Hello Friends,
On a south facing ridgetop, four miles from the sea, Avena Botanicals' apothecary, organic herb gardens, and the Avena Institute's teaching center are nestled into the hillside, bordering a 6000 acre wetland. We are blessed with an array of songbirds, deer, moose, and other species of animal and plant life which live in the neighborhood. As our understanding of the local and global significance of restoring plant and wildlife habitats deepens, we continue to expand our educational programs through Avena Institute to include classroom and hands-on opportunities for students to better understand issues of biodiversity, seed saving and ecological and cultural restoration along with various programs on growing and using medicinal herbs.

For those of you new to Avena, we are a small business owned and run by women committed to working in ways which nourish ourselves, our community and our planet. We carry on an herbal tradition kept alive by women for many centuries. The daily ways we work together planting, harvesting and making medicines, mixing formulas, filling and labeling bottles, answering the phones, shipping orders and interacting with each other, continues to be done with thoughtfulness and care. We believe a kind and supportive working environment is essential for the making of medicines and for the health and well-being of all of us.

In the midst of the rapid expansion of the herbal industry, we are committed to remaining a small community-based business. We feel that this model can best serve the diverse needs of our customers and allow us to bring the wisdom of the garden into our work. Our smaller operation gives us the opportunity to be intimately involved with each step of the process which brings our herbs to you. In this way, we can guarantee that our herbs are of the highest quality possible and are truly a labor of love.

Our remedies are of the finest quality because over 65% of the herbs used are raised in our organic gardens or hand-picked nearby in fields and woods or along the seashore. Herbs which do not grow in Maine come from a handful of certified organic growers and skilled wildcrafters also committed to nurturing the soil, preserving wild plant habitats, and harvesting only strong and healthy plants. Our one-acre gardens are certified by the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association. During March we begin planting seeds in our greenhouse, many saved from our own plants. From April through June we are busy transplanting, cover-cropping, weeding, watering, collecting seaweed for mulch, building compost piles, and harvesting the spring barks, roots and greens. Just as we finish planting the gardens and take a deep breath we find ourselves immersed in harvesting the herbs alongside the continuous tending of the gardens. Fall finds us busy harvesting, preparing the gardens for the long winter ahead and collecting seeds for next year's planting.

We hand-harvest each herb at its optimum potency following seasonal and lunar specifications. Immediately after gathering the herbs, we tincture them in our lab or place them on drying racks for later use in tea blends, salves and supplements for animals. Nothing we sell is tested on animals.

In 1997 we began using different biodynamic preparations, created by Rudolf Steiner in the early part of this century, to further enhance our soil fertility and the vitality of the herbs. Some of us at Avena have been gardening for over 20 years and we are amazed by the fullness, beauty and abundance of our gardens. We attribute their health to the biodynamic preparations, our compost and plain hard work and love. If you are interested in reading about biodynamic agriculture or purchasing the preparations contact Bio-Dynamic Farming & Gardening Association at 1-888-516-7797.

All of us at Avena hold deep respect for the spirit of herbs and the interconnectedness of all beings. May you find hope and healing as you grow familiar with herbs. The natural world is full of diversity, beauty and wisdom and it is here that we learn about healing and wholeness.

Herbal blessings,

Deb Soule
and the Avena Fairies

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