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

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.

We are delighted to announce that this incredibly effective combination has recently been awarded Editors Choice in the International and highly acclaimed Beauty Shortlist Awards….

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 the first Green Party councillor in the UK (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 (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 the late Davina Wynne Jones (Rosemary Verey’s daughter). 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 this is what I’m here 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.