The Sweetest Orange

Isn’t it the best smell ever when someone peels an orange in the same space as you? On an airplane, in the car on a road trip, or in the middle of a taxing workout are some of the best times to smell or taste an orange. Talk about rejuvenating. I can smell it just thinking about.

Coming Up Rainbows has a new weekly series. Rainbow Plants of 2021 will be the perfect way for us to visit with and love on 50 different plants (herbs/oils/smells). With each new plant will be a new video, blog post and email. The emails (if you’re subscribed to our list) will have a recipe that allows you to very simply incorporate the focus plant into your life.

I’ll try and include places you can access the plant/herb/oil, in case you can’t live without it. I’m sure many of you are familiar with where you might access an orange. If you want the concentrated essential oil of oranges, I can hook you up, just send a quick message. We’ll feature and sell the plant/oil of the week in our rainbow shop. The origin of the orange is Southern China. Of course these days, you can get your mitts on an orange just about anywhere (seasonally).

What do we use oranges for in this family?

We eat them like crazy. They are rich in Vitamin C. We are thankful they are accessible in local grocery stores year round. We’ve tried to grow an orange tree of our own, but haven’t been successful with the plant actually producing fruit. I mean, we live in Montana.

Orange (Citrus aurantium) is a carminative making it a lovely companion to many other plants and supporting your digestive system. If you have some gas to pass, eat some orange rind. Orange is also a stimulant so it can break up congestion, in your chest. I have a favorite recipe that my grandma used to make for my dad when he was sick, he then made it for me as a child. It is so simple but so soothing if you have a cough or cold: hot water, the juice of an orange, lemon if you have it, a bit of honey and sometimes I add some bourbon.

We diffuse orange ALL of the time as an uplifter and mood enhancer. You’ll find it in our Happy Roller. It is Gus’s favorite oil, he almost always has it going in his bedroom diffuser, especially during this year of ‘school at home’. I carry some in my car, because I can’t constantly eat oranges on the go.

I clean my house with orange. You’ll find it in our Upcycled Wipes Recipe. It makes cleaning more bearable, and if you have something sticky a dab of orange essential oil will take care of it.

Orange is great for your skin and has benefits if you’re prone to acne, so I put it in the facial cleanser I make for myself. It is one of the only citrus oils that is sun safe. You generally need to be cautious when using citrus as it will make you more photosensitive.

It is one of my favorite energy boosters. I used orange a lot when I was pregnant and energy was especially hard to come by. Maybe that is why Gus loves it so much?

Orange is one of the smells I love having in my life, at the tippy top of the list, which is why it made #1 in the Rainbow Plants of 2021. xo

Here is our Orange Video and a link to The Sun Egg from one of my favorite toy shops.