August Newsletter
A very good summer
We are enjoying a very warm and dry summer this year resulting in an array of colourful flower and bushes. July and August are the best months for the various lavenders and buddleias and August is the month to harvest the figs, which look extremely promising!
Plant of the month - Geranium
The geranium is a very versatile plant and we appreciate various of the species to brighten up our gardens throughout the summer months because they are not just tolerant of hot dry summers, they just seem to revel in them. However, there are a number of equally valuable varieties that are less flambouyant but no less useful. Indeed they are sometimes overlooked in the formal gardens. Important among these is the Herb Robert (geranium robertianum) which is now very common in our hedgerows. According to the seventeenth-century Doctrine of Signatures, its red colour denoted its therapeutic qualities: it was considered good for regenerating the blood and was prescribed for internal haemorrhages and diabetes. Modern tests have shown it does indeed lower the blood sugar levels. Geranium macrorrhizum is a perennial plant, native to Europe. It has magenta to pink flowers that bloom from May onwards. It is excellent ground cover and the leaves are strongly scented with geranium oil, which is used in perfumery. Pelarganium graveolens is the geranium most often used in aromatherapy and there are four main regions for their production, i.e., Bourbon, Egypt, Russia and China. This essential oil is very versatile and displays the following actions: Antidepressant, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, deodorant and tonic. Significantly it is known as a hormonal balancer, which is useful to ease the symptoms of PMT and menopause. It also helps to relieve nervous tension and stress-related conditions.
Product of the month - Yin Yang Skin Renew
Consequently we included the essential oil of geranium in our Skin Renew, which is balanced to take care of the skin particularly during and after menopause when it requires less of the lively fermented soya ingredient and more of the coconut oil. This is our Yin Yang universal carrying oil, present in most of our products. We chose it for this most important of ingredients, because of its natural acidity- combatible with human skin. Nature and science simply combined. Most skin care products on the market use an alkaline petroleum derived oil mixed with a chemical acid. However, I decided at the outset to use the acid plant ingredients, not just including the coconut but also apple, orange and fermentation of soya to keep the skin in as good a condition as possible throughout life. The ratios of these ingredients are balanced differently to suit skin conditions that alter as we mature. I have to admit that I started out, 40 years ago, to keep my own skin healthy and glowing but I am very pleased that many others have discovered it too and that Skin Renew has become a popular best seller.