Since arriving, we have spent the last ten years regenerating land we have taken on to provide key ingredients for our ORTIR Apothecari niche perfumes.
Right now everything is blooming and there is lots of work to be done outside.
After the full-on social whirlwind that was May and with this glorious spell summer sunshine set to stay, you can find my busy outside in the fields.
The scented crops grown and that will be distilled later in the season are now being carefully tended by hand. Absolutely no pesticides are used here on our land. We do not have industrial sized kit, OK, maybe just a modest sized tractor, but I am still using some excellent hand tools, passed down through the generations.
Things looked after and built to last.
Being back outdoors, knee deep in aromatics is back breaking work. As well as time consuming (I'm taking leave of absence from the social media parade).
Some crops are grown by the acre, others amount to a small strip for trials. Some are foraged.
It is definitely hard work and I'm feeling it, but the rewards are worth the pain as we have found that the quality of the oils captured through the extraction process are outstanding.
And of course, the biodiverse habitat created by farming in this way ensures an abundance of wildlife that flock to the fields, helping with the crucial pollination and supporting our planet.
Win win.
After dinner last night we were back outside enjoying the warm scented air, gravitating back towards the crops. Weeding with one hand – glass of wine in the other.
There is much pleasure to be had in making our hay whilst the sun shines, when the days stretch out that little bit longer.