ROSE ALCHEMY
A seasonal opportunity to join our magnificent Rose harvest and our unique artisanal distillations. Connect with the vibration of love and follow your heart!
The journeys, both aromatic and transformative, are individual or small-group aromatic experiences on the scented and scenic Greek island of Crete.
The Rose Alchemy program is offered in the spring period, usually starting in April and ends early June. It is per request, unique in each season, and re-created each time as a bespoke discovery journey.
If you are interested in Ildiko’s alchemy programs, transformative retreats and fieldtrips on Crete, please get in touch to share your intentions, discuss options of your aromatic journey, and find the right arrangements for you or your group.
- Individual private retreats: solo, duo or trio
- Small-group arrangements
- Flexible dates by request
- Inquire for full details
Explore our Rose Alchemy journey!
Orientation dates:
April 20 – 24, 2026
April 30 – May 3, 2026
May 7 – 10, 2026
Rose Alchemy Retreat General guidelines:
— 3-day / 4-day / 5-day retreats, please ask for custom dates.
— Dates can be adjusted to travel arrangements.
— Day-retreats offer taking time-out-of-time when you are on a scheduled trip.
Rose blossoming periods now vary each year according to weather.
A FRAGRANT ROSE JOURNEY ON CRETE?
Each year we harvest and distill our roses two times a years. Our beautiful classic Damask Roses blossom around May-June, while our local old Roses bring their fragrant flowers both summer and winter. We welcome you to experience this magic with us!
"When Roses are calling, you are listening to your inner voice while bathing in colours, fragrance and purity in Nature. You are present and listening to what Plants are whispering to your Soul. By offering your authentic presence, you are receiving your true presents that genuinely present themselves in this sacred togetherness."
2026 marks season five when Ildiko finds herself picking and distilling majestic roses of the most special kinds. Along with it the Rose Alchemy retreat continues to be a unique opportunity offering a genuine aromatic experience and a dream coming true for you too!
With all her heart, knowledge and support, Ildiko is your guide amongst fragrant Damask Roses, and for a life-changing exploration where abundant aromatic fields offer endless experiences for being present, practicing meditation, connecting with the plants, learning through plant observations, creating art, and of course, making herbal medicine. If this is your calling, we encourage you to step into our world where we will be welcoming you to experience this special kind of magic!
If you are a student or practitioner of aromatherapy, botanical perfumery or herbalism, please come and smell our roses, and do your extended field studies in our dream-come-true aromatic fields!
- Harvest and distill Damask roses;
- Enjoy our apothecary gardens and field explorations;
- Develop your relationship with the diversity of nature;
- Expand your aromatic smell library;
- Practice aromatic medicine-making;
- Learn about my artisan distillations;
- Discover the abundance of aromatic hydrosols from Crete.
Get in touch to discuss options of your personal alchemy journey, so we find the right arrangements for you.
WHAT WILL YOU FIND
IN OUR FRAGRANT ROSE GARDEN ON CRETE?
Rose Alchemy Retreats
We harvest and distill the magnificent rose flowers with humble appreciation and fully engaged in this luxury experience. What makes our Rose harvest truly exceptional is the natural blending of various aromatics across the abundant fields.
Our working apothecary gardens and fields, currently over 100 species of aromatic and medicinal plants beyond our Damask Roses, is an opportunity to meet and greet the local varieties of Cretan herbs such as Oregano, Sage, Thyme, as well as lesser known endemics like Dittany, Cistus, Cretan yarrow, plus many other plants that may even surprise you. Our lovely Rose geraniums and Clary sage also accompany the queen of flowers. You will learn about their characters, gifts and properties and how to invite them into your life.
Throughout our programs we will support your calling by engaging you in a journey to complement and deepen your knowledge in a blend where botany, herbal medicine and aromatherapy create a base of connection.
Bring a straw hat and see what’s in our basket?
- Enjoy the uniqueness of picking Damask roses;
- Engage in the luxury experience of distilling Roses;
- Take away a bottle of our fine artisan distilled Rose hydrosol;
- Walk in Cretan nature opening your senses for visuals, smell, touch, sounds and energetic capacities to embody mental studies;
- Connect more with the world of medicinal and aromatic plants;
- Alchemise yourself through daily realisations in what you conceive;
- Empower through experiences that will keep you inspired when walking along your individual aromatic path;
- Pick some amazing herbs of the season for tea, tinctures or infusions;
- Make a couple of smudge sticks from our local sage, cistus and other aromatics;
And most of all, have the most fragrant time on Crete!
What to expect on your aromatic journey?
As for all of our programs, it is best to come without expectations and just expect the unexpected!
In a relaxed yet interactive atmosphere you are co-creatively guided to focus on what is important in your life and professional path. Such an immersive involvement helps not only having a close relationship with our floral helpers, but to get a clear picture and deep understanding of all the hard work behind our precious aromatics.
A TOUCH OF PERSONAL
PLANT ALCHEMY ON CRETE?
1:1 Private retreat program cost
5-days 1150€ / 4-days 960€ / 3-days 750€
1:1 retreats offer a single participation exclusively with Ildiko
What’s INCLUDED in the retreat fee?
– Dedicated time, care, focus and inspiring presence from Ildiko* to you individually;
– Theoretical and practical tuition, workshops, coaching and guidance;
– Aromatic welcome gift pack;
– Aromatic materials (oils, hydrosols, tinctures, etc.) and supplies used during sessions;
– Transfer from/to airport to your accommodation; available for the 5-days programs.
– Transportation during our programs, and from/to your accommodation daily;
– One delicious main meal per day in our home or a local taverna; **
– Pick your herbs for tea, tincture or medicine;
– Fresh spring water, seasonal fruits, small snacks;
– Daily participation from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm adjusted as per our flow and as necessary;
* Unless you require time with Ildiko exclusively, which is understood and respected, her partner Yiannis
Psillos (grower, herbalist, homoeopath, biofeedback therapist) might occasionally part-take in our activities.
** Balanced, healthy meals based on nurturing locally-grown food that we ourselves eat.
We believe that food is part of our medicine cabinet. We are not vegetarians, yet our choice of food is
mainly vegetables, local wild greens, and a small percentage of fish and meat. If you follow a
special diet, please let us know so that we can discuss and prepare accordingly.
The retreat fee does NOT include:
– your travel cost to Crete and travel insurance;
– airport transfer shorter than 5-days programs;
– accommodation to be paid directly to hosts/providers (check out our pre-selected list HERE);
– breakfast and dinner (self-catering or local cafes, shops)
– transportation beyond our retreat journey program;
– any tickets or entrance fees to museums, etc.
Small Group Retreat program cost
Occasionally we open a 1:1 retreat program for other participants to join.
In this case we offer a reduction from your individual program fee.
This is based on the actual number of participants and is
15% in case of 2 participants (DUO) and
25% in case of 3 participants (TRIO).
The reduction does not apply for accommodation and any other fees that are not included in the retreat program cost.
"I had many visionary dreams in my life, and walking through meadows with wildflowers was amongst the vivid ones. As I've been walking my aromatic path, unfolding chapter by chapter, those dreams were magically coming true. Never in my wildest dreams a fragrant hill of Damask Roses came up as an image that would later become part of my physical reality. "
The story of Damask Roses on Crete
More than a decade ago Yiannis Psillos – a teacher of homoeopathy, therapist and farmer – decided to realise his long-time dream and started planting roses on the fields that he had taken over from his parents. The main fields are on a lovely hillside, nearby the picturesque traditional Cretan village of Kritsa. The land is surrounded by olive orchards that produce one of the highest quality and finest extra virgin olive oil the area is known for. Yiannis himself planted over a thousand Damask roses, one by one, and this journey also proved to be his own therapy to mend his heart. The gift of his commitment, dedication, and passion for the ever-changing phases of working with the land all year around is transmitted by the beauty and the most exquisite fragrance of the roses that come into blossom year and year again. With a shared passion for Nature, Plants and teaching their therapeutic gifts, Ildiko and her partner Yiannis have joined in their vision transforming the land into a working apothecary garden with currently over 50 species of aromatic and medicinal plants.
DO YOU JUST NEED A BREAK
IF LIFE FEELS EITHER DULL OR TOO BUSY?
TAKE A POSE ON CRETE!
What if life is not so rosy...?
You may simply need a break.
If you want to achieve substantial change in your life, it is very helpful – if not inevitable – to get out of your usual environment and to contemplate on your life from the far. Sometimes, the longer the time period the better the clarity you achieve. You need time and space to breathe, to heal, to recharge, to empower yourself, to figure out the next steps, and to make that happen. Ildiko had been there, done that and more. Genuinely passionate about catalysing transformation on both a personal and collective level, she offers to facilitate that process for you!
You are also given the possibility of enjoying the truly unique nature of Crete for an extended period of three weeks to three months, experience village life or stay in a small picturesque town, and work with Ildiko participating in her long-stay mentoring program.
Remember this: the choice is YOURS…!
TAKE TIME OUT !
Are you ready to take a break from your life? It might be just the right time and opportunity to CHANGE YOUR LIFE!
Get in touch to discuss options of your personal alchemy trip, so we find the right arrangements for you.
> Individual private retreats
> Stay from 3 weeks up to 6 months
> Dates and details by request