September 2009

Welcome to the first issue of Living Fragrant,
which I hope grows into an on-line community of sharing how we
can all enjoy this most intoxicating of pleasures!

"When the soul approaches the mysteries;
when it tries to rally to the great spiritual principles,
the perfumes are there"
~Marguerite Maury, The Secret of Life and Youth"~

...................
.Flower of the Season.....Ginger Lily

Ginger Lily grows naturally in zones 8 and warmer but can also be grown in a pot. She has become one of my 'must haves'. I live in a zone 6 but I find her worth the extra care to have her blooms in late summer. 'Delicate' is a good descriptive for the Ginger Lily. The blooms look like white butterflies which give rise to the nickname : butterfly ginger. Once picked the  blooms last, alert, for less than 12 hours, but for days they will continue to perfume a room. So just tuck them out of sight at that stage! The aroma is a delicate gardenia/jasmine/ginger spice. It's a large plant with leaves that will make you think you are looking at a Canna. The blooms arise out of a 'torch' typical of the ginger family. The roots, also reminiscent of ginger, grow horizontally.

Grown naturally, in the southern states, Ginger Lily would prefer quite a bit of shade and she likes growing along wet margins. For pot culture in the north, give her lots of water and sun, but not so much that her leaves look drawn and tight through a hot afternoon. (She is a Southern Belle.) Ginger Lily grows rapidly and can get root bound annually; just lift the whole plant in early spring when you see signs of  life emerging and cut off  enough new roots to 1/3 to 1/2 fill your pot. (She would appreciate some fresh soil at this point.) Water and place in the light. I always grow my plants organically so I can nibble on them. At season's end, let the first frosts naturally kill back the foliage, cut off the stalks and place the pot in a dark, cool location, watering very sparingly, till a new cycle in spring.
Her fragrance can be difficult to capture; I generally enjoy it just as it comes.

Eating Perfume

There are many aromatic fruits but to my nose, the North American native Paw Paw takes the cake. (ohhh That gives me an idea!) Growing in shady, rich bottomlands over much of the eastern half of the country, it is worth seeking out. It is related botanically to the Papaya (which I discovered is called a 'po po' in Fiji) but it smells a lot more like a mango. I think last year in my blog I said "excited Mango". It makes one of the strongest hydrosols I've ever distilled, but I read it is also dried, made into jams and canned. 'Banana custard fruit' is a nickname and gives you an idea of what to expect. This year I am doing an experiment and tincturing some in alcohol for perfume stock. (Follow the escapade on my blog
'fragrant notes'/9/16/09)

If you don't happen to have a grove of these trees in your yard, try asking around at some of the local farmer's markets. This time of year. You have to act quickly because they Don't keep. I am lucky enough to have several sources who call me (or leave some on the doorstep) when they find them in the wild. Hybrid Paw Paws are gaining popularity as a home cash crop; and they are quite lovely as trees go. You do need two species to cross pollinate.

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SKIN CARE TIPS....Vetiver Oil..." is prized in skin care for it's deep penetration, plumping up thin and sagging skin." Damian: Aromatherapy, Scent and Psyche
Vetiver grass is a native from India and I'm growing 3 clumps in my garden this season. It surprised me by growing taller than I am! I hope the root system is as boss, that's the part that gets distilled and I want to try it as a hydrosol. Look for it in a month or two!

For more tips for Happy Skin please visit our face sprays and scroll to bottom of page. :)

Let's talk Séage!
french term for the scent trail you will leave behind!

A touch of chrome, a touch of leather,
united by the 'Queen of the Night'; Jasmine

This month my newest perfume rolls out of the garage..."LA FEMME BIKER" She began as a gesture that women bikers don't have to leave their feminine side on the side of the road but she quickly shifted into something CLASSY.
First gear base notes include vanilla, labdanum, cognac and even Ambergris for that animal tug. She shifts into the heart notes with many florals; rose, jasmine and mimosa to name a few. She tops out with blood orange and pink pepper, plus, plus.
The good news is that you don't have to own a bike to wear her! She does have 'yang' energy, but every girl likes playing with that side of herself.



................................

...........................The Scent of Gratitude

As the Equinox approaches I am reminded (again) of so much to be thankfully for. (The list is as endless as the year!) To me the age old ritual of expressing an abundant heart with incense can not be improved upon.

I reach for my wooden 'incense box' which I have recently refilled with goodies made by the hand of Katlyn Breene of Mermade. When I received her package in the mail, even before I opened it I was treated to aromas which immediately strummed my cellular memory and took me to a place of reverence. It was with this mind set that I filled my treasure box and is with me when I reach it down off the shelf each time.

The nose of the human race was weaned on these resins, barks and leaves and it is my belief that our cellular memories reach back way further than our own personal lives. Lighting the charcoal and catching the first whispers of these fragrances connects me with all the offerings that have gone up in smoke before mine, and all that will continue. And as these primal scents curl and billow around my home space, I can feel the magic of times when fairies and elves were in our family lineages.

A visit to MERMADE MAGICKAL ARTS is like a visit to a Druid's worhshop, or even further down the road to witnessing the pyramids rise. Using authentic ingredients that haven't changed from the 'olde days', Katlyn crafts with beauty and intent that backlights the whole experience. (And check out her artwork!)

A 'Parlor Game' of ancient Japan was to 'listen' to incense
and interpret it's mood in poetry!

...............................
...One of The Most charmingly written and illustrated books on ........fragrant plants; a bible for many gardeners since 1967.

........................."The Fragrant Year"
..............Scented Plants for your Garden and your House
........Helen Van Pelt Wilson and Leonie Bell

"Every year spring knocks at our door in the same unmistakable fragrant way. We know winter is gone the morning our great honeysuckle shrub casts its sweetness on the March air and makes that day so different from the one just past....In some years, the winter Daphne odora and February D. Meezereum bloom with it, and the blend of sweetness is then so marvelous we do not stir from home."

............Please check with your local new and used booksellers first. :

For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, the cooling weather turns our thoughts to 'the holidays'. Gifting was a burden for me for many years until I learned how blessed it is to Give. Now I like doing it anytime, all year, even for no reason! As you plan your Gifting forays, remember that a fragrant gift is especially appreciated!

 

..............................Fragrant Offerings Fragrance anragrance and memory

While we were visiting a friend, she served us a cup of tea (as friends will do).That cup of tea was impeccably 'made' (that doesn't quite get it)...how about 'brought forth'. I have had lots of plain green tea before but this cup was exquisitely fragrant and got all of my attention. Her mindfulness of detail and of the moment made this a 'ceremonial' cup of tea. But knowing Marlis, this is how she does everything. Including building her own sweet little house and equally sweet cottage where we had just spent the night. (Not to mention handmade furniture!)
On returning home I have tried to do a cup of tea like Marlis but I miss it by a mile. It was the 'moment' of her and the last 12 hours we had spent in her environment; the cottage, her gardens (the evening before, she ran out 4, no, 5? times to snip fresh herbs for dinner), the four plump, gently clucking red hens. (No, I didn't hear a rooster.) BTW, if you are looking for the best place to stay in the North Carolina Mountains, check out her cottage.
www.slowlivingcottage.com

 

Next month we'll splash around with 'The Art of the Bath'

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