High Summer August 2026
From the Desk
There is a particular moment every August that I wait for. The lavender begins to fade, the herbs have grown wild, and the evenings become something to look forward to. The garden feels abundant. Fruit hangs heavy on the branches, warm stones hold the day’s heat, and watering at dusk releases the scent of rosemary, tomato vines, and dry earth into the air.
I’ve always loved this point in the season. Not because everything is perfect, but because everything feels full and almost over ripe.
This month marks the beginning of Letters from the Château, a place where I’ll share the stories behind the scents, teas, rituals, recipes, travels, and beautiful discoveries that inspire Feather + Bell.
I’m so glad you’re here.
Close your eyes. What does August smell like, where you are? For me, here in Santa Barbara, it’s dried out lavender, rosemary that’s still showing off, peaches that bruise as soon as you touch them but they smell incredible. And once in a while you still get a faint scent of flowers in the air around sunset.
Lately I’ve been trying to live more like the seasons themselves, following what is blooming or ripe instead of rushing toward what comes next (despite the Halloween decorations already showing up at stores.)
I’m trying to really feel and appreciate all the abundance within me and around me.
Although Fall is just around the corner, I’m not quite ready to let go of summer yet. I think I’ll enjoy it a little longer.
What I’m Gathering
This month has been filled with…
lemon balm
elderflower
rosemary
lavender
peaches
long evenings
candlelight
conversations that stretch past sunset
Some of these have found their way into Le Jardin, the first botanical tisane from Feather & Bell. Others simply remind me to slow down.
L’Apéro
Every season deserves a signature drink. This one was inspired by the garden itself. Elderflower appears twice this month. Once in Le Jardin Botanical Tisane, and again here as St-Germain. A splash of Chambord brings the sweetness of late summer berries, while fresh lemon keeps everything bright. Topped with sparkling wine, it makes for the perfect drink to have at l’apero. I don’t usually have cocktails or make them. I generally prefer Sancerre or an Aperol Spritz. But I wanted to create a refreshing summer cocktail using what I had on hand. St Germain, Vodka, & Chambord. I served it in my nicest champagne flute with a lemon twist, just to make it feel more fancy. And it turned out delightful!
Here’s the recipe:
Summer at the Château
Ingredients:
1 oz St-Germain (elderflower liqueur)
1 oz vodka
¼–½ oz Chambord (depending on how berry-forward you like it)
½ oz fresh lemon juice
Chilled Champagne or dry sparkling wine, to top
Optional: fresh blackberry or lemon twist for garnish
Directions:
Add the St-Germain, vodka, Chambord, and lemon juice to a shaker with ice.
Shake until well chilled.
Strain into a chilled coupe.
Top with Champagne or sparkling wine.
Garnish with a lemon twist.
Pair With:
• Castelvetrano olives
• Marcona almonds
• Salted French butter with warm baguette
• Prosciutto or jambon de Bayonne
• A wedge of Brie
• Manchego and crackers with apricot jam
• Fresh peaches or nectarines
• A handful of raspberries or blackberries
• Lemon tarts
• Good company and nowhere else to be
Field Study
FIELD STUDY No. 01
Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis)
Welcome to Field Studies. A new series where I’ll be sharing the herbs, botanicals, oils, and other raw materials that inspire everything I create at Feather + Bell.
Our first study is lemon balm, a fragrant member of the mint family with delicate citrus notes and one of the botanicals I’ve chosen for Feather + Bell’s first botanical tisane, “Summer at the Château.”
Its name, Melissa, comes from the Greek word for honeybee, and bees have long been part of its story. In the ancient Greek world, Melissae “bees” was a name associated with priestesses, particularly within the mysteries and worship surrounding goddesses of the earth and fertility.
Lemon balm itself became entwined with the bee. It was traditionally planted near hives and rubbed inside them to encourage a swarm to return or remain.
I love that thought.
Lemon balm has been associated with love, attraction, sweetness and the mending of broken hearts. It was once known as a gladdening herb, used against melancholy and kept close when the spirit needed lifting.
It belongs to dreams, too. Dried leaves tucked near the bed were used for protection from nightmares and to encourage vivid or prophetic dreaming.
And in the old magical traditions, Melissa wasn’t only used to attract lovers. It could be used to attract good things like prosperity, friendship, favorable attention. An infusion of the leaves might be used to wash a doorway or threshold, sweetening what entered the home. I’ve been thinking about that lately. Not attraction as chasing something. Attraction as tending the hive. Making the body, the home, the life itself somewhere sweetness wants to stay.
How I’m working with Melissa this season:
~ Tuck dried lemon balm into a bedside sachet for sweetness, protection and dreaming.
~ Make a simple lemon balm infusion for washing the front threshold when the house needs fresh energy or when you’d like to invite a little more love and abundance through the door.
Welcome to Field Studies.
Until next month…
~ Amy