This Sunday marks the opening day for many, many farmer’s markets across the Pacific Northwest. I was fortunate enough to find one to go to last weekend, though the actual produce wasn’t as glorious as it is in the height of harvest season.
The smells were there, though. You know the smell of farmer’s markets: dirt, sweet, green, and fresh.
You may not be able to bottle it, but more and more, candle makers are starting to incorporate some less-common notes of the wild into their products, offering up beautiful herb & vegetable scented candles.
Fragrances like tomato vine and cucumber eucalyptus. I wrote about a tomato scented candle a couple years ago, but I haven’t gotten over the refreshing (no pun intended) take on home fragrance.
5 Brands Doing Candles Differently: Herb & Vegetable Candles
My Jonathan Adler obsession has never fully come to fruition due to the price tags on his weird/awesome creations. I’ve had my eye on his Earl Grey candle for about three years, debating when the right time to drop some cash on a few $38 candles is, because there are a few scents in the Pop Candle Collection that would definitely veg up my life in a very good way.
Favorite Scents: Tomato, Earl Grey, Watercress
Paddywax is the favorite of many an eco-warrior with a Domino subscription. Their candles may seem basic from a distance, but their commitment to quality and environmental sustainability have allowed them to produce some of the most beautiful and ethical candles. Some scent-sensitive people have found that Paddywax does not irritate them like other fragrances.
Environmentally-friendly bonus: The glass “jar” the candles come in are upcycled wine bottles! You can even see the 750ml stamp on the bottom!
Favorite Scents: Geranium & Basil, Bourbon & Mint, Basil & Cucumber
Kobo Candles is the brand I posted about originally, only days after I smelled their Wild Tomato Vine candle in a local shop. I couldn’t believe the accuracy! They were somehow able to capture the scent by blending the essences of tomato leaf, clover, and herbs into this candle.
I have to take a moment and gush about how ethical Kobo candles are. They use domestically grown soy to create a cleaner-burning candle, and the packaging is biodegradeable, and Kobo prefers that you plant it. Yes, plant the packaging and it will grow into brandywine tomatoes. Not kidding. If you love the Thyme candle, plant the packaging and enjoy your forthcoming garden thyme plant! I. Love. This.
Favorite Scents: Wild Tomato Vine, Thyme
I discovered Juliette At Home by absolute chance and couldn’t believe how perfect the candle scents were. On top of being in an absolutely precious and highly reusable ceramic vase-jar, they have an English charm that I cannot resist.
Favorite Scents: Rhubarb & Custard, Flat Leaf Parsley, Tomato Leaf & Basil, Marigold & Rocket (Arugula)
Of all the candle companies that flirt with the vegetal side of the fragrance spectrum, none is more seemingly perfect than Produce Candles. They give you their intentions right in the brand name, and follow up that promise with exciting scents like carrot, kale, and rhubarb.
Produce Candles also win for the best packaging, if you ask me. They’re adorable, simple, and communicative. Look at all those little radishes!
Favorite Scents: Carrot, Kale, Radish, Cilantro, Tomato
Do you think you’d warm up to a vegetable candle or herb candle? All of these cilantro options have me thinking about every time I’m cutting up a bunch of frothy green herbs and that fresh smell that just permeates every corner of the kitchen… Or the smell of fresh kale, how it kind of smells like dirt and soil but also a little grass and a little bit of… forest?! I could get used to that!