It’s time for a new zest of aromatherapy as winter warms and wanes. The springtime vernal equinox is not as far away as you might think. Here are six refreshing scents to participate in the renewal spirit of spring:
1. Sweet grass (Hierochloe odorata) has an amazing fragrance that smells like a breakfast of bacon, eggs and pancakes when sunlight hits the stringy leaves in the morning. I keep a small pot of seedlings on my bedroom window sill for a scented wake-up call. This plant is historically important to Native Americans and is used in smudging rites. 2. Heavily fragrant Hyacinth (Hyacinthus orientalis) bulbs will not only be pushing up in the garden, blooming potted plants are available at many grocery stores. Save the garden flowers to have blooms next year, buy your grocer’s potted offering. If hyacinth is just too heavy of a fragrance for you, potted daffodils may be just what you need. 3. Intoxicating blooms of Honeysuckle trees (Lonicera japonica) open in Chicago during late spring. Every year I plan car trips near Lake Calumet to pass by wild stands of the scented trees that literally clean city air. Honeysuckle is invasive, it may be rare in your locale. Look for a Mock Orange bush or Magnolia tree instead, those fragrances are also heady. 4. Peonies always please. Don’t take the fragrance for granted. Walk your neighborhood and experience the fragrances from different varietals. 5. Springtime is still primetime for influenza. Keep bottles of Pine, Camphor and Eucalyptus essentials oils close at hand for inhalation therapy and spring cleaning. 6. The refreshing scent of the south wind and rain is worth cracking the window for, even if it is still a little chilly outside. When the wind and rain come from the south, slightly open your bedroom window a few hours before bedtime. You can sleep with deeply refreshed air even if you have to close the window later to save heat costs.
Nothing else smells like spring.