‘I know a bank where the wild thyme blows,
Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows,
Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine,
With sweet musk-roses and with eglantine…’
– Oberon: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act 2, Scene 1
Elizabethan Gardens
The plays of William Shakespeare reflect his great affinity for flowers and aromatic plants. Elizabethan gardening was a well-developed art where scent was given as much emphasis as the appearance of the flowers, so both the colours and perfumes complemented each other. There was more appreciation than there is today of sweet-smelling herbs and plants being part of the aesthetic delights of a garden, although their culinary and medicinal uses were recognised as well.
It was the Elizabethans who developed the ‘still room’, referring to a distillation room where fragrant plants gathered from the garden, such as roses, lavender, thyme, marjoram and chamomile were used to make all kinds of remedial and household preparations, such as flower waters, skin creams, healing ointments, scented bath sachets and aromatic body oils. Natural plant aromatics were valued more highly at that time than they generally are today and were used for a multitude of purposes including for pleasure, as perfumes, to strew on the floor, to scent rooms, dispel disease, as cosmetic and skin preparations, as medicines and for first aid.
The woodbine referred to in Shakespere’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ most probably refers to honeysuckle, while eglantine is sweet briar, a form of rambling rose with small fragrant leaves, which I loved to rub between my fingers as a child. To learn more about growing and using scented plants, you can purchase my book, ‘The Essential Aromatherapy Garden’ which combines the popular subjects of aromatherapy and gardening, and details the history of the scented garden, linking it with the present-day appreciation of essential oils and their healing powers.
‘Of all the flowers, methinks a rose is best…’
History of the Rose
Roses are referred to about a hundred times by Shakespeare and I always think of June as the month when roses are at their best. Roses never go out of fashion, and they are as popular today as in the Elizabethan era. When did the passion for roses begin? In researching my book, ‘Rose Oil: Nature’s most Precious Perfume and Traditional Remedy’, I discovered that fossil remains show that the original wild species were already blooming 40 million years ago! Today however, the most significant of the highly scented cultivated roses, particularly those which are used for the production of essential oils, are the gallic rose (Rosa gallica), the damask rose (Rosa damascena), and the cabbage Rosa (Rosa centifolia). Different types of rose oil each have a unique scent, my favourite being the rose otto oil produced from the damask rose, which has a more refined quality than the rich, musky scent of rose maroc, from R. centifolia.
As a symbol of Venus, the Goddess of Love, roses have always been associated with passion, beauty and divinity, amongst her other attributes. Roses were especially valued in an ancient Persia, which is thought to be the birthplace of the cultivated rose, and where rosewater is still highly esteemed. Roses and violets were also the most popular flowers used in the garlands of ancient Rome, where to be ‘in the roses and violets’ meant experiencing carefree pleasure. Masses of rose petals were commonly thrown in public ceremonies and Cleopatras private chambers were said to be strewn with petals eight inches deep. In Shakespeare’s time, small posies were used to convey a message of the heart: red roses meant passion, white roses denoted purity, and yellow roses were for jealousy.
Therapeutic Benefits of Rose
Nicholas Culpepper, the well-known British herbalist, dedicated more space to the rose, than any other plant. He considered that rose oil helped induce rest and sleep, while rose water was ‘cooling, cordial and refreshing’ and to ‘use against redness and inflammation’. Bulgarian scientists have since confirmed that rose oil has a regulating effect on the heart, helping reduce high blood pressure, heart palpitations and arrhythmia, as well as soothing the nervous system yet simultaneously uplifting the spirits. Like rose water, the oil also has a multitude of cosmetic uses for conditions such as rosea, allergies or eczema and is especially recommended for sensitive and mature skin conditions when added to creams or lotions. Simply used as a perfume, rose oil is especially for emotional shock, grief and in the treatment of depression, having a strong harmonising effect on the whole system and helping to combat all kinds of stress.
At Aqua Oleum we make our own deliciously fragrant rose water which is ideal for use as a natural skin toner & cleanser, or just for feeling refreshed on hot summer days! Rosehip seed oil has also seen a great surge of interest in recent years due to its excellent regenerative skin healing qualities, being especially suitable for dry and mature complexions. Research has shown that rosehip seed oil is particularly effective for mature complexions due its activity on tissue regeneration where dry skin is considerably hydrated, and wrinkles minimised. At Aqua Oleum we also supply a rose quartz facial roller which feels lovely and cool when used on the skin after applying a personalised facial oil for an effective home-spa treatment! Here is a recipe for a rejuvenating facial oil based on a blend from my book ‘Rose Oil’, which I recommend for sensitive, mature and dry skin conditions:
Home-Spa Rose Facial Oil
- 40 mil of jojoba oil
- 10 mil rosehip seed oil
- 10 drops of lavender
- 20 drops of rose maroc (5% dilution)
- 3 drops of neroli (5% dilution)
- 2 drops of frankincense
- Add all the ingredients to a 50ml glass bottle with a pipette top and shake gently
- Massage gently into to the face and neck daily to help prevent wrinkles
- Apply around the eyes very carefully avoiding any delicate tissue and always stroking in an upward direction
- Use the facial roller for five minutes after applying the oil to improve the circulation to all the tissues of the face