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Herbs Around the House

The most familiar domestic use for herbs is, of course, the potpourri, made from dried, or semi-dried, leaves, petals and flower buds. Ready-made potpourris in various combinations of plant material are now widely available in gift shops and florists. Buying a potpourri mixture is the easy option, but making your own at home has the advantage that you can choose the exact ingredients to suit your personal preference. How much nicer it is, too, to perfume a room with natural aromas than the artificial perfume of a modern air freshener from a spray can.

Decorative uses

Dried herbs and flowers can also be used to decorate the home when fresh flowers are scarce. Stuffed into baskets, gathered together to make 'tussie-mussies' -tiny bunches of fragrant flowers and herbs -or arranged in seasonal wreaths, they can adorn tables and walls. These dried arrangements will also last much longer than fresh ones.

Practical purposes

Although we now think of herbs in the home as a purely sensual treat, pleasing either the nose or the eye, in the past herbs were used domestically for much more practical, down-to-earth purposes. As with medicines and cosmetics, the manufacture of domestic products to cleanse and freshen the home and keep it germ- and pest-free has become a huge, commercial industry. However, this was not always so. The herb garden, hedgerow or field that once provided the raw ingredients for the medicinal and cosmetic preparations on which people depended also provided them with a way of keeping their homes sweet-smelling (in the days before modern sanitation) and hygienic. One common practice was to strew certain herbs, for example, lavender, catmint or tansy, in places where a pest infestation might occur. Depending on the herb used, this could help to deter such unwanted visitors as fleas or rats. Another practice - that of placing herb-filled sachets in wardrobes or drawers -was done not just to perfume their contents but to keep pests at bay. In Elizabethan times, for example, lavender bags were placed among household linens and blankets to deter moths. Other herbs valued for their insect-repelling properties Were pennyroyal, a species of mint, for fleas; rue, for fleas and other insects; southernwood, for various insects including moths; and tansy, for flies. Herbs were employed against illness, too. Lavender stems were burnt as a fumigant in the sickroom, and rue was also burnt as an air cleanser. The tussie-mussies mentioned above were originally used in medieval times to ward off the infection and unpleasant smells from plague and other diseases.

Rest and relaxation

A pleasant way to combine both the sensual and practical uses of herbs in the home is to make a herb cushion or pillow, filled with a dried mixture, to use as an aid to sleep. The weight and warmth of your head will release the fragrance of the herbs, and feelings of stress and tension will float away. A few drops of an essential oil in an oil burner can have a similar effect. The oil is placed in a little water in the upper container of the burner; the heat from a burning night light in the lower compartment warms the water and the fragrance of the oil wafts out on the water vapour. Oil burners should, however, never be left unattended for any length of time -and should certainly not be used when you are going to sleep at night - because the water can evaporate surprisingly quickly leaving the candle burning on.

The natural way

The trend towards more traditional and natural ways of doing things that are healthy and do not harm the environment or other living creatures -in the foods we eat, the medicines we take, the cosmetics we use - seems to lead inevitably to the use of herbal products in the home. The more this awareness of health and environmental issues grows, the more people will become concerned about the harmful effects of such products as, say, domestic flea or fly sprays, and the more they will look for safer alternatives: this is where herbs can be helpful, just as they were for our ancestors over the centuries, in so many areas of their lives.

Gift ideas

The suggestions here would make attractive and unusual gifts -and all the more acceptable because the recipient knows that you have taken the trouble to make them yourself.

Catmint mouse: Here is a toy to give to a feline friend. A clump of catmint is cat heaven, as any gardener will testify who has tried to grow the plant in open ground, only to have it flattened by a cat rolling over it in ecstasy. To make a catmint mouse, unpick a fabric toy mouse, remove the stuffing, replace with dried catmint leaves, and sew up the opening again. Alternatively make a muslin pouch and fill with the dried leaves.
Decorative scented candle: Scented candles provide a special ambience in any room, each different scent providing a special mood. Cinnamon and cloves give a festive scent for Christmas, frankincense and patchouli create an Eastern mood, while jasmine produces a fresh, spring-like fragrance. For more practical purposes, lemongrass can be used to eliminate old tobacco smells.
For a delicious cinnamon candle, you will need a plain orange or dark red coloured candle. This can be ready-scented, or if you choose, you can add the scent yourself. Do this by lighting the candle, and allowing some of the wax to melt. Then simply add a few drops of scented oil to the melted wax, extinguish the flame, and allow to cool. When next the candle is lit, the delicious aroma will be released.
To decorate, tie cinnamon sticks around the candle with twine or scrim, fastening with pins. For added effect, add some cloves between each stick.
Scented notepaper: Turn ordinary notepaper into a special gift by scenting it with small sweet bags.
Matching notepaper and envelopes 2-3 shallow sachets filled with potpourri mix. Attractive box to hold notepaper and envelopes, slightly deeper than the stationery cellophane, if box has no lid. Length of satin ribbon arrange the notepaper and envelopes in the box, slipping the sweet bags between the layers. Replace the lid or wrap with cellophane, and secure with the satin ribbon, finishing in a bow. The paper will soon absorb the scent of the potpourri, and the recipient can then use the sweet bags to perfume linen or lingerie.

While the distinctive aroma of herbs may please human nostrils, it has the power to repel unwanted domestic visitors, such as mosquitoes, fleas, moths and even rats. Using herbs is a more pleasant way to keep moths from stored garments and linens than the conventional moth balls, whose pungent smell seems to linger for ever.

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