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Smell is a potent wizard that
transports us across a thousand miles and all the years we have
lived. - Helen Keller
Sitting in the garden in the
midst of fragrant flowers and herbs is an experience to treasure.
It can bring to mind pleasant memories of the past; perhaps a
memory of walking hand in hand with a favourite grandparent,
or, a summer's day from the past, when one was young and the
days were long and free.
Gardeners have been practising
aromatherapy for hundreds of years, even before the term was
heard! Whether just by planting a fragrant, creeping thyme amongst
flagstone cracks, or, by planting a window box with herbs and
flowers, one is treated to an aromatic experience!
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In the Spring and Summer the
garden offers many wonderful scents such as lilacs, lily-of-the-valley
and peonies, and, as spring moves into summer, one is treated
to an array of scents including those of rose, alyssum, sweet
william, pinks, lavender, valerian, and, our family's favourite,
lemon verbena.
One can enjoy the scents of a
garden either by planting old-fashioned annuals and perennials
for their scented flowers, such as four o'clocks, heliotrope,
lavender, clary sage, or, herbs for their fragrant leaves. |
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There are a wide range of scents
to choose from such as basil, catnip, sage, thyme or scented
geraniums.. Scented geraniums come in a myriad of scents including
mint, lemon, apple, rose, peppermint or lime, just to name a
few. One may even decide to plant a lemon garden which would
include lemon thyme, lemon verbena, and lemon basil. If there
is room in the garden for a shrub or two, honeysuckle and lilacs
are heavenly scents.
Ancient history has shown that
fragrant plants were used to heal the mind, body and emotions
so it seems appropriate to say that aromatherapy begins in the
garden, and, outside of the garden, when summer's blooms have
long gone, one may remember the heavenly scents of spring and
summer by utilizing essential oils, which are the heart, soul
and spirit of the plant, the true essence. These can be applied
to the body for skin care, for therapeutic use with massage,
or, can just scent your home with an oil diffuser. Just another
way to remember the scents of the garden! |
