Description

Ingredients

Saponified​ oils [locally pressed Helianthus annuus (sunflower) oil, locally pressed Brassica napus (canola) oil, Theobroma oil (cocoa butter), Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Ricinus communis (castor) oil]; water; homegrown and wild crafted herbs; essential oils; kaolin clay​.

Plant Spotlight: Lemon Balm (Melissa Officinalis)

While Lemon Verbena gets the name spotlight, Lemon balm is the other citrussy plant in this soap and deserves a nod too! Unlike Verbena, which we grow in pots on our patio and bring inside over winter (It’s a native of South America after all), lemon balm grows profusely as a perennial in the garden in Northeastern Pa. It takes over our gardens, popping up where we least expect it! This one jumped the raised bed to ten feet away where it took root along the hedge. It is part of the mint family, and like mint, spreads quickly by rhizomes and seed.

While Lemon balm is a “traveler” of sorts, it is ironically reputed to have been used in the days of yore by beekeepers to actually prevent traveling. Purportedly, it was smudged in the hives to prevent swarming so the bees would stay home for the winter, securing the hive for another year’s harvest. I like this because it reminds me of the wandering gypsy called home by Sweet Melissa in the namesake Allman Brother’s song. (Sweet Melissa is a common name of the plant).

From “Sweet Melissa” by the Allman Brothers 

Crossroads, seem to come and go,
The gypsy flies from coast to coast
Knowing many, loving none
Bearing sorrow having fun
But back home he’ll always run
To sweet Melissa