Best Way to Use Herbs in Your Bedroom

Nosegays or tussie-mussies – posies consisting of aromatic herbs and flowers – were popular from medieval times, not only because of their ability to disguise unlovely smells but also because they were thought to protect the holder from serious diseases. They were also used for declarations of love, since all the flowers and herbs had acquired special meanings. A lover might send to his beloved a tussie-mussie of, for example, mint for virtue, forget-me-nots or myrtle for true love, golden marjoram for blushes, ivy for fidelity and rosemary for remembrance.

Guests will be sure to appreciate such a posy placed on a pillow or at the bedside, even if they have no idea of the signficance of the herbs and flowers used.

To enliven a bedroom with the scents of summer in winter, you can spray the bed coverings with a fresh linen spray or sprinkle the pillows with a diluted essential oil. Chamomile, lavender, lemon balm and oregano have all been shown to promote sound sleep.

To scent a room in winter, vaporize an essential herbal oil in a ceramic burner. Add a few drops of oil to water in the bowl and use a nightlight to heat it gently from beneath.

Garlands serve the same purpose as potpourris. They are designed to scent the air and the objects around them, but in a more decorative way. They can be hung on the backs of doors and the corners of beds or laid on a pillow to welcome a guest. Only herbs with tough and pliable stems can be used to make garlands because they must be able to withstand being looped and twisted. For fresh herbal garlands use catmint, lemon balm, lemon verbena, marjorams, mints and scented pelargoniums. Rosemary, lavender, bay, myrtle and eucalpytus are rewarding to use in either fresh or dried form.

As well as looking romantic, a marriage bed adorned with flowering thyme, rosemary, eucalyptus and pelargoniums fills a room with summer smells.