The Fall Chapter

Happy Fall Equinox! And what an equinox it is! Not only do I have an incredible new space for Isola Herbals to grow, but we are building a second space that will allow for our production to be elevated to a commercial level… it gives me tingles to think that we are so close to the dream!

The fall equinox is an important time of year, as the balance of the earth changes and, as they say, day turns to night. Here at Isola Herbals in Alberta, the season change means we are doing our herbal harvest: carefully preserving herbs for our early spring collection, and doing a cleanse of all that has served us well, but that we no longer need. As winter keeps us indoors, its important that the inside of our home and greenhouse has been cleaned well, and is organized and clear of clutter. Its a refreshing time of year, but as a summer-loving person I always have to remind myself to not worry, after December 21st, the days will get lighter again and spring and summer will be on their way!

I hope you all love these peeks of the new Isola greenhouse space. If you follow my Instagram, you’ll know the story, but here it is again just in case:

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Two years ago, my husband and I were on a drive in the country and we came to visit a farm home-quarter that had been vacated and would be demolished. We were able to get permission (and keys) to the property to explore the house and the old buildings. I was snooping through some old sheds at the back of the property, and I found one of them to be completely full of 100-year-old windows from the original Victorian home on the property. The windows had been carefully placed and preserved well, and there was even the front door to the old home, happily in-tact and strong as ever! The landowners allowed us to come back and take all of the windows FOR FREE!

My own home was built in 1905, so I have a passion for the Victorian era, and I dreamed of one day putting those beautiful windows to work again on my property.

Two years later (just a couple of months ago), my talented, determined husband set to work making my dream come true. I did a lot of pinterest work, and he did a lot of labour (hehe). We built the greenhouse carefully under the long branches of one of my favourite larch trees on my property so that it would have some nice natural shade, and had the long sides facing north and south so that I could cater to herbs who love the sun, and those who prefer a little more shade.

I envisioned it like my own Alberta beach house, all clean and white and smelling of lavender, so I collected decor antique and new to make my visions a reality! The energy in the greenhouse is so inspiring and invigorating. I can feel that the windows and the door are happy to be working and useful again, and I was careful to keep their original paint in tact, while I painted the new wood around them. I felt it was important to pay homage to all of the years that they sat waiting for someone to find them!

I’ll be sharing all of the special pieces that I found, along with a video of the building process in the coming weeks.

Thank you for all of your support on my social media as I’ve been sharing the adventure with you!

Enjoy the new (and growing!), Isola Herbals!