Spring Newsletter

Welcome to our Spring 2007 newsletter and we hope that if you aren’t able to come and visit The Perfumery and Herb Garden you will be able to take the time to browse through the photographs and articles in our newsletter which should give you an enjoyable flavour of what is happening.

This year the winter in the Burren seemed to move straight into mid summer weather with barely a nod at Spring as the sunshine and clear skies have been with us now since the beginning of April, with little rain or cloudy skies. The month of May is one of my favorite times of year as the first gentians come out, and the ash leaves bud and carry with them a promise of soft summer days and long evenings. We always feel that, once here, the summer is going to go on forever.

The downside to the all but unbroken sunshine, is that many of the farmers in the Burren are struggling to find water for their cattle, households have run dry and we have been carefully watering the new seedlings in the herb garden for the last month. Because of the way the Burren works geologically, water runs into underground streams very quickly and there is always a dilemma about long spells of fine weather; initial delight at the sunny skies and beautiful landscapes, followed by growing concern at inevitable water shortages. As the periods of warm weather seem to become longer and more frequent, we are learning to increase storage of winter rainfalls and decrease wasteful water use. All good practice for the Perfumery at least, although often a challenge to run an environmentally sound business, as Ralph discusses in his article on our environmental policies.

This year, we are repackaging all those established and well loved products at the Perfumery for which we still hand write the labels one by one, as they go on the shelves. The floral waters, the natural scented candles, and the soaps. Although this packaging certainly does have its appeal, I feel it would be nice to have them more in keeping with the perfume ranges and the girls’ hands are getting tired! Another addition will be an extended candle range; our Lavender or Cedar and Lemongrass candles, made with 100% essential oil are such a success that we have made six new flavours, Sage and Cedar, Fennel and Mint, Neroli and Orange as well as three essential oil blends for different moods; Relaxing, Balancing and Energising, adapted from our massage oils. Made with soy wax, their gentle, natural scents offer a rare alternative to the heavily scented synthetic candles usually for sale.

Later in the summer we shall also launch our new range of eight organic essential oils. We have always sold whatever oils we could spare and it is never seems to be enough, so now we will stock an official Burren Perfumery organic range. These are sourced from our various growers, organic Lavender, Rosemary and Sage from Sault, in the South of France, Bergamot, lemon and orange from Italy, Chamomile from Germany. They will be extremely high quality and sourced wherever possible from small, family businesses and cooperatives. We shall let you know when they are ready to order from the website.

We are already busy with visitors and receive frequent visits from garden and nature lovers, as well as many locals, coming to see how the garden is getting on, as well as our regular visitors. This year the Perfumery's Organic Herb Garden was listed as one of ‘ten of the best’ of Ireland’s gardens by the Sunday Independent. I would like to thank Sarah and Gay Casey for their time, inspiration and effort in making the garden as beautiful and fun as it is.

The Tea Rooms are open daily from 10am to 5pm and Mary is happy to cater for group lunches, teas or to celebrate a special event so don’t hesitate to ring or email for information. To make up for any water shortage, the Tea Rooms now has a new wine licence and serves a selection of delicious organic Italian wines by the glass or the bottle. Along with a plate of local cheeses, pickles and homemade bread, you could while away a few hours quite happily.

In February I gave a short talk at the Burren Conference talking about the challenges facing businesses in the Burren. There are the technical issues unknown to those never having tried to operate in such a rural setting; dialup internet access times so slow that you could fall asleep waiting for files to download, or courier services that take a week to deliver. Aside from these, I feel that the main challenge is for businesses to remain relevant and contributory to the area rather than selling items or services that either have nothing to do with their setting (made in China maybe) or even actively contribute to the erosion of its culture or environment. I would describe it as "to sell without selling out". I feel that it is important to provide a resource as well as a commercial enterprise, somewhere for locals to enjoy and use as well as an introduction to the area for seasonal visitors. The ideal is a business which puts something back into the area whilst making a living from it.

At the Perfumery we try to make a contribution by offering free entrance to all the facilites, as well as an educational side to the business; a film of the flowers, an organic herb garden full of native herbs and plants, an organic (non-profit making!) tea rooms where visitors can sit and take time to enjoy being in the Burren and, not least, friendly and helpful mostly local staff who are happy to chat to people. Providing interesting, stable and ongoing jobs for local people where they can contribute to the business enriches both the business and the area. The Burren seems to be better suited to smaller businesses, which do not impact so much on the environment, and are more responsive to local needs and resources.

I hope that you enjoy Ralph’s photographs and articles about life in the Burren and we look forward to meeting you at the Perfumery.