Daryl Dietrich, Founder
“It feels important to pay homage to the matriarchs of my family. For my great-grandmothers, Ida, Hilde, Orpha and my mothers paternal grandmother whose name has been lost. For my grandmothers, Lila and Victoria. To my aunts, Angela and Linda. And of course, to my mother, Carol. I cannot leave without an honorable mention to my sister Caitlin and father Claus, I love you both so much.”
Daryl grew up in rural western Washington and was raised amongst overgrown apple orchards, forests and fields. She left for a couple years and briefly school in Oakland, traveled the country by way of freight train and hitch hiking, and lived in St. Louis.
It was during these years she discovered a passion for gardening and medicinal herbs - the interconnectedness and the power and magic of plants resonated so deeply that she has spent the last 14 years working with, learning from, harvesting, growing and processing all sorts of medicinal and edible plants.
In 2010, Daryl returned to her families land to farm and began working in the same shipyard her father had worked in for decades. It was like a homecoming - familiar, instinctual, and she spend the next decade learning from impeccably talented and generous mentors, working as a wooden boat painter and varnisher.
She left the boatyard for a couple years, and worked as a cabinet maker then ran a Wood-Mizer LT40 sawmill and building wooden structures.
Plants have been there through everything.
From gardening on city lots to farming on acreage, from picking mugwort along sandy ocean cliffs to infusing fir tips into local honey, Daryl has been fully immersed and engaged in the natural world.
In 2016, she helped a friend start a farm on 10 acres of raw land. They raised hundreds of animals, had a large garden plot, orchard, herb garden and berry patch. It was during this time that seasonal, homegrown and highly local wild foods became a passion. The desire to live thoughtfully and cohesively with the land is a driving force, enveloping every aspect of her business and life.
During those years, Daryl began to tap bigleaf maples. She has been making syrup for eight years now and is only getting more excited about it.
When not working with the land or on boats, she can be found hiking, backpacking, writing, playing music, cooking with loved ones or hanging out with her partner and their sweet dog, Mabel.