What About Mary?

Daughter, sister, wife, mother, animal lover and an older-than-most aspiring equestrian. Roy Rogers was my first crush, and I always wanted to be a veterinarian…until I got a "D" in chemistry (surprise!). Growing up, we’d spend most summers at my uncle’s farm. Cows, pigs, dogs, cats…but no horses. There was, however, a very dusty old saddle in the shed that I loved to just go and look at. When I was little, everything turned into a horse. Growing up in a non-equestrian, on-the-move military family simply wasn't conducive to sitting on the real thing, and the pony I dreamed of finding tied off at the mailbox every Christmas and birthday never materialized. 

I grew up, went to college, met my future husband, played and worked, got married and started a family. After the birth of our first baby, I suddenly could no longer tolerate artificial fragrances and artificial sweeteners ~ it was as if a switch was flipped and now they nauseated me. And when a life long stomach problem was finally attributed to gluten, label reading turned into a necessary habit. It became impossible to ignore the long list of mostly unrecognizable ingredients in pretty much everything.  Animal care products were particularly concerning. They're mammals, too, right?

Sadie, our beautiful baby-girl dog, loved chasing after the birds and bunnies in the neighboring rolling hills filled with wild California white sage, making her coat smell amazing. People would ask, "what smells so good?"...it was Sadie! Then one day at the barn, while helping my daughter tack up, I discovered a bottle of fly spray made with citronella. I thought, This is Brilliant!  Everything sort of came together, prompting me to formulate and experiment with common, available-at-your-local-health-food-store ingredients. My human family, our dogs and the horses at the barn became my personal Guinea Pigs. I made insect repellents, deodorizers, wound salves, balms, scalp treatments...it all worked great...and I loved making it. It filled the hole in my donut - my missing piece. I found purpose in something that mattered to me and wanted to make a difference. I had a dream.

Our mission is to provide naturally effective products that work, foster good health, restore a natural state of balance, and help achieve healing without causing harm. Everything we make is safe for you to use. If it’s good enough for your horse, it’s good enough for you! And vice-versa. And safe for your dogs, too! 

My hope is that you will listen to your hearts desires, pursue your dreams, NEVER give up, and find yourself on the path where you were meant to be. Mary's Botanicals is a familiar local favorite, available for sale since 2014. And, by the way, we never use citronella. 

  Proverbs 3:5-6