Hello plant friends,
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There is no plant quite as emblematic for Christmas to me as the Christmas tree, which is usually a fir tree. Adorned with twinkling lights, glittering baubles, and cherished ornaments, it stands at the heart of the holiday season, a beacon of warmth and joy. But beyond its decorative charm, the fir tree carries a rich history and deeper symbolism that has enchanted cultures for centuries.
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Abies balsamea is the holiday season's tree of choice where, in days gone by, the sweet-smelling needles were sewed into sachets and sold to weary city folk! Bright and elevating, Balsam Fir essential oil is one that we highly recommend for use in diffusers to refresh the environment in enclosed spaces, especially in the winter months. It is sweet, rich, warm, fruity, jam-like, and intensely balsamic and I think it is absolutely amazing. I hope you agree! Wishing you happy days.
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With love,
Merle
Nightflowers: our Christmas gift to you​
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We are delighted to share something truly special with you this holiday season—a heartfelt gift to celebrate the Scents of the Earth community! You’ll be the very first to experience our unreleased perfume, Nightflowers. It’s an honor to share this new creation with you, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to have you explore it.
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Nightflowers captures the enchanting beauty of nature’s secret garden after dusk. As the sun dips below the horizon, an ethereal symphony of night flowers awakens, releasing their sweet and mysterious fragrances into the moonlit air. These enchanting blossoms, shrouded in darkness, beckon to a special cast of nocturnal pollinators—moths, bats, and other creatures of the night.
We hope this gift brings a sense of wonder to your holiday season, and we can’t wait to hear what you think of Nightflowers. Feel free to let us know! Happy holidays ♡
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In your box this month:
Balsam Fir Absolute 10%
A sample of our new unreleased scent Nightflowers
Pine branch harvested in the forest nearby
“Trees are sanctuaries. Whoever knows how to speak to them, whoever knows how to listen to them, can learn the truth. They do not preach learning and precepts, they preach, undeterred by particulars, the ancient law of life. When we are stricken and cannot bear our lives any longer, then a tree has something to say to us: Be still! Be still! Look at me! Life is not easy, life is not difficult. Those are childish thoughts. Let God speak within you, and your thoughts will grow silent.”
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- Herman Hesse
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How to differ the evergreen family
The fir tree, with its conical shape and soft, needle-like leaves, thrives in cooler climates and mountainous regions. These trees are more than just beautiful—they play a vital role in forest ecosystems by stabilizing soil, providing homes for wildlife, and even purifying the air. Thanks to their evergreen nature, firs remain lush and green throughout the year, symbolizing resilience and endurance even in the harshest winters.
Fir trees are part of the evergreen family, which also includes pines, spruces, cedars, cypresses, and junipers. While they all share the ability to stay green year-round, you can tell them apart by their needles, cones, and texture:
Needles: Fir needles are soft and flat, while spruce needles are stiff and spiky. Pine needles grow in clusters.
Cones: Fir cones stand upright on branches, while spruce and pine cones hang downward.
Feel: Fir needles are smooth to the touch, unlike the sharper feel of spruce needles.
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Together, these evergreens create a world of year-round greenery, contributing to the planet's beauty and health while serving as a reminder of nature’s resilience.
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Fir trees: a journey into eternity
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​Imagine seeing a fir tree as if for the very first time—a towering giant, perhaps centuries or even millennia old. Its roots reach deep into the earth, while its branches stretch skyward, moving only with the wind. Every time we encounter a fir tree in the forest near our studio, we are struck by its quiet majesty and evergreen beauty. Their clean, sweet air uplifts us. Their towering trunks form natural corridors, chambers, and halls, creating spaces that feel both expansive and enclosed, like nature’s own cathedrals. It’s no wonder that forests inspire ideas of transcendence; standing among fir trees, we feel it instinctively. Today we invite you to explore the fir tree with us, not just its soothing scent, but also its rich history as a symbol of resilience, eternity and timeless beauty across cultures.
The scent of fir
The fragrances of trees and their resins have long been seen as a bridge between the earthly and the divine—a way to touch higher realms while staying grounded on the earth. The story of these scents begins deep in time: the first groves of trees emerged 100 million years before flowering plants and their broad-leaved forests dominated the landscape. Fir trees in the fragrant world are predominantly known for producing resin—a sticky, fragrant substance that protects them from microbial attacks, insects, and physical wounds. This resin is a natural shield, a testament to the tree’s resilience and its intelligent defense mechanisms.
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However, our Balsam Fir Absolute you’ve been gifted is drawn not from the resin, but from the wild-harvested needles of the majestic Abies balsamea conifers that thrive in eastern Canada. These needles, especially aromatic when young and full of life, are carefully extracted to create this material. The resulting absolute captures the juicy, fresh aroma of newly harvested firs. Its scent is sweet, rich, and warm, with fruity and jam-like qualities, layered over a deeply balsamic core with coumarin-like undertones that lend it remarkable depth and tenacity.
The aroma of Balsam Fir Absolute evokes the serene, grounding effect of being surrounded by trees, deep in a forest. Used in low dilution in perfumes, it brings a natural, fresh forest note that enriches a variety of compositions. On a personal level, it can quiet the mind, ease anxiety, and offer a sense of renewal with its familiar scent.
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Yoyogi Park​​​​ in Tokyo
Balsam Fir Absolute in Lingua Planta
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Balsam Fir Absolute is a key note in two of Lingua Planta’s fragrances: Understory and Sacred Sun. In Understory, it evokes the fresh, soft scent of the forest floor, where every step feels light and bouncy, like walking through a carpet of soft pine needles. This "bouncy" quality of the Balsam Fir enhances the earthy, grounding essence of the fragrance.
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In Sacred Sun, the Balsam Fir brings a gentle sweetness, reminiscent of a sunlit forest in the distance, where the warmth of the sun touches the trees and the resinous scent lingers in the air. Here, it melds beautifully with other notes like Frankincense, enhancing its complexity while subtly amplifying the sweetness of Jasmine and floral heart notes.
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Six Pine Trees Near the Fence - Vincent van Gogh​​​​ (1889)
Balsam Fir Absolute in perfumery
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Fir Balsam Absolute is a cherished ingredient in many exceptional fragrances. One of our favorites is Monocle Scent Four Yoyogi, which captures the green, sweet freshness of a morning run through the iconic Yoyogi Park in Tokyo. This fragrance combines a woody base of cypress, freshly mowed grass, and a hint of absinthe, evoking the serene energy of this oasis, especially during the blossoming season of the Sakura trees.
Fir Balsam also appears in Baccarat Rouge 540 and Hermès Eau des Merveilles, two fragrances where the fir’s evergreen quality adds depth and a touch of earthiness. In Baccarat Rouge 540, it complements the warm, amber notes. In Eau des Merveilles, the fir brings an unexpected freshness to the amber and woody blend, grounding the scent while adding a subtle, nature-infused elegance.
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“Trees connect the three layers of the cosmos - the Underworld through their roots burrowing deep into the soil; the Earth’s surface with their trunk and lower branches; the Heavens with their upper branches and top, reaching up to the light. Reptiles crawl among their roots; birds roost in their branches; and they relate the Under to the Upper World. They bring all the elements together: Water circulates in their sap; Earth becomes part of their body through their roots; Air feeds their leaves; and Fire is produced by rubbing sticks together.”
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- Jean Chevalier and Alain Gheerbrant, A Dictionary of Symbols.
For two years, French photographer Charles Fréger captures the spirit of what he calls "tribal Europe" in his "Wilder Mann" series.
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Fir trees in Paganism
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Many pagan cultures saw fir trees as symbols of life, renewal, and resilience. During the winter solstice, celebrated as Yule, firs and other evergreens were believed to carry the spirit of life and protection through the darkest months. These trees, which remained green through winter, represented the promise of renewal and the return of the sun. Pagans would bring fir branches, wreaths, and boughs into their homes to invite life and fertility into the cold, dark season.
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This tradition, rooted in ancient beliefs about nature’s cycles, also gave rise to the use of holly, ivy, and mistletoe—plants that bloomed or stayed green during winter. These plants held special significance as symbols of life in the cold months. Over time, this practice might have evolved into the modern Christmas tree, a beloved symbol of joy, hope, and connection to nature’s enduring cycles. While the Christmas tree originated from many pagan and indigenous cultures, it was Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert who popularized the tradition during the 1840s. The practice of decorating an entire tree was not common throughout Europe until an 1848 drawing of the royal family gathered around a Christmas tree was published in the Illustrated London News. The image of the royal family celebrating Christmas in this new way sparked widespread interest, and soon after, the decorated tree became a beloved holiday tradition throughout Britain and beyond. Connecting the spirit of Yule and ancient customs with the joy of modern Christmas.
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This illustration of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert with their children around a Christmas tree was featured in the Illustrated London News in 1848.​​
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Our favorite Indigenous Christmas story
The roots of Christmas traditions may be traced back to ancient Arctic shamanic rituals, where the winter solstice was celebrated through hallucinogenic journeys guided by the Amanita muscaria mushroom, also known as fly agaric. This striking mushroom, with its red cap and white dots, grows near fir trees, which were revered by northern peoples as trees of life due to their towering height and evergreen nature. Shamans would dry the mushrooms on the branches of these fir trees or hang them in socks over fires - practices that mirror the Christmas traditions of decorating trees and hanging stockings by the chimney.
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After consuming the mushroom, the shamans experienced vivid, otherworldly visions. Reindeer, often seen outside their homes, would also consume the mushrooms, contributing to the myth of ‘flying reindeer.’ This journey likely inspired the legend of Santa Claus traveling in a sleigh pulled by reindeer. The red and white clothing worn by the shamans to honor the mushroom and their large reindeer leather boots resemble Santa’s iconic attire. These ancient rituals are thought to have shaped modern Christmas customs, blending the timeless spirit of the winter solstice with the familiar imagery we celebrate today.
The icon Julia Butterfly Hill tree-sitting a redwood​
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In 1997, environmental activist Julia Butterfly Hill climbed into a towering ancient redwood tree named Luna in California’s Humboldt County and remained there for 738 days - (almost two years!). Hill’s mission was to prevent the tree from being cut down by a lumber company, which was clear-cutting the surrounding forest. She endured harsh weather, isolation, and physical discomfort to protect Luna, a tree over 1,000 years old, and raised awareness about the importance of preserving old-growth forests. Her remarkable act of environmental activism garnered international attention, symbolizing resilience and the deep connection between humans and nature. Hill’s time in Luna not only helped save the tree but also defined the environmental movement in the 90s.
Julia Butterfly Hill in Redwood Luna.
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Forest Wool by Tamara Orjola
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​Pine trees are the world’s main source of timber. Every year 600 million pine trees are cut down in the EU only. But there is more to the tree than just wood: pine needles account for 20 to 30 percent of its mass.
Tamara Orjola researched the potential use of the billions of needles that go unused and found them to be a great alternative for all kinds of fibers.
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With standard manufacturing techniques – crushing, soaking, steaming, carding, binding and pressing – they can be transformed into textiles, composites and paper, extracting essential oil and dye in the process. An elegant series of stools and carpets made of nothing but pine needles, shows that this ecological material also has a high-quality look and feel to it!
Tamara Orjola - Forest Wool​
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Reach out or say hi
Thank you so much for accompanying me on this fascinating journey through the realm of perfuming materials, where we explore not only the sensory beauty of scents but also the deeper intelligence of plants and their natural essences. It’s been a wonderful adventure, navigating the intricacies of fragrance and nature’s wisdom. I’d love to hear your thoughts and insights on this experience!
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or DM @linguaplanta
A Tree by Joyce Kilmer​
​I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast;
A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray.