We’ve been hinting at a big announcement and here it is! On May 1st we moved onto a 45 acre farm in Madison County, NC!

This remote farm is the top of a quiet cove off the Big Laurel River, ranging from 2400′ to 3300′ in elevation. It is mostly forested with a couple cultivatable terraced acres facing southwest. There are three mossy creeks and several year-round springs on the property and all of our future distillations will use this filtered pure mountain spring water!

We haven’t had a chance to explore the whole property yet but the biodiversity is incredible! Already we have found dozens of species growing wild that are of interest for essential oils, including:

Carolina Sweetshrub (Calycanthus floridus): This bush has large amounts of camphor in it’s leaves and bark and the blossoms smell heavenly; perhaps like a sweet burgundy wine!

Golden Ragwort (Packera aurea): It smells like daisies but has powerful indigenous medicinal history.

We’ve also discovered: Bloodroot, Reishi mushrooms, American Ginseng, Bee Balm (Monarda), Lemon Balm (Melissa), White Pine, Sweet Birch, Eastern Hemlock, Mayapple, Solomon’s Seal, Purple Coneflower (Echinacea) and Wineberries!

We’ll have a chance to experiment with many of these and will soon begin planting mints and basils in the field for late summer/fall distillations, as well as lavender and other Mediterranean perennials for next year!

Part of our job here at the farm will be to help support a forest conservation plan which includes controlling drainage and invasive species. Many invasives are actually used in Chinese Medicine, including Kudzu. We are particularly interested in Multiflora Rose as it is plentiful here, we must control it, and we may be able to steam-distill it’s flowers and rose hips.

So the short of the long is that as this year progresses, we will be adding ever more variety to our essential oil offerings, thanks to this beautifully diverse forest farm! We’ll update you with more pictures and cultivation progress as we go. Thanks for reading and be sure to check out our website store if you haven’t been in awhile, we’ve added a few new oils.

Also, here is a 7′ Black Snake in some Stinging Nettles and Virginia Creeper for your viewing pleasure: