Pretty in Pink: Rose Harvest 2018 in the Rose Valley of Bulgaria

I recently attended a rose retreat in the Rose Valley of Bulgaria near the town of Kazanlak.  Silvia of Rose Overdose (https://www.roseoverdose.com) invited me and she was the most gracious host I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. Her family has been harvesting roses and producing rose oil, and other rose infused products for generations. It was a rose jam packed week of rose picking, rose yoga, rose workshops, and rose dinners. I would like to give a shout out to my friend, Nicole Santos of Gallery Rosa in Todos Santos, Baja California Sur who trusted me and said "YES", to join as a travel buddy for the adventure.

We visited a rose distillery, a rose museum, and the tombs of great Thoracian kings. Bulgaria was a culturally infused place with influence from Slovic, Russian, Arabian, Turkish, and Grecian civilizations. Driving through the romantic rose valley there was nothing but rose gardens for miles. What I liked about these gardens is many were unattended, growing wild, free, engrossed in their natural state and the flowers covered the land what seemed to go on for an eternity.  The constant rose aroma opened my gypsy heart to a portal of another realm. Those that know the power of one sniff of rose can only image what it felt like to be amidst the aroma for week. it was constant. Rose notes even began to show up in my under arm odor. My essence infused with e rose essence. 

Botanical Name: Rosa damascena

Plant Part Used: Rose Petals

Method of Extraction: Steam Distillation

Note: Base and Middle

Aroma: Floral, Exotic, sometimes Citrusy or Smoky

Blends Well With: Bergamot, cardamom, geranium, ginger, jasmine, lemon, neroli, patchouli, sandalwood, vetiver, and frankincense

Rose Yoga

We kicked off our stay in the valley of roses with a once in a lifetime chance to practice in a studio that was filled with over 3000 roses. There was even an unexpected photographer there from national geographic to capture some images of our group doing "rose yoga". This was never really done before Silvia designed the concept and just so happened to take a day's harvest of here 40 acre farm to let us play in roses. My favorite was making "rose angels" (like when you lay back in the snow and make snow angels but with roses)

There is a reason why the rose has been used for centuries by lovers as a symbol of the heart. The oil is a gentle tonic for the heart w/ the highest measured frequency of all oils at 320 MHz. The rose garden itself is a living meditation w/ an endless sea of blossoms where the opening of petals never seemed to end.. Rose helps us to find the softness underneath it all, while helping to open our hearts a little more and experience a deep sense of peace, love, and joy. The many layers of this scent reminds of our “journey” not just the destination. This aroma is a gift of the earth bringing wisdom to those who have built walls around the heart. Breathe in this heavenly scent and get ready to receive.

Beauty Ritual, Goddesses, and Roses

 These three themes go hand in hand as rose elixir’s have been recorded in written history dating back 5000 years. Rose is also known as  “THE QUEEN of FLOWERS” Both in India, Egypt, Roman and Arabic writings deities, queens, and goddess are associated with the rose. The greek poet, Anacreon wrote that the white rose (Alba species) first sprang forth during the birth of  Aphrodite, the goddess of love.Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt was known for her beauty and one of her most famous recipes was her bath consisting of honey, milk, and roses. She even had her living quarters filled with petals so that when Marc Anthony met her he would long remember her every time he smelled a rose.

Whether dealing with libido, mood, or post natal issues working with rose oils can support healthy sexual and female challenges. Try taking Cleopatra’s lead and soak in a milk, honey and rose oil bath to support healthy hormonal function and uplift the mood.Rose has therapeutic compounds that are specifically regenerating to mature skin. The oil also benefits dry, hormonal, and problematic skin issues.

Recipes:

Night Serum - Take 1 drop rose oil to ¼ cup of Avocado oil. Apply a small amount to the face and neck each night before bed.

Moisturizer -Take 1 ounce coconut oil and mix 6 drops of rose oil and 6 drops of geranium. Massage into the skin, including legs, arms, elbows, hands and feet.

Love Potion - 7 drops rose oil, 4 drops ylang ylang, 1 drop neroli. Add oils to a cup of witch hazel in a glass mister. Eo’s float on top so shake the bottle to activate the ingredients

Rose Maks - 1 ounce of bentonite clay powder, 3 tbs of rose water, 3 drops of Myrrh oil, 4 drops rose oil. Apply to a clean moist face. Let dry for 15 mins and rinse.

Here is our "Caravan Girl", botanical perfume inspired by our trip and infused with rose essence.

Rose Oil Production

About 60,000 roses are used to produce 1 ounce of Rose Oil. This is about 7000-9000 kilos of petals in 1 liter of rose oil, or 30 kilos in just 1 gram! I recently had the pleasure to visit a 10 acre rose garden in the Rose Valley of Bulgaria. My friend, Silvie who invited me is carrying on the art of rose growing as did her family for generations. The entire rose harvest lasts around 3 weeks and begins mid May. Each morning the rose pickers, which many whom are “gypsies” wake up before the Sun to start picks by 5 AM- 10AM. When it begins to warm up the roses with begin to ferment so the day’s harvest goes right to the distillery which is nearby to be steam distilled into oil. 10 pickers will pick around 300 kilos of blossoms in a morning. One picker is needed per acre.

After rose picking one morning our group visited the Rose distillery. The exotic aroma that filled the air was one like no other. My nose captured rich notes of sultry smoke, earthy tobacco, tart fruit, fresh green, hint of citrus, and heavy floral aromatics. Yes, it was intoxicating and I finally understood the meaning of Silvia’s brand, Rose Overdosed! It was almost like being drunk on roses but that was another night of the retreat!

Rose Museum & Dinner

So far I have shared Aromatic and Topical ways to use the essence of the rose  but there are also internal uses through culinary delights. My favorite evening in Bulgaria was a Rose dinner hosted in Silvia’s family home. Her family had been making Rose Champagne, Rose Wine, and Rose Liqueurs for generations. Each sip was savored like a drop of love straight to the soul. The dinner also included a salad with edible roses, Bulgarian Cheeses with Rose Jam, Rose Risotto, and Rose Sorbet. In between each coarse we sipped on the beverages and got to smell different rose oils produced by different seasons or growers which of coarse effect the notes. Rose water, rose petal infusions and rose oil were all bases to the culinary delights. Earlier in the day we also got a surprise treat of sipping rose champagne on pink carpet in the gardens of the rose museum of Kazanlak.

Recipe: Rose Petal Jam

3 1/2 cups of water

3 cups of rose petals

2 1/2 cups of sugar

½ cup of fresh lemon juice

1 cup rose water

Bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan and stir in the rose water. Remove from heat.

Add petals, cover,  and steep for 30 mins. Strain liquid. Discard petals.  Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil for 4 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer into a hot mason jar to seal the lid.  Let cool. And store in a cool, dry place. Refrigerate after opening.

Thracian Tombs

The Thracian people were from the Odrysian kingdom an ancient, mysterious tribe with elaborate burial rituals who drank wine from gold cups, built structures to withstand the test of time, treasured their horses, and didn't bother to write anything down living in the moment.  I chanted in the Golyama Kosmatka Tomb of King Seuth to checkout the acoustical value 9while making a prayer wish and sending it out there in the universe somewhere. and thought Droko of the  known Dothraki (nomadic horse-mounted warriors from Game of thrones) was going to rise from the grave in which we were sitting. I instantly felt a weird , creepy, but powerful vibe and fled out of there quickly.  I will tell you within a few weeks my wish that I had made in the tomb came true but maybe that also had to do with the power of the roses. 

Rose Picking

Last but not least, my favorite activity was being out in the gardens picking the roses. A divine process it was! The scent though! Nirvana accessed right from the nose.  Silvia likes to call it "A living meditation".  The roses had the company of many bees, and wild flowers growing under the rose bushes including flowers springing up from two very precious essential oils Helichrysum and Tansy.  We also learned how to make mega flower crowns. Here is a magical moment in the garden while I was picking a local girl sang a beautiful song. I could not hold back the tears and forever more I will be looking at the world with as pair of rose colored lenses. 

Please contact me if you may be interested in attending one of Silvia's retreat or would like to inquire about purchasing some of her wonderful rose oil or rose water.