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An Aromatic Tour of France, part one

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I can’t believe it was just over 10 years ago I went on an aromatic tour of the Drôme Valley in France, with Penny Price Aromatherapy. It was a fascinating week learning all about the essential oils, from plant to bottle, and even having a go at distilling oils ourselves.

The Drôme Valley is in the south east corner of France, in the Pre-Alps, which makes for some fantastic scenery.

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The Drôme Valley, South East France
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Resting and enjoying the view after a hike up the mountain
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Looking towards the Alps

Essential oils come from all over the world, with this area being the centre of the perfume industry, who are the biggest buyer of oils, far outstripping the demand from aromatherapists. It is covered in fields of lavender, clary sage, Melissa and herbs, with the odd, rusting still for good measure (stills are used to distill the oils).

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One of many lavender fields
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Clary sage field
An old still at the side of a field

Before modern, fast tractors the stills were moved to each field as they were harvested, as the plants start to wilt and lose their essential oils as soon as they are cut. This ensured the highest yield possible.

Industrial technology (and demand) means that the stills are now much bigger, can’t be moved and have whole barns built to house them. Tractors get the plants to the still quickly, in bulk and the plants are then hoisted into the vats. The only old-school technique used, as I remember, was the man jumping on the plants in the still to squash them down and get more in!

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Melissa being hoisted into industrial stills

Some oils did still require hand processing (or maybe it was just to get us involved!), such as linden blossom, in which we had to separate the petals from the stamen. It was a good excuse for a group natter anyway. Linden blossom is one of my favourite oils, it’s such a beautiful aroma, but very expensive. Mostly because it yields very little oil, and maybe because it’s hand-processed too?

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Hand-processing linden blossom

So many wonderful memories, it’s great to re-live them here. More in my next blog!

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The garden is open!

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From 11-4pm today (Sunday 1st July), it’s Belper Open Gardens and if you’re in the Openwoodgate/Bargate area, call into Barbara’s for beautiful borders, a hands-on, have-a-go sculpture, fascinating before and after photos, a fountain to dip your feet in to cool off and last but definitely not least, the most delicious cakes you’ve ever tasted!

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Sneak peek: Belper Open Gardens, 30th June & 1st July 18

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This is one of Belper’s hidden gems, a garden that expands before your eyes, filled with scent and colour. Tucked away behind a terraced cottage, on the site of a derelict cactus nursery, this garden has been transformed. I’ve had the honour of a sneak peek to share with you here, and you can visit it as part of the Belper Open Gardens event on Saturday 30th June or Sunday 1st July.

Starting from the house, the garden follows the same boundary, with an apple tree, a cherry tree and a space to sit and enjoy the delicious tea and cakes that will be on offer.

Follow your nose past the lavender, through the arch of jasmine and rose (Meghan Markle got her inspiration here, I’m sure!) to the site of the old greenhouses.

They are long gone now and the terraces have been planted with a beautiful, bountiful array of colourful scented specimens that are at their best this month.

Find the sunken garden and enjoy the view towards Crich Stand, whilst finishing off your cup of tea. All proceeds from the sale of refreshments (and plants) goes to Derby Breast Cancer Support Group.

For more information on the garden and to contact the owner/designer, please visit

http://www.timeout-for-you.co.uk/

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Eden in Winter, part two

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I’m always surprised when visiting Cornwall in winter by how many plants are in flower. Daffodils out before Christmas, camellias in full bloom in February and rosemary that seems to flower all year. One plant that definitely wasn’t in flower was the lavender at Eden, on the bank outside the entrance to the biomes. But that just makes me want to go back again in the summer to see, touch and smell it in all it’s full flowering glory.

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Winter domed lavender goals

This hedge of beautiful camellias was just starting to flower.  Camellia seed oil, camellia sinensis, makes a skin-regenerating base oil that is full of vitamin A. Essential oils are blended into base oils (also known as carrier oils) to massage into the skin during an aromatherapy treatment.  I would add camellia base oil to sunflower base oil to make it extra nourishing.

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Camellia sinensis seeds make a skin-regenerating base oil

I wish you could smell this jasmine, it was quite intoxicating! It was climbing over one of the buildings in the temperate biome and capturing passers by with it’s sweet, floral, heady scent. Jasmine, jasminum gradiflorum, absolute (it doesn’t yield enough essential oil to make it commercially viable to distill it) is euphoric, helping to uplift you in times of emotional suffering and heartache.

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Jasminum gradiflorum is euphoric and uplifting.

These young lemongrass plants (cymbopogan citrata) were outside the Malaysian hut in the rainforest biome. As the zesty, grass-like leaves grow, the stalk will thicken up to become the lemongrass that you see in supermarkets today. The essential oil is distilled from the leaves and stem and is used as a digestive aid.  It stimulates the liver and immune system, and is an insect repellent too – use it in a burner to ward off midges.

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Young lemongrass plants

This is a black pepper bush (piper nigrum). It’s a climbing plant that is cultivated in India, Madagascar and Indonesia. The peppercorns grow in a grape-like formation, another reason for me to go back to Eden to take a photo of them! Apparently the Romans used black pepper to settle taxes as it was a highly prized commodity, today it’s one of the most widely available spices in the world. As an essential oil, it’s used as a circulatory stimulant, to get the blood flowing to stiff and achy muscles and to invigorate the senses.

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Black pepper invigorates the senses
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Eden in winter, part one

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The last time I went to the Eden Project in Cornwall was over 10 years ago so I was interested to find out what had changed and what had stayed the same.

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If only I could gallop away on one of these magical beauties

I was delighted the horse sculptures by Heather Jansch were still there to greet visitors at the entrance to the visitor centre. They are stunning, I remember being blown away by them when I first saw them, I don’t know how many years ago.

It was a cold, wet and windy day in the middle of February this year when I went, but thankfully warm inside, dry in the temperate biome and humid in the tropical biome. It is fascinating to see the array of plants grown inside the domes, and outside as you wend your way from the car park, through the visitor centre, down the banks of the ‘massive crater’ that houses the domes and across the bridge to their entrance.  (I will go into specific plants in part two.)

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Veg plot goals

This is the vegetable garden with the tropical biome behind. It’s just before the bridge to the biomes and right next to the canteens, so the kitchen staff can use fresh, home grown produce in their dishes. Delicious, sustainable sustenance!

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Crested partridge

A new introduction for me was to be met in the tropical biome by roul-rouls, a type of partridge originally from Burma, Thailand, Malaysia, Sumatra and Borneo. They are colourful, rotund birds that camouflage well on the rainforest floor and help with pest control in the biome.

Must practice my panorama skills

The biomes remain as impressive as the first time I saw them, like giant bubble wrap waiting to be jumped on and popped. From the (new to me) canopy walkway in the tropical biome you can really appreciate the structure, and get a great view of the rainforest below.

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When life gives you giant lemons…

The temperate biome feels like a garden I’d like to escape into, with it’s fragrant herbs, olive groves and citrus trees. There’s even a friendly goat to rest on when your feet are tired from walking all day.

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Smiley goat