Constructive Criticism Required

As you may have gathered I’m on a mission to get flower essences used by as many people as possible ...

It’s what I’m here for and in amongst all the chaos and trauma happening around us flower essences are the gift that I have to help you deal with it, to make your life flow more easily, for you to become who you are meant to be and to make the world a better place.

But….

For that to happen as effectively as possible I need to know how to make it easier for you to buy them.

  How can I make it easier for you to learn what essences are, what they do and why you might need them???

These days people are mostly buying their essences through the website and this is what i need help with most now.

So the question is :

How we can improve the site ?

 It is really easy for me to make changes if I know how it could be improved.... Don’t be scared in being honest – I really won’t be offended.... sometimes it’s easy to overlook the obvious especially with things you are so familiar with and nobody get’s everything right all of the time and this is more important than my ego....

So some things to think about....

When you visited the website could you easily find what you were looking for?

 Was it clear what essences are and how they work? Were there too many words or not enough?

 Was there enough information about each of the essences for you to decide which ones you needed?

And if you visited the site and then didn’t buy one why not ? Was the whole experience too overwhelming or confusing to decide?  

If you did buy something was the process clear and straightforward ? Was the pricing about right ?

Is there anything that you would like to see added?

How can we improve our service to you ?

And if you haven’t checked out our website yet ....

Please do .....and then give me your brutally honest feedback... Please don’t tell me “It’s lovely, well done Saskia” - although always good to hear it’s the negatives I’m after this time.

You can comment below, email me, send me a message on Facebook or Instagram, even ring me if that is easiest for you...whatever works for you...and while you are doing so if you could also let me know where you first heard about our essences that would be most useful too.

 THANK YOU

Much Love,   Saskia XXX

Distilling Article

Last year I was honoured to have an article published by the online International Flower Essence Journal Sentire. It was about the research I am doing into the energetics of the hydrosols I am steam distilling and how they work when you dilute them down as you would a flower essence.

This article is now available as a FREE Download .. so just click the link and you can read more.

Since this article has been published I have been working with these powerful liquids more and more in my practise. Nearly everyone I see needs one of these ‘hydrosol essences’ alongside the essences made using the sun method in their personal combination. Unlike the essences I have made in the past, which seem to tell me quite easily what they are for, I’m having much more trouble pinning down descriptions for these ones - it’s almost like they don’t need us to know what they are for - they just come in, in quite a masculine/linear way, do their work and leave again. I would like to say I’m getting to know them but I’m not really, even though I have a strong relationship with the plants they are from. But what I do know is they are powerful and direct and needed and, at the moment, that is enough.

So, as it says in the article, if you would like to trial any of them and add any more insights to what they are for and how they work do get in touch and I’ll post one out to you.

Also if you are interested in flower essences - which if you have read this far I guess you must be - and the work being done with them worldwide I highly recommend you subscribe to this fabulous magazine.

Pollinators

Thank You …

We are incredibly grateful that so many of you recommend our essences. Loads of you rave about the changes you have experienced from using them to your friends and colleagues and clients and so much of our business is from word of mouth....

We have been wondering how to repay you and have come up with a plan !!

Selling through traditional retail outlets gets the essences seen by people who haven’t come across them before. However they need all the help they can to get them out to where they are really needed, they need people who have felt their effects and ‘get them’ and can tell people how amazing they are in a believable way.

We all know that we are much more likely to believe a friend or colleague or therapist rather than a sales assistant...

Will you join us ?

We are looking for ‘ambassadors’ of our flower essences (if you think of a better name do let us know… pollinators?).

These ambassadors would have their own unique code that they give out to their contacts which gives the customer a 10% discount of all they buy from us. It also enables the code owner (maybe you ? ) to receive a further 20% of that sale which goes straight into their bank account monthly. They wouldn’t have to hold stock – all on-line sales would go from us direct to the customer. A bit like being a complimentary therapy Avon Lady as someone so fabulously put it when I explained it to them.

Exciting times

We are very excited about the thought of people receiving money energy/nectar in exchange for their enthusiasm and the word getting out further and further about how amazing essences are.... after all we are mostly here to make the world a better place and the flowers have so much to teach us - it seems a shame to keep it to ourselves.

Is this you ?

So if you are a complimentary therapist, blogger, influencer, yoga teacher, natural health leader or just someone who is good at recommending products  and would like to make people’s lives happier and healthier do get in touch.

You don’t have to live in the UK as we post worldwide but you do need to know a bit about flower essences and how they work and why you would use them. We will make sure you have a good knowledge of our products beforehand which will be given in person or via telephone/skype .

Get in touch

We would love you to be part of our family and join us at this incredibly exciting time in the development of our company and we look forward to seeing the energy and lessons of the flowers spreading out to your corner of the world.

As this is such a good opportunity we are aware that we might have more uptake than we are able to deal with to start with and because of this we will be limiting the number of Ambassadors to begin with to 50 so do get in touch soon if you are interested.

Many Thanks, Much Love and Happy New Year

Saskia XX

Dowsing for Flower Essences

More and more people are coming to me for flower essence consultations both in person and on-line. So I thought I’d tell you a bit about how I choose which essences you need, in particular by dowsing.

Dowsing has been used for centuries as a way of tuning into one’s innate knowing or sixth sense which is something we all can access. It can be used for many things – from finding underground water to testing which substances you are intolerant to and it is a fabulous way of cutting through to the unconscious.

I use a pendulum to dowse for essences – this gives me a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer as I place my finger on top of the bottles of single flower essences whilst not being able to see the labels. I am still blown away by how accurate this is as a way of choosing which flowers you need for your growth and learning.

Before dowsing I ‘tune in’ to your energy – either from you being in front of me and telling me what you want help with/what’s going on in your life or from a photograph and a paragraph or two of writing. It is amazing how much information can be gained this way on a subconscious level and this helps a lot with a successful dowsing session.

Typically the whole process takes less than an hour – depending on how much information you feel you want to give me and how long we take discussing the essences that ‘come up’ for you for your own individual blend.

I recommend you take your blend twice a day for a couple of weeks and it usually contains no more than 7 different essences – more than this and things get a bit confused – a bit like using too many different varieties of flower in a flower arrangement.

And then it’s up to you! People experience flower essences in different ways – some people feel the shifts and changes in awareness happening within a day or two (and this is certainly the case with children). With other people it may take a couple of weeks, or even a month or two to notice that things have changes, you are responding to situations differently and issues that seemed insurmountable you are now tackling with ease. And for some people they don’t consciously notice any change - this doesn’t mean that the essences haven’t worked – although if they are the ‘wrong’ ones this might be the case- it is more that they have worked on a deep subconscious level that has yet to show itself (or be noticed) in the everyday life of the person.

For some people, who are on a journey of personal growth, or who have a lot of old trauma to shift they might like a new blend every month or so to uncover and work on the different layers as things in their life change.... some people like to have a new blend at the changing of the seasons and for others just one bottle will be enough.

If you have any further questions about any of this do ask – sometimes, when you are talking about something you do all the time, you overlook the obvious.

I am now available for consultations in various places locally here in Somerset – here at home in Wincanton, in Frome on the last Wednesday afternoon of every month and in Bruton every Thursday. Please get in touch with me for more details or to book a consultation.

 If you are unable to get to me we can work together by email from wherever you are in the world. For more details click here

Asking for Help

I’m not one to ask for help, I don’t ask for favours for myself unless I really really need them so this is a hard one for me. It’s hard for me to acknowledge that I can’t do it all by myself,  that I need (rather than want) other people and that things aren’t going fabulously well...

So this is difficult to write.

As you may know I’ve been concentrating solely on getting the flower essences out to where they are needed for the last year. I’ve given up my other forms of regular income so that I have the time and space to do this. I rebranded, re-labelled and re-vamped without any professional help. I know the essences are amazing at what they do, they are needed more and more in the world and it is my mission to get them out there. This is what makes my heart sing, this is what makes me feel alive and worthwhile and passionate. I know the flowers and what they do, I’ve been working consciously with their energies for fifteen years now and I know I’m really good at it. BUT……

Is there always a but ?  ....

I’m not selling enough to make a living.    (And I’m a practised minimalist when it comes to living expenses.)

 It may look like a successful and thriving business from the outside – and on many levels it is and slowly (too)slowly things are improving, word is getting out, and I know things take time to get established and that I’m not a very patient person and the economic climate is very uncertain at the moment etc etc etc.

 However I really don’t want to put all my ‘work’ and experience to one side just to pay the bills –these magic essences deserve more than that – as do the people they help.

So I’m asking YOU to help me.

So here is a list of Things you can do that really make a difference

1) Buy my essences for yourself and loved ones (they make great gifts, aren’t expensive, are ec-friendly and useful)... Because they are so effective I know this means that you don’t have to repeat buy often but if, when you are having a hard time, you remember that the essences are here that would be great.

2) You can recommend flower essences to your friends, your work colleagues, your clients, your family and their children –anyone in fact who is having a hard time with their lives and needs extra support. I am always happy to help with choosing which essences people need. And if you need me to tell you more about them so you can pass on the information  just get in touch.

3) Talk about the essences on social media especially if you have used them and they helped you (thank you so much if you already have – it helps A LOT).

4) If you visited the website and then didn’t buy anything please tell me why not .This is VERY useful information. It’s hard to know what is wrong if no-one tells you.

5) If you know (or are) a journalist, influencer, blogger please ask them to consider featuring flower essences on their platform. The more that people know about what they are and how they can help the more they are likely to buy them. I am happy to write articles, supply images, do interviews, speak on podcasts,give talks in person, send out essences for people to try –whatever it takes really...

6) If you know (or are) a retailer who has a space where the essences would fit I am always looking for new outlets. On-line sales are easier and more profitable but don’t get the essences seen by people who don’t already know about them.

7) Remember that I am also available for consultations. You can come to me here in Wincanton (and very soon various other places in Somerset)  but I also do on-line consultations which are just as effective in choosing which essences you need right now and mean that you get your own personalised blend specific to your needs made up for you. This is what I love doing most.

8) Get in touch if you have any questions. The more I know about you (the most important part in all this) the more me and the flowers can meet your needs. Tell me what you are having trouble with. Ask anything you don’t understand about essences and how they work.

9) Remember that we send our essences worldwide and that the postage is the same wherever you are and however many you order ...(for now anyway)

10) Share this post.

 Flower Essences are incredible. After all this time they still amaze me at how effective they are, what they can shift and how people can change by using them. Please help me to be able to carry on the work I was born to do. Imagine how great you will feel when our essences are used everywhere and by everyone and you can say “I helped that happen”

THANK YOU

With much Love and Gratitude,

Saskia

XXXXX

Are you a busy mum ?

Hit the floor running at 7am, on the move all day, collapse in a heap on the sofa unable to move as soon as the bedtime stories have been read and repeat again the next day....

If this sounds like your life you could definitely do with some essences to help make life just that little bit easier. To be able not to scream at your child, to be just organised enough to stop for a coffee at a friend’s or book an appointment at the hairdresser, to give you enough confidence to fight your child’s corner when you have been called in to see the headmistress again. The list goes on.

This is what my life was like when we first discovered and started making our own flower essences. My friend Christine and I had 3 ‘spirited’ boys at primary school between us when someone told us about flower essences. We were having big parenting issues, all three of our children needed extra support at school, my relationship with my partner was less than perfect to say the least and as well as that I was learning who I was and what I wanted to do with my life in amongst it all –oh and working 2 part-time jobs.

The great thing about flower essences is they work ! Not only that but all you have to do is to remember to take them... you don’t have to find time for a yoga class or an hour’s meditation – although of course that helps – all you have to do is take a few drops under the tongue twice a day and watch the changes happen.

Often when people first start taking essences- especially if it feels like your life is falling apart and a complete mess- you don’t notice the changes straight away. It’s only looking back after a few weeks you notice life has got that little bit easier, you’re feeling calmer and not so stressed and what seemed like a massive insurmountable problem slid by without a hitch and you can cope.

The other great thing about essences is that they work even more effectively with children. Because their patterns aren’t as entrenched as ours they are easier to shift. Sometimes just a few drops under the tongue, or in their bath in the evening often means that come the morning that thing they were having trouble with has shifted, they aren’t so angry, or worried, or afraid of what their friends think of them. Which gives you one less thing to worry about.

We designed our combination essences for everyday issues that people like us had. So whether you are struggling with anxiety, worry, self esteem, depression or speaking up for yourself (and many other problems of living in this crazy complex world) there is something for you.

If you want help deciding which flower essences you or other members of your family need just drop us an email and we’ll do whatever we can to help.

(Flower Essences are safe to take whist using other medication, breastfeeding or pregnant and are completely safe for children and animals too)

Hugging Trees

So when it all gets too much, when it seems like the whole world is going crazy, when it feels like we have no power and there is nothing we can do to change what is going on in the big wide world what do you do?  

Some rant, some demonstrate, some write letters... Me? I go and spend time in nature. I know how lucky I am that I can do this. For me the natural world is right outside my doorstep. Just a stone’s throw from my door there are trees to bring me comfort, flowers to make me smile, birds singing just for the pleasure of it whether they have food in their bellies or not.

Today I went and visited the oldest resident in our town - an ancient lime tree that has weathered the storms for hundreds of years. I went to see if the fires the teenagers can’t help but light in her base had finally finished her off, to see if she had any wisdom to impart, any comfort to bring. She is still breathing, amazingly and probably will for longer than I imagine. Leaning against her, like I did to my granny when I was small, I listened to the crows cawing above in the clear blue sky and felt her slow steady breath and everything seemed to fall back into perspective. She listened quietly to my concerns, my troubles, my despair and seemed to whisper back “there there child, you are doing the best you can, keep growing and learning and shining your unique light – that is all any of us can do”

Nature is so incredible, so powerful, so awe inspiring and so wise. The trees hold such wisdom, if nothing else, learn what they have to teach and if you can’t get close to one to bring your life and the world around you back into perspective we make quite a few tree essences that will impart their strength and knowledge to you to help you get through these confusing times.

Do get in touch if you want advice on which essences might help you right now or go to our ‘single 'essences’ page. Whether it be for not feeling so powerless, or weary or drained by this human existence there are trees (and flowers) that are willing to help you, you just need to ask for their help.

Sending you lots of love,

Saskia XX

Back to School

After the freedom and relaxation of the summer holidays which allows growth to occur on many levels I have found that children often feel anxious and nervous about going back to school. They feel so different to when, exhausted, they broke up so long ago in July. Besides being keen to meet back up with their friends there is an awful lot of change to accommodate and this can be really hard for some.

Children respond really well to flower essences as their patterns are much less stuck than ours and the gentle but amazingly effective energy of the flowers brings support and protection and help with the hurly burly, often bewildering minefield that the school environment can bring.

Below is a list of essences that your child might find useful in the coming school year. If you have ANY questions, or want advice about which other essences might suit your child’s particular needs, do get in touch

My Personal Space –this rose scented spray is great for children who are sensitive and often over-whelmed by other people’s energy. It makes a protective bubble so that you can cope with everything life throws at you.

Calm and Confident – this combination essence is perfect for when there is anxiety and nervousness about going into new situations, for helping with panic attacks and stress.

Speaking with Confidence – ideal for children who have trouble putting their hands up to answer questions in class, those who can be shy and withdrawn or for giving recitals, performing in concerts or plays.

Focus, Energise, Create – this is great for procrastinators and for getting homework projects done.

Walnut –this is a really protective essence ideal for any sort of change. It stops people caring quite so much what others think of them – ideal for teenagers who are beginning to find their own identity.

Nettle – this is great for setting clear boundaries, for finding the strength of character to say NO when something doesn’t feel right for you.

Bluebell  - this is a great essence for shy children. For those who don’t feel they deserve to be heard, for not being scared to hold your head up high and be noticed.

Peppermint – helps with concentration and clarity. Many children find classrooms very distracting spaces for learning and the energy of peppermint essence brings focus.

Bronze age distillation

It's always great taking our large copper alembic still out and about to show people how we distil herbs to use in our sprays. I love distilling hydrosols as,not only do they contain the essential oils and other chemical constituents of a plant but they also hold the energy of the plant they came from in a liquid form and as a flower essence producer this is very exciting.

Last time we were at Hauser Wirth nr Bruton at one of their fabulous events a gentleman came up and enthusiastically told us about an earthenware bronze age still he'd had a go at replicating. This got me looking more into the history of distilling and how distilling techniques and vessels had changed over the centuries, and how much it had stayed the same.

My mother's partner is a skilled potter and when I showed him the images of the still the gentleman had told us about I could see he was itching to make one similar so a few months later he came up, much to my delight, with the one pictured above.

The key thing with distilling anything is heating a liquid until a steam forms and then condensing this steam back into a liquid, and being able to collect the transformed liquid to get the required final substance- this may be a spirit or an essential oil or, in our case, a hydrosol/floral water. With whatever method you use there are inefficiencies and many variables. Our copper alembic still, of which the design hasn't changed for several hundred years, is pretty much perfect - the steam is taken away from the heated vessel to be condensed with cold water and collected through a tube to produce the liquid you are after (see image below).

With all things 'historical' one has to depend on a mix of previous writings/Google/ones own intuition. 'Hard facts' are sometimes difficult to ascertain but there are drawings and findings of those who have gone before us. Here is the best 'history of distillation' that I have found so far which states the first evidence of distillation at about 3500BC and gives further details of distillation through the ages.

So of course there were practical problems as there are with everything you do for the first time - we filled the container too full with (well) water and herbs - we used mugwort- so as not to taint the vessel too much with essential oil the first time... and as it boiled it overflowed. It was hard to condense the steam with cold water and/or a cold cloth to get a distillate from the lip. A design change I immediately suggested was to turn the 'brim' of the 'hat' up the other way up so water could be more freely added. But apart from that the hydrosol that came out was surprisingly potent -although quite dusty in flavour due to me insisting that we only used unglazed vessels as they would have in the bronze age - the 'mug' in the final photo is actually dated at 1400BC - and there is lots of experimenting to be done but as I stroked the top of the vessel with a wet cloth again and again to 'milk' the sweet drops of liquid from the steam I connected with generation after generation of herbal apprentices before me which,in itself, was enough.

If you would like to come and experience this primative method of distilling for yourself (as well as learning how to use a copper alembic still) to rediscover the healing power of hydrosols do get in touch to put your name on the list for our next workshop. 

And if you have any questions about this process do please ask. And if you want to find out about my work with hydrosol essences check out issue 4 of Sentire International Essence Magazine

Your own rose scented bubble

We are more than delighted to announce that our My Personal Space spray has not only been shortlisted for the Free-From Skincare Awards but has won a GOLD medal from the Green Parent Natural Beauty Awards in the fragrance category....

 One of our missions as a company is to get flower essences used by people who haven’t come across them before so winning awards like this helps raise the profile of what essences are and how they can help in your everyday life ....and makes me and the flowers dance for joy....

‘My Personal Space’ spray consists of flower essences held in pure English rosewater with the very minimum of (Soil Association approved) preservative.We distil our roses slowly and with love in a large, copper alembic still to maintain their natural fragrance, energy and life force.Rosewater has long been known for its amazing skin benefits - an anti-inflammatory , antioxidant and natural moisturiser, it cools and calms bringing heart healing and softening at the same time so just by itself it is fabulous ..but add flower essences into the mix and you've got an award winner.

This unique spray contains flower essences that protect you from all of that ‘out there’ - whether that's an annoying or bullying colleague, people on a crowded tube, not enough space in an aeroplane cabin, the noise of a city street or even family members you need to distance yourself from. It also has the energy of confidence boosting flowers to make you feel as fabulous as possible whilst you are in your very own rose scented bubble.

Spritz around yourself or directly onto your face to be immediately transported to an English rose garden all alone, refreshed, revived and ready to continue with your life in your own unique way.

The flower essences contained in this spray are :

Yarrow – for psychic protection, separation of self from others

Borage – for coping with all life throws at you in a calm and balanced way

Walnut – for protection from what others think of you

Nettle – for clear boundaries and standing up for yourself

Buttercup –for increasing self- confidence

Potentilla –for loving yourself just as you are

It is sold in an easy to carry, small enough for your handbag or in-flight luggage, 30ml mister and can be purchased here

We are aware that, as demand for this product grows, we won’t be able to distil all of our own rosewater but we promise that we will only use rosewater made in the UK by people that we are certain have distilled the best quality rosewater we can get our hands on.

Flower Essences and the Menopause

Once a word that was whispered by our mothers it now seems that everyone is talking about it ... of course it might be my age or it might be that at last we, as women, are reclaiming our power, our bodies, our emotions  and feel able to talk openly, without shame, about the natural changes that are occurring within us.

Whatever the reason, if you are reading this, you have some interest in the menopause and are looking for natural help to cope with the symptoms that can occur to varying degrees. We are all different and, hopefully, the wisdom we have gained so far in our rich and varied lives, has taught us that there is no ‘one size fits all’ when it comes to anything.

However flower essences really can help you deal with whatever emotional challenges that are occurring in your life as you negotiate these changes. Whether that be anxiety, irritability, mood swings, brain fog, change in sleep patterns, loss of interest in sex, loss of confidence or any of the various other ‘problems’ that are associated with this shift into the next phase of our life as strong, powerful, interesting, wise, sexy women.

Made in the same way as the Bach Flower Remedies, flower essences are safe and simple to use and contain the energy of the flowers they come from to help shift emotional imbalances, behaviour patterns and to change our awareness. They bring powerful change to help us deal with all life throws at us when we are out of balance and have been used effectively for many many years with great results.

They are usually taken as drops under the tongue several times a day for a few weeks at a time and are safe to use at the same time as any other medication as they hold the vibration of the plant rather than containing any physical matter. We make all of our own essences and bottle them by hand. Some of them are made from the same flowers as the Bach Flower remedies, some are made by other flower essence producers and some are unique to us. Always follow your intuition when choosing a company to buy essences from as, because they work on a vibrational level, it is very difficult not to put your own energy into the bottle along with the flower.

I truly believe that menopause is an exciting transition into the next phase of life and with the support of flower essences this part of our journey can be fun and uplifting and easy. This isn’t the end of our femaleness - it is a chance to change, to shift our focus, to move gracefully into our wisdom and power.

Here is a list of some of the essences I recommend for women struggling with the changes going on in their lives during the menopause and peri-menopause. Of course every woman is different and you might want to look at our list of single essences to find the ones that are more suitable to your unique situation. I also offer a consultation service if you are unsure about which essences you need or you can email me with any further questions.

Single Flower Essences:

Bindweed – helps you relax and feel less constrained and constricted in your situation.

Borage – helps you to be able to cope with everything life throws at you.  

Cherry Plum – this Bach remedy brings calmness when there is panic or nervousness.

Dandelion – this is great for feeling confident, grounded, cheerful and vibrant.

Evening primrose – helps bring awareness and light to our fears and dark thoughts.

Herb Robert – helps when we are feeling particularly sensitive.

Peppermint – this is great for when you are feeling foggy and forgetful and in need of extra energy and focus.

Walnut – this is the classic Bach remedy for dealing with change and feeling safe and protected whilst the shifts occur.

Wild Rose – brings vitality and helps us feel more alive as we let go of the grief of losing our fertility.

Yarrow – protects from outside influences and stops us taking on other people’s draining energy, helping us feel safe and more sure of ourselves.

Combination Essences:

Sexy and Gorgeous  - this is a great confidence booster and helps us feel present and safe in our bodies, taking away any fear of showing our true selves and intimate feelings.

Calm and Confident – great for anxiety and loss of confidence this combination is very effective in helping to deal with all those situations where we are nervous or unsure.

Sprays:

Easy Sleep Spray contains flower essences held in cool and calming lavender water. It can be sprayed all over yourself to cool down during night sweats bringing untroubled sleep.  

Lots of love, and do get in touch if you have any questions,

Saskia XX

PS ...this article has also been published in Rejuvage - a website and hub that promotes positive ageing. 

Listening to flowers

One of the exercises that I often use when I teach workshops is to get people to sit quietly for just ten minutes with a flower that they are drawn to when walking around the garden (or field). I ask them to sit and just observe ... observe the plant itself – it’s physical qualities, how it grows, where it has chosen to grow, how healthy it is – and then to observe their own thoughts and feelings  during this time. Some people find that drawing the plant increases the depth of interaction or writing down anything that occurs to them - this could be part of a longer exercise.

Once their ‘date’ with the plant is over, they are encouraged to share their experiences. I am constantly amazed at the healing that can occur in just this short time. Sometimes long forgotten memories come up, sometimes powerful emotions, some people fall into other- wordly daydreams, others are just astounded at the physical beauty of the flower that they had never properly appreciated before. But they all come back changed in some way, something will have shifted, something will have been learnt or remembered and that’s just with sitting quietly, with intention , for ten minutes.

Imagine what happens when you are able to take the energy of that plant inside of yourself to receive it’s wisdom , as you do with a flower essence, when you can truly get to know it over a length of time, to feel  it’s vibration flowing through you, to know that you are both part of the same story... giving and taking....learning and gaining awareness.

Plants give us so much – healing, medicine, food, clothes,energy and so much more – and yet how often do we say Thank You, how often do we acknowledge their gifts, how often do we give something back to them or notice that they are even there ?

There is more and more 'proof' of the wisdom and intelligence of the plant world – I heartily encourage you to go and sit with a flower or plant or tree you are drawn to for just ten minutes and receive it’s healing. Anyone can do it. If necessary the plant/flower can be brought to the person, or rather than sitting on the ground a chair can be used and children love doing this - their observations can be really insightful, noticing things you hadn’t and seeming wiser than their years.

Plants are our teachers - we just have to remember to turn up for class.

Meaningful Work

“We are not human beings having a spiritual experience: We are spiritual beings having a human experience.”

Many moons ago this quote was written on the side of a wooden building I lived in. I was reminded of it again last week when called back to my florist’s profession where I had to roll up my sleeves and get more physical and creative than I’d been for a long time for an event that would be over in a day. Sometimes this feels like a waste of time, a pointless exercise, a ‘what am I doing this for’- especially at the end of a long tiring day. But then, when engrossed in the bridal bouquet at the end of the week, I consciously realised that this was sacred work that we had been doing. It had been given to us to bring the right flowers to the celebration of two people’s deep love and commitment for each other as they tied an eternal bond. There was a reason I was here on a deeper level and everything felt all right again. And I realised that for life to feel good it needs to be meaningful.

Mostly I am doing ‘work’ that so obviously helps with the well-being and health of other humans that I don’t have to be reminded of my connection to ‘spirit’. But when your ‘work’ isn’t so obviously connected it is good to remind yourself of why, on a deeper level, you are called to do what you do – and don’t panic – there is always a reason but sometimes it takes a while to realise what it is. Serving humanity - in whatever way, bringing more love into the world, making the world a more beautiful place, bringing grace and meaning , supporting others in their dreams of a better world, creating a space for things to move forward etc etc etc – the list is endless but when you look deeper you will find the meaning , the reason, the 'spirit'.

I think the point I am trying to make is that whatever we are ‘doing’ in life there is always a spiritual/sacred element to it. It feels like it is time now to be more aware of this in our day to day lives. To bring more depth and understanding to our existence, to bring more awareness to the fact that we are spiritual beings and that, in itself, is enough….. The being human bit can be tough sometimes I know – but luckily we have the energy of the flowers to help with that and they have a lot to teach us about sacredness, spirituality and finding meaning in the lives we live and what we do.

Consultations

Don’t get me wrong I love sending flower essences out to you all around the world knowing the flowers are going to where they are needed most and helping you in your life wherever you are and whatever you are struggling with but for me it’s giving consultations in person where the magic really shows up.

The excitement when  someone new knocks on the door and I have no idea of their story or their energy or what impact our interaction will have is what makes me really tick.

It’s when I get the chance to open my box of essences and ask the universe (through my pendulum) what flowers you need most for your healing –and every time it blows me away. To have discovered the gift I have and the connection I have with the flowers makes my heart sing, to know what I’m here for, in itself, is a gift.

 I have always been fascinated in people’s stories and how they behave, what they talk about, what their focus is, the trauma’s they have endured and how they’ve pulled through. For someone to come to me for help when they are going through a hard time, or for help with their self-development is an honour.

Flower Essences are ‘self-adjusting’ which means that they only work as deeply as you are ‘up for’ – although this might be an unconscious agreement- and people come for endless reasons. A crisis in their life may have occurred and they are in need of extra support, they might need essences to shift things on in their life, or to make things move for them in a smoother, less difficult way or to give them perspective on where they are at in their lives right now. The reasons are as different as the people themselves.

Because I use a pendulum to decide which essences are needed you don’t have to tell me everything that is going on for you – unless you want to and then there is space for that too. The sessions are informal and usually last less than an hour.

And then there are the shifts people make. How amazing to be able to give someone a bottle of flower energy and for them to experience profound shifts in their lives and outlook. Sometimes the effects are more subtle until they look back on their lives a few months later. Sometimes they feel the changes the next day (especially with children whose patterns are less stuck) and sometimes it might take a couple of weeks or so –and then sometimes people don’t notice anything which doesn’t mean nothing has happened it just might be in their subconscious that the shifts needed to happen.

Being able choose what essences someone needs and to be able to give them to them brings me joy and because I want this service to be available for all I keep my charges as low as possible.  For some people coming to me only once does the work that is needed and for others they come on a regular, semi-regular basis to get to the bottom of things.

If you live too far away to come to me in Wincanton (East Somerset) I can dowse for your essences online with an email and a recent photograph of yourself which also is amazingly effective.

And then there is the feedback I get ….

“I’m almost embarrassed to admit how distinctly different I feel today. No tears post-school run. No need to crawl back to bed because I feel so exhausted. Whether it’s your generous time yesterday, the remedies, or a combination of the two, thank you. It feels like I’ve turned a corner”

"Thank you so much - they arrived today and we are both feeling much better already - as ever you've worked your magic"

"My lovely friend gave me a combination of essences that you made for me. How lovely, the packaging, the bottle, the little card and even the beautiful book with all the information in. It’s really beautiful! This combination of flowers definitely suit me, everything just fits. I wanted to say thank you so much for doing such a wonderful thing for those who need a boost."

So if you feel that coming to me for a consultation is just what you need right now do get in touch….

What are flower essences ?

When you are involved in something all the time it is easy to forget that not everyone knows what you are talking about. And as one of the aims of Saskia’s Flower Essences is to get essences out to people who wouldn’t normally use them or know what they are I thought I’d better go back to basics and answer some FAQ’s

1)      Flower Essences aren’t the same as essential oils. They do not  smell

2)      Flower Essences only contain the vibration of a plant held in liquid and contain no physical plant matter. Each essence contains the vibration of that particular plant and taking it into our bodies reminds us how to be more like that plant. The plant's unique vibrational pattern is captured between water molecules usually by the action of sunlight which transfers the flower's energy as it floats on spring water.

3)      They are completely safe to use while taking other medication.

4)      Flower Essences are usually taken as drops under the tongue but can also be put into drinks or your water bottle, used as a spray, added to skin creams or added to baths.

5)      Flower Essences are also known as Flower Remedies – but legally we aren’t allowed to call them that anymore -with the exception of those made under the Bach registered trademark.

6)      The most commonly known flower essence combination is Rescue Remedy

7)      Flower essences are mostly used to shift emotional states, bring awareness to entrenched patterns and to change behaviours .We are not allowed to say they help with any physical symptoms but it is generally known that one’s emotional state affects ones physical wellbeing – so if we address that we become mentally and often physically healthier.

8)      Flower essences work really well with, and are completely safe for, children whose patterns aren’t as stuck as they become in later life. Animals also benefit from them –especially those that live with humans and absorb their energy. Some people also add them to their watering cans to help sick plants or plants suffering from shock or trauma.

9)      Flower Essences are usually preserved in vodka or brandy but if you are unable to take alcohol we also sell them preserved in apple cider vinegar which is equally as effective but has a shorter shelf life.

10)   Different people respond differently to flower essences so it is difficult to say how long you should take them for. I recommend that for entrenched patterns you take a few drops twice a day for a couple of weeks or so. With our combination essences which are designed to address a particular experience or attitude we say to take a dropper full when you need/want to. It is how often you take them rather than the amount of drops taken that matters. You cannot overdose on essences or take the ‘wrong’ one – if you don’t need a particular essence it just won’t do anything.

11)   Flower Essences, because they work in a similar way to homeopathy, use very few flowers to make. 20 or 30 flowers (depending on their size) will make enough essence for approximately 10,000 dosage bottles –which makes them incredibly eco friendly.

12)   Most flower essences are sold at ‘stock’ strength and are meant to be diluted down further in water. This is the best way to buy them if you want to make up your own combinations or add them to your water bottle. If you want the ease of taking them straight from the dropper bottle we also supply our essences at ‘dosage’ strength as we have discovered that most people don’t bother to dilute them. All of our combination essences are sold at dosage strength.

13)   Flower essences are extremely effective, safe and simple to use, ecologically sound and essential for the complexities of modern life.

If you have any further questions do please contact us.

Uncertain times

It seems that many of us are going through massive life changes at the moment – sudden loss of jobs, homes, partners, death of loved ones –the rug has been pulled out from under our feet… we are feeling wobbly, ungrounded, unsure of where to look for help, unsure of our future and longing to feel safe and secure again.

The political and financial climate around the world isn’t helping and those of us who are very sensitive are picking up on the fear and uncertainty around the globe as we become more and more aware of the fragility of our planet (or our species at least).

So of course I am going to say ‘don’t forget how much flower essences can help you shift and change how you feel’. Sometime it feels like this is all I am saying to people day in day out like a stuck record . I really don’t seem to be able to shout out loudly enough just how much the plant kingdom can help us in our hours of need, how much support it can give us, how much nurturing and how much the plants and flowers can shift how we feel about a situation bringing back hope and the energy to change things.

FLOWER ESSENCES ARE POWERFUL TOOLS OF CHANGE. USE THEM.

They are begging to be of service, to show us how to be, to change how we do things, to help us as a species and as individuals.

Here are just a few of the flower essences that I have been using myself and giving out to clients recently for the sudden changes occurring in their personal lives :

Dandelion (for grounding)

Cowslip  (for feeling safe/nurtured)

Twayblade ( for not being scared to jump)

Walnut (for support during change)

Borage (for feeling like you can cope)

Yarrow (for protection)

Rio Clarillo (for going with the flow)

Harebell (re-alignment)

I do offer an online dowsing service for anyone who needs help deciding which essences they need as well as consultations from my home (for now) in Wincanton (Somerset)

Sending BIG HUGS out to you if you need one today,

LOTS OF LOVE,

Saskia XX

New Year, New You

Although just a date on the calender  New Year always bring a time of reflection, of hope for the future, a wishing we’d done something differently, a wishing that we had dealt with something in a ‘better’ way, a wishing that, overall, we could improve on our game (whatever that may mean to us).

There is no better time to take flower essences. Winter time, when we are drawn into introspection and digestion, brings with it long nights and dark days and space to analyse, to mull, to plan. The flowers of summer held magically in liquid bring their energy to heal and support and awaken desires. All we need to do is take them.

What is it you need help with? How do you want to change? What are you planning? Where could you go if only ……?

The nature kingdom is waiting for you to ask, waiting for you to reach out, waiting for you to notice all the lessons it has to give.

Flower essences not only bring awareness in a really safe and simple and effective way but they help with the shifts, the changes, the resolutions. Why do something alone when you can have flowers along for the ride.

Sometimes it’s hard knowing which flowers can help you the most so do please get in touch for advice on which essences might help you in the work (and play) you want help and support with in 2018.

Wishing you all the VERY BEST in the New Year,

Much love,

Saskia

Sexy and Gorgeous

If the name of this combination essence makes you feel uncomfortable then this is the one for you.

Often we thought about changing the name of this combination so that it would make people feel more comfortable, something more general about confidence and self-esteem but then that was the whole reason we made it…. to help people feel sexier and more gorgeous and to help them get over the blocks they have about being that …it’s about being more in your body, about being unashamed of your desires, about feeling good about yourself and unafraid to let people see who you really are in all your imperfect  glory.

So even though changing the name might help sales it’s staying ….

 I remember being so excited when I came up with this combination from our range of single essences. The thought of being able to help people feel great about themselves, feel okay about being sexual, unlocking their power and going out there and saying ‘Hey this is me, here I am, aren’t I gorgeous, aren’t I fabulous?’ was really exciting (and still is).

Imagine what the world would be like if everyone believed they were truly beautiful inside and out.

Often people ask ‘does it work?’ I look at them sideways and give them my cheeky grin and say ‘what do you think?’  ….they look me up and down and nod slowly.

It’s been a long journey for me to feel Sexy and Gorgeous…and still I often don’t quite believe I can be, or am allowed to be…. I was a gawky teenager, I didn’t have my first proper boyfriend until my late teens, I don’t remember anyone saying how good I looked as I was growing up so why would I believe I was? For many years I was mostly unaware of my body – it did what it was supposed to do - why wouldn’t it? But it never really felt part of ‘me’, I was disconnected from it, uninterested in it, it felt pleasure (and gave it) but was it 'me'?, were these my feelings ? ….

 Believe me this essence has HELPED A LOT with the disconnection, the self-esteem, the self awareness, the fears.

And I’m sure it will help you too if you give it the chance.

Sexy and Gorgeous combination contains the flower essences of :
Potentilla  - for loving who your are
Wisteria - for increasing intimate expression
Gorse - for being full of sunshine and joy
Dandelion - for being fully present in your body
Buttercup - for self-confidence
Crab Apple - to liberate and clear any blockages and guilt

You can take a few drops when you need/want to or for longer held blockages and patterns you can take it twice a daily for several weeks at a time.

Flower essences only contain the energy of the plant they came from so are completely safe to use with other medication.

How did I get here?

Many people ask about how I first got into making and using flower essences and learning the lessons they have to teach.

Like all life journeys mine contains a lot of ‘chance’ encounters, meeting the right people at the right time, hard lessons, heartbreak, fabulous friends and moments of pure magic. My path so far seems to have been mostly meandering and undecided (by me). Following the path and clues that opened up in front of me, and using the gifts and treasures that I bought with me this time somehow I have ended up here.

I was brought up in the hills and valleys of Stroud, Gloucestershire, surrounded by rolling countryside and common land full of wild flowers that I wanted to know the names of from an early age. My father was/is a green political activist (and a gardener to earn a living), my mother is a creative, intelligent, stylish woman – a life model at the local art college when we were growing up and later a university lecturer – both were open minded and unconventional in their lifestyles. My sister and I spent a lot of time outside playing, surrounded and supported by a network of ‘other mothers’ –strong, independent, well read and intelligent women who I owe a lot of my ideals and outlook to.

Motherhood, after a period of working as gardener for HRH Prince Michael of Kent and running a landscape company, came early and easily. We lived with our 2 ‘spirited’ boys in a small wooden bungalow in the country near Stroud - a loose festival based style of living full of New Age travellers, ‘interesting characters’ and The Rinky Dink Bicycle Powered Sound System which Dan invented. Life was simple and complicated at the same time. Our parenting was intuitive and unchallenged, messy and unstructured. I lived a country life similar to my grandmother’s generation – baking daily on a Rayburn, foraging for fruit for jam, growing vegetables, re-using, recycling, living on a small budget and in tune with the seasons.

I was growing and delivering weekly cut flowers for a living after getting bored with gardening for other people. I needed more floristry experience to take the business further. A friend met the Prince of Wales’ florist at a party desperately needing more help. ‘With a name like Saskia Marjoram she better give me a ring’. The job was mine. Suddenly, on a very steep learning curve, I was creating flower arrangements at all the royal palaces around the country, State banquets and shooting weeks at Sandringham. It was hard work and fascinating, juxtaposed with living in a wooden bungalow filled with ‘interesting types’ down a country lane and keeping my own business going. I loved working with flowers and mixing the combinations and (unconsciously) playing with their energy. It was the first time I realised I had a gift with flowers (or they had a gift for me).

By the turn of the century we were all in need of flower essences –not only for our children with various educational  and behavioural needs and our own relationship ‘issues’ but also for growing and learning and shifting out of the tangled mess we had created. The essences found us in the form of the Australian Bush Flower Essences. Christine Felce,my very good friend, ‘other mother’ to my sons, homeopath and artist and film maker came across them AND THEY WORKED – powerfully and undeniably. At last it felt we had proper support on our journey as women and mothers. We wanted to learn more, we read and researched. Making your own wasn’t so difficult it seemed when reading the instructions in the book so we gave it a go (as you do) AND IT WORKED. We were hooked….. ‘I wonder what this flower is for ?’ ‘What happens if….’ ‘That oak tree feels powerful let’s make an essence from that’… The first essence we made together and after that we each made essences we were drawn to individually or ones we felt our nearest and dearest’s needed. After lots of work and learning whole new skillsets about design, websites, labelling, networking, and all sorts of other things we hadn’t imagined, it seemed we had a whole range of single essences which then felt like they wanted to be made into combinations(a bit like arranging flowers).

We fitted the essence company into our lives in between earning money and parenting and the personal growth which inevitably goes with using flower essences. I continued with my floristry business and my Prince of Wales work as well as giving flower essence consultations, all the time getting to know the flowers, and how they interacted with humans,in a deeper and broader way.

Our boys grew into teenagers. The boys and I moved into town and when they both had finished their ‘education’ I travelled the world visiting friends as I went. On my return the essences were still there but I was unsure which direction my life wanted to go. I lived in various sheds in various places –some positively luxurious, others definitely not. The best one was at the medicinal herb nursery Herbs for Healing near Cirencester run by Davina Wynne Jones. Here I learnt more about the physical properties of the plants whose personalities I was, by now, so familiar with. I taught lots of workshops and lived close to the ground, gardening for my keep and living simply.

And then, for various and numerous reasons I moved to Wincanton, Somerset. The chance conversations and magic continued and I found myself gardening, floristing and making herbal products for Iwan and Manuela Wirth (of Hauser Wirth). By now I was mostly running the essence company alone and it felt like it was time to relaunch for its next phase. So here I am, living in Wincanton, back with the father of my children after a long break and continuing the learning and growing and allowing the magic in.

 The bottles have new labels, the website has been bought up to date and the flowers feel properly ready to go out into the world. I’m not one for adding ‘fluff’ or fuss and unnecessary words  but I know that its my job to do whatever I can to get the flowers to where they are needed. So if you can help this in anyway by getting articles written about how amazing essences are, telling your friends how essences have helped you, helping me get them into more retail outlets or even just giving them a chance to help you on your own journey please do.

Authenticity

“When a woman says, 'I have nothing to wear!', what she really means is, 'There's nothing here for who I'm supposed to be today.”  Caitlin Moran.

Flowers have an enormous amount to teach us … throughout their whole being they are their true selves… from seed to shoot to growth to fruit to seed they are themselves through and through. They don’t pretend to be something else to fit in, they don’t adjust their behaviour to help others feel more at ease, they know who they are and just do whatever needs doing to carry on with being them…

A rose is a rose is a rose (‘and by any other name it would smell as sweet’). It knows who it is and behaves accordingly – admittedly it adjusts to its environment but still through the wind and the rain, the pruning, the having to grow in less than ideal soil it is as true to itself as it can be.

So why is it us humans have such a hard time to be our authentic selves? And how do we get back to who we truly are?

Our personalities are made up of every experience and interaction we have had and beneath that ‘personality’ our true self lies. We are constantly adjusting ourselves, making ourselves more comfortable, shifting and exploring the different aspects of ourselves, growing and changing… and it feels(hopefully) as we get older that we move closer towards who we truly are …and then we go off the path a bit and have to pull ourselves back.

And this is where flower essences come in.

Taking a flower essence brings the vibration of that particular flower variety deep into our being. In this way it can share its unique lesson with us, it can bring awareness to how we aren’t being true to ourselves, show us how we can shift and change our behaviour to re-align with our true being, to shed the layers of protection we have built up around ourselves to shine our true light and to grow more into that which makes us who we are.

Each flower has its own lesson to share with us - some we might need more than others, some might speak to us more loudly, some we might resist as we aren’t ready to hear what they have to say yet, some might bring us to an awareness we aren’t comfortable with –but they all are waiting to be heard, to help us as humans grow towards the light and shine.

So please, please keep taking your essences and learn from them how to be truly you.