The Light Fades Early Now | Fall & Winter Stillroom Apothecary

A Stillroom Journal for Late Autumn into Winter

The air holds a sweetness of woodsmoke and spice,and the light through the windows fades earlier each day.

The shelves are lined once more — jars filled with the year’s herbs, roots tucked into paper and glass, a little warmth sealed against the cold.

This is the quiet season. The stillroom hums softly with the sounds of sorting, labeling, steeping. Hands move by habit — pouring, measuring, recording — turning the year’s work into teas and tonics, powders and scent.

Each herb here was gathered in its own season, now resting, waiting to be brewed or burned, steeped or stirred. Roots for grounding, greens for strength, berries for brightness, and spices for the hearth — all marked carefully in the winter ledger.

✤ The Light Fades Early Now, and still, the work continues —gentler, slower, but no less full of care.

✤ Pressed Leaves — Field No. 091

A hush settles in the stillroom as the garden fades. Citrus light lingers on the last peony leaves, and the faint smoke from the hearth drifts through the open window. Pressed Leaves gathers that moment — crisp, earthen, and softly floral — a scent of woodsmoke and sunlight folded into powder.
It is the turning of the year captured between pages, the quiet comfort of work well-done and the season’s last fragrance held fast.


✤ ✤ ✤ ✤ ✤ ✤ ✤ ✤ ✤ ✤ ✤ ✤

Field No. 091 — Pressed Leaves
Botanical icon: Peony Leaf ·

Collection: Seasonal Woods & Weather

Folded with care. Scented by season. Rooted in the Stillroom Tradition

A talc-free fall dusting powder inspired by autumn’s quiet garden

→ Part of the Seasonal Woods & Weather Collection
Lavender, Twine, and Scissors Illustration
season woods dusting powder sample size collection.

✤ The Autumn Stillroom Bundle

A quiet gathering from the forest season — the complete Seasonal Woods & Weather dusting powder sample collection.

Each talc-free blend captures a moment of fall: the amber hush of ferns, the citrus light on fading leaves, woodsmoke drifting through cooling air.

Together they form a field note study of the season — seven scents in miniature, for collecting, layering, and keeping as the air turns cold.

Each Archive envelope is wrapped and labeled by hand, tied with twine in the old stillroom way — a simple ritual for those who find beauty in the changing woods.


Pressed Leaves • Amber Ferns • October Air • Alpen Glow • Bosk • Jay Feathers • Pressed Balsam


view the bundle

✤ The Fall & Winter Apothecary ✤

When the air grows thin and the light fades early, the stillroom shifts its work. The bright herbs of summer give way to the sturdy ones — roots, barks, berries, and spice — the keepers of warmth and rest.

This is the season for jars that simmer and soothe: for dandelion and burdock drawn long and slow,for elderberry and rose hip steeped against the chill, for clove and cinnamon waiting beside the kettle.

These are the apothecary herbs of the quiet months — chosen for their strength, their scent, and the comfort they bring when the frost comes to the windows.
Each one carries a small ritual of care:
a spoonful in tea, a pinch for simmer pot or sachet, a handful for craft or healing brew.

We gather them here so you can begin your own stillroom practice — a way to keep close to the earth even when the garden sleeps.

Explore the season’s collection, or start with a few of our 1 oz. samples, perfect for experimenting, blending, or simply bringing the scent of the stillroom home for the winter.

✤ Roots for strength. Leaves for calm. Spices for warmth.

A winter apothecary for hearth and home.

The Winter Apothecary Drawers

Drawer I — Roots & Bark

Burdock · Dandelion · Marshmallow · White Willow · Cinchona

Season: Late Autumn to Deep Winter

Use: Decoctions • Tonics • Hearth Restoratives

Notes:
Drawn deep from the resting earth. Stored dry in linen sacks until the frost.

Best steeped slow — an hour’s simmer for strength.

Record jar weights and moisture before sealing.

Filed under Root Apothecary No. 1–5.

Drawer II — Leaves & Greens

Bay · Dandelion Leaf · Mullein · Nettle · Raspberry

Season: Harvested high summer, stored for winter tonic work.

Use: Infusions • Broths • Herbal teas

Notes:

Crumbly textures, pale greens to gray-sage tones.

Keep from light; label with date of drying.

These are the daily greens of the stillroom table.

Filed under Leaf Apothecary No. 6–10.

Drawer III — Flowers & Berries

Elder Flower · Elderberry · Rose Hip

Season: Midsummer bloom, late-autumn gather.

Use: Syrups • Winter tonics • Tea blends

Notes:

Color remains rich; scent faintly sweet.

Handle gently — the berries stain linen.

Keep separate from spice drawers.

Filed under Bloom Apothecary No. 11–13.

Drawer IV — Seeds & Sweet Herbs

Dill Seed · Flax Seed · Stevia

Season: Stored from kitchen harvests, late summer.

Use: Culinary • Digestive • Sweetening

Notes:

Measure by teaspoon, keep lids tight against pantry moths.

Scent is mild, comforting — like warm bread and herb.

Filed under Seed Apothecary No. 14–16.

Drawer V — Mints & Aromatic Greens

Peppermint · Spearmint · Wintergreen

Season: Mid-summer cuttings; dried in shade.

Use: Respiratory teas • Bath blends • Linens

Notes:

Bright, cool, and evergreen in spirit.

Refresh every year — potency fades by second winter.

Filed under Aromatic Apothecary No. 17–19.

Drawer VI — Hearth & Spice

Cinnamon · Clove · Star Anise

Season: Imported stock, replenished before Yule.

Use: Warming tonics • Simmer pots • Fragrance bases

Notes:

The scent of firelight and honey.

Keep a jar near the tea kettle through winter months.

Filed under Spice Apothecary No. 20–22.

✤ The Season Carries On

The apothecary has found its new home.
The shelves are stacked once more, jars labeled in fresh ink, and the air carries that familiar mix of spice and woodsmoke.

We’re racing the season a bit—tucking in the last of the herbs, setting the house in order before the deep cold settles in.

Outside, the fields sleep under their first frost, but plans are already gathering at the kitchen table:

rows of herbs and vegetables to be planted come spring, flower beds to reclaim, a new greenhouse and sap house to raise when the snow melts.

There’s talk of a cutting room, too—where bundles will hang and paper will rustle again in the warm months.

The pantry shelves are full, the stillroom hums quietly, and the summer kitchen is alive with small experiments and winter projects.

It’s a season of rest, yes—but also of beginning again.


✤ The work continues, steady as the light fades, and the story roots itself once more in new ground.


As the light fades and the work settles into new rhythm, we’re grateful you’re still here beside the hearth with us. The story roots itself again—ready for the seasons ahead.