I’ve been wanting to make smudge sticks for sometime now but you need to find the right sage–so when I discovered Park Winters had the ideal variety (white sage) growing out on their property I was super excited! Smudge Sticks are often burnt to cleanse the energy. (Before we moved into our new house I did my own little sage cleansing ritual.) I’ve been buying sage and burning it for years but had never made the bundles myself. Turns out it’s the easiest DIY ever and quite the calming and good vibe creating activity in itself.
Inspired by the seasonality growing out on the farm I foraged the property with the sweet owner of Park Winters, Rafael, clipping the sage, lavender, rose hips and a few other herbs and flowers that spoke to us as we walked the grounds. I loved walking the property and learning more about the different types of plants (an area I wish I had much more knowledge of, oh and still working on that green thumb!), hearing Rafaels’ stories, and his impressive dried herbs and floral collection. He clips and dries flowers from the gardens constantly, a guy after my own heart!
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DIY Smudge Sticks | Fresh sage (preferably white sage) as the base for your smudge stick. What you add to it is completely dependent on personal preference. For ours, we foraged the gardens for items that had special qualities or meaning to us–lavender for calm, roses for love, yarrow and rose hips for healing.
After gathering everything you want to include in your bundle clip everything to about the same height.
Lay the sage as your base and add the other elements on top. Then just twist and secure with twine.
Hang your smudge stick to dry.
After completely dried you could then burn although these that we made are so pretty you probably just want to leave them out on display for good energy! If you do decide to burn–here’s that post in which I shared a simple sage cleansing ritual of setting intentions and affirmations as you cleanse your space.
I just love the smell of sage and now associate it with good energy and cleansing from burning it over the years.
The Look | Christy Dawn Dress. Denim Jacket (old, similar). Isabel Marant Booties (old).
Together Rafael and I spent the afternoon walking the grounds, making smudge sticks, I learned the recipe to their insanely delicious Park Winters persimmon jam, and the head chef and I grilled fresh squash from the garden in their outdoor pizza oven (stay tuned!). I brought along my girlfriend Melissa for the day to capture everything as she’s been up for the holidays from San Diego. Her contagiously warm energy, and the chance to get her all to myself for this magical afternoon doing all of these fall things was also a highlight in itself. Melissa and I both left feeling overwhelmed by Rafael’s kindness and generosity, our bellies full, and wanting to ditch the city life for the slower pace of the country more often.
We used this essential gardening set from Barebones–perfect for any foraging!
Photography | Melissa Gayle