Aromatherapy Bouquets

                                

   Our family just returned from a long overdue get away to the ocean this week. Good friends, beautiful views, nature walks, and plenty of sunshine. How strange is it though, with vacations and lots of relaxing, how worn out you can feel when you arrive home? 

   Tonight I found myself in the garden, barefoot, pair of garden sheers in hand, ready to make a bouquet that smelled of home. I stood there just breathing in the smells that are so comforting to me. Blooming roses, lavender, all kinds of herbs and that musty scent the earth gets after the sprinklers  come on. All these smells are home to me, so different from the salty smell of the ocean. 

   I ended up with a handful of mint, lemon basil, and lavender. An interesting pairing for a bouquet, I know. But, I had done this type of "Aromatherapy Bouquet" once before, on a whim and loved it. There are so many types of roses and fragrant flowers blooming in my garden, though sometimes the heavy, heady, smell can be overwhelming to the senses. Especially when your looking to wind down after time away from home. Aromatherapy oils are all the rage these days, but you don't have to buy these sometimes costly oils to enjoy the wonderful smells nature has to offer. 

Making Aromatherapy Bouquets:

Step 1- Pick some herbs and/or flowers from your garden with scents that calm your senses. Try combining herbaceous, earthy scents with floral, light scents. You'll be surprised how well certain smells may go together. If you don't have any herbs or fragrant flowers in your garden, well, go plant some! There are so many that grow like weeds! Eh um, especially mint. 

Step 2- Trim and arrange in a jar or vase filled 2/3 full with water.

Step 3- Set somewhere you will smell them of course! A nightstand or bathroom counter are both great places.

Step 4- Inhale and relax.

   I encourage you to get creative with this, there are so many possibilities. My favorites are mint/lavender and mint/rose. Herbs you can try include: basil, lemon balm, lavender, fennel (fronds), dill, rosemary, thyme and sage. Use whatever you have. Remember you can mix floral with herbaceous  

smells. 

Happy bouquet making!