☽ PlantLust Botanicals · Field Notes · 2026 an annual declaration ⁂ Mugwort grows where cultivation begins to loosen. Along the CT and White River banks, at the edge of gravel, thicket, and shade, it returns each spring. By late June, the undersides of the leaves flash silver in the wind. Crushed between the fingers, the plant smells resinous, bitter, green, something between cedar, smoke, and rain-dark soil. It is not a delicate plant. It spreads by rhizome through disturbed ground with...

There's a particular kind of summer evening that stays with you long after the season passes. The air thick with warmth, fruit heavy on the branches, earth still holding the day's heat beneath bare feet. Orchard Fire was born from that memory—and from my partner Stephen's gift for listening to what plants want to say. When Aromatics Choose Their Partners Stephen has always been able to sense the subtle conversations that happen between essential oils. He works with them through scent —...

There is the work you plan, and then there is the work that arrives while you’re busy making something else. Studio Works live in that second category. While I’m formulating the seasonal releases for PlantLust — refining ratios, sourcing materials, testing stability — another kind of making happens alongside it. A bar poured with whatever plants are asking for attention that week. A study made with charcoal and clary sage flowers rom the garden. A soap I make for my own hands after a long day...