April is all about rebirth and renewal. All of nature is waking up: the woods are full of swathes of pure-white wood anemones, there are fresh green leaves on the trees and more hours of daylight to enjoy. It’s the moment when Persephone, Queen of the Underworld, returns from her sojourn with Hades in the darkness, to bring light and life back to the Earth. According to Greek mythology, this explains the change of the seasons and the coming of Spring as part of the eternal cycle of Nature’s death and rebirth. This is holiday time too, so it’s a perfect opportunity to spend more time outdoors.
Bringing Nature Indoors
I become obsessed with bringing nature indoors at this time of year as there are so many plants coming into flower. My kitchen table becomes crowded with pots and vases of fresh-scented blooms in April: hyacinth, jonquil, jasmine, primroses, violets and narcissus are all coming into bloom. Apart from looking beautiful, the sweet fragrance of flowers can also give us a feel-good lift by affecting the levels of neurotransmitters in our brain, such as dopamine and serotonin. The scent of vanilla, for example, has been shown to increase our levels of dopamine, which is associated with feelings of pleasure and reward. This is the perfect month to get out into the garden and to start digging and to plant up window boxes or pots with fragrant herbs, and there’s still time to plant bulbs and sow seeds.
In my gardening book, ‘The Essential Aromatherapy Garden: Growing & Using Scented Plants’, I detail the history of the scented garden then link this with our present-day appreciation for natural botanicals, aromatic plants and essential oils. It also explains in depth how to create and design your own aromatherapy garden to promote health, pleasure and well-being.
Natural Fragrance & Scented Plants
Fragrance always adds an extra layer of richness and pleasure to our homes. Even if you don’t have an outdoor space or garden, you still can indulge in the luxury of scented plants. Plant up pots and containers, then place them where they will be most appreciated most, such as beside your front doorstep, along walkways where you’ll brush past them, or on windowsills where you can pick up their scents on the breeze.
Many essential oils can also be employed indoors to conjure up the fresh feeling of Spring when used in room vaporisers. All the citrus family oils, such as lemon, grapefruit, bergamot, petitgrain, lime, mandarin and wild citron or cedrat, have a refreshing and invigorating effect on the spirits. Uplifting florals, such as neroli, rose, jasmine and rose geranium can also help create an optimistic and joyful mood and make lovely pulse-point perfumes.
Our diffusion blend Brighten, which includes lemon myrtle and grapefruit, makes a wonderfully zesty and refreshing room fragrance at this time of year. Sacred Space has a softer yet revitalising Spring-like scent being based on a blend of sweet orange-blossom and petitgrain oil, distilled from the leaves of the bitter orange tree. My suggestion is to use one of these oils or blends in a room vaporiser in the mornings to provide an extra boost, especially after a late night out! You might even like to try adding a few drops to the shower tray for a bright start to your day.
Earth Day & Indigenous Wisdom of Nature
The 22nd April is Earth Day, an international annual event to demonstrate support for the environmental protection of nature. I’ve recently been reading one of the most inspiring books about our relationship with plants, the earth and whole of the natural world, ‘Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teaching of Plants’ by Robin Wall Kimmerer.
As a botanist, she approaches nature with the tools of science and as a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she embraces the notion that plants and animals are our oldest teachers. It is a beautifully written book and her observation of the natural world as well as the indigenous wisdom which she conveys throughout is remarkable in its detail and depth. Here is an excerpt where she writes about her people’s relationship with the land and the earth:
‘In Apache language, the root word for land is the same as the word for mind. Gathering roots holds up a mirror between the map in the earth and the map of our minds… Recent research has shown that the smell of humous exerts a physiological effect on humans. Breathing in the scent of Mother Earth stimulates the release of the hormone, oxytocin, the same chemical that promotes bonding between mother and child, between lovers. Held in loving arms, no wonder we sing in response … it’s an odd dichotomy we set for ourselves, between loving people and loving land. We know that loving a person has agency and power – we know it can change everything. We act as if loving the land is an internal affair, that has no energy outside the confines of our head and heart.’
April Showers & Tree Planting
April is the month of sudden showers and can be an unsettled time of year for the gardener with cold snaps possible until May, at least in many parts of the UK. The end of the month celebrates Arbor Day as it is still early enough in the year to plant a tree. If there is a dry spell, a newly planted specimen will need plenty of water and if it is small or slightly tender, it is best to wrap it in fleece to keep it warm while it settles in. Planting trees is one of the most accesible ways in which we can each help to avert global warming.
The flowering crab apple tree is a beautiful addition to any garden or large container, several of which have scented blossom. This spring-flowering tree is a showy plant with all-season interest displaying early blossom, followed by attractive small crab apples and some striking leaf colours in the autumn. The scent of the flowers can vary from a classic sweet apple-blossom scent to a more exotic, spicy type of fragrance, reminiscent of cloves or cinnamon. Crab apples prefer moist, nutrient-rich and well-drained soil with an acidic to neutral PH. Newer hybrids are more disease-resistant. Scented varieties include Malus ‘Brandywine’, Malus ‘Madonna’, Malus ‘Satin Cloud’, Malus ‘Prairie Fire’ or the amazing Malus ‘Royal Raindrops’ which has rich magenta flowers and striking deep purple foliage all season long.