Sleep Cream which is such a beautifully gentle but effective product. This needed Chamomile which we already grow in plentiful amounts both on our own croft and in our neighbour Sue's polycrub but also Hops which are more of a Kentish plant. Outside was definitely not going to work so I cleared a bit at the back of the greenhouse and planted 2 healthy specimens training them up canes and then along the central ridge pole of the greenhouse. They are lovely and happily scrambling along so our Sleep Cream supply is looking good.

We grow so much, the greenhouse is wildly productive and living in a place devoid of lushness, I have created a heavenly escape within the protection of our Keder. I love the immediacy of picking in the morning, knowing that the plants will be prepared for use within minutes of getting to the workshop.

Vitality in skincare, teas and tinctures is everything. I often read about brands making products with plants they've bought in, and well sourced plants are good, but there is nothing like the vitality found in an organically grown plant, produced within minutes of the workshop, picked and used immediately. I can feel the life of it it in the oils, the hydrosols, the macerations and then the products. It glows through, vibrant and full of energy, unlike anything else. 

This commitment to grow or responsibly wild harvest underpins everything we do, every decision we make and it's the reason that we won't scale. You can't scale and keep this level of quality, grow and harvest so carefully, maintain sustainability in wild harvesting and still have the time to breathe, so as a maker you feel good in yourself.

Because the secret to all our work is not only the very best plants, oils and hydrosols, it's also our staff. Caroline who makes with a good heart and intention, Sam who does the same. Pippa who joined us for a little time this summer breathing love and connection into our workshop, Alexander who manages the day to day picking, posting and helps to make and label, Matt who manages all the e-commerce and troubleshoots technical glitches, who works away but is very much part of our family here, Ianthe who paints the designs for our labels with the most beautiful creativity, my sister Ju who comes on mad expeditions with me to find seeds and plant hunt. All these people with their kindness and commitment to deliver the very best we can, are the making of this rather eccentric little business.

So when you pick up a pot or a bottle of our products, reflect for a moment on all the energy and love that has gone into the making of it, and feel that as it touches your skin. From our hands to yours with a lot of love.