Just the facts:
Technically speaking, I have an Associates degree in Horticulture from Cabrillo College, and trained as a Master Gardener. Beyond that, I’ve been actively and organically gardening for about 15 years now–first in Big Sur and now in Watsonville. My garden, I fear, looks terribly wild, but the plants are thriving!
A little background?
It all started when I was about 12 years old, and my mother brought home a copy of Herbs & Things, by Jeanne Rose. It was a crazy looking book, yellow-green and purple, and I thought it was hilarious. Being a Girl Scout and sometimes summer camper in southern California, I had of course heard the horror stories of oleander sticks used to cook hotdogs, and dead campers. Flipping through Herbs & Things, I thought, “Let’s see what it says about oleander.” It was classified as a tranquilizer! Well, no one, I supposed, is as tranquil as the dead!
School, life and work get in the way, time goes by and one finds herself living and working in Big Sur, where who should she meet but Jeanne Rose! A living legend, an icon. Still, it was a chance introduction and out of context. Only after I gave in to the instinctual urges from both sides of my family, and became an avid gardener did I finally come to remember my initial inspiration…
Herbs and Things! I had by this time bought a lovely gardener’s hand salve from a friend, and could never get hold of another jar. After years of trying every oily, sticky, thick fabulous-smelling-ill-working salve available in my small part of the world, I said, ” Enough!”
Time to bite the bullet. I bought a couple of books on natural skin care and set to work in the kitchen. By altering recipes and endlessly testing on myself and my family (but mostly myself), I perfected my recipe and got exactly what I’d wanted. Yay, happy hands at last!
Well, by now there were kids running around and banging into things, and disconcerted by the chemicals which seem to sneak into so many “natural” things, I began formulating more and more items for our use. We, all of us, have wild hair–I made pomade. Some days a girl needs moisture and control–I made a hair oil blend and flaxseed gel. My lips were beat from gardening, I made some super rich lip balm.
No longer breast-feeding, I wanted to experiment with chai tea, which can contain A LOT of caffeine, since it requires the tea be boiled in for 1-minute; I formulated my Chai Spice Blend, allowing me to have the flavor of Chai without the caffeine if I chose. I use it with Assam, Lipton tea bags, yerba mate or green tea, depending upon my desire.
Long story shorter: Completing the circle, a while ago, I undertook studies with Jeanne Rose, which is a fabulous opportunity. Everything I sell, we use. Before I sell it I test it on me; then I test it on my family; then I test it on extended family (some people call these parcels “Holiday Presents”). It was with the help of extended family, that I determined that sometimes all natural is too natural. This seems particularly true of creams, so I now add natural preservatives (Vitamin E oil or Grapefruit Seed Extract).
I keep prices as low as I can, and still make things to sell; I use the proceeds to finance my studies at the University and a little family fun.
Peace,
Cynthia RT
May 2009
