Читать книгу The Herb Lover's Spa Book - Sue Goetz - Страница 10

PART ONE

SURROUND

Every person has their “thing”

that helps them relax,

feel cared for and nurtured.

Ask five people what calms them and you will get five different answers. Our complex brain and sensory functions receive outside influence differently. For example, some of us like to have our feet rubbed, while others find it uncomfortable. The same can be said for types of body massage. And when it comes to the power of fragrance, a sense of smell can be so strong that it brings on a headache; yet others of us can hardly recognize the odor of a rose right under our nose. Describe what basil smells like – is it clove-like and warming or reminiscent of tomato sauce poured over pasta? It is all stored in our memory by way of individual experiences. Within those experiences we can also outline what it takes to bring personal relaxation. The creation of your spa experience – the actual space, the sensory stimuli, the mood makers – starts when you truly consider and define what is indulgent and comforting for you.

You might think that the obvious and only place for your personal home spa is the bathroom or hot tub. But, let’s expand your idea of a spa and find other spaces that nurture, too – beyond the thought of a bathtub or sink. The relaxing atmosphere can be many places once you have fashioned the surroundings to match your need for refuge and indulgence. It can be indoors, outdoors, or both. Think what it is that relaxes you and discover where that could be. In the pages that follow, we’ll look at ways you can create a place that invites you to return again and again.

■ THE GARDEN AS SANCTUARY ■

As a garden designer, I often hear people say their garden is their therapy.

They will work outside in the dark with a flashlight after a long day at work, just to have precious moments to dig in the dirt. It is amazing how a few hours of tending the garden will melt away a whole day of stress. The influence of a garden is written in history and long studied, whether you go back to Eden with Adam and Eve or study the history of medicine derived from plants.

There is much that can be said about how a garden affects us. It all but forces us into a patient tempo and away from the instant gratification that drives so many aspects of modern life. When we’re in the garden, there is no device that dings in our brain when time is up or a computerized sound to remind us to go somewhere. We plant bulbs in dark, damp soil, knowing the fulfillment will be months away. We push tiny seeds into the ground with a memory of the taste of fresh tomatoes off the vine. In the fast-paced life of today, we need to find sanctuary and healing therapy. What is at the top of the list? Planting, nurturing and being in the garden. We can toss aside the statistics about the popularity of gardening, and say that it is long-revered as a place to go when one wants to slow down and linger. There is simply something about nature that forces us to not be in a hurry. She is also a powerful seductress that keeps us always longing to smell flowers and gather herbs for tea, and crave the first fresh-picked raspberry.

Creating retreat in the garden

Now let’s take a walk in a garden that has been planted with herbs and other sensory delights. Slow down and inhale deeply until you feel as if your lungs are filled to capacity, then slowly release your breath. The fresh dose of oxygen runs through you as the earthy fragrances of herbs and flowers weave their way into your mind. Nature’s aromatic therapy sends messages to the brain and readies the body for relaxation. The essential oil of some herbs can trigger responses that release calming hormones and slow the rush of adrenaline. (In research studies, lavender essence actually forces a physical response that lowers blood pressure, heart rate and skin temperature.)

Every time we bring ourselves to a place of relaxation the memory preserves it.

Creating a special space in your garden as a haven will encourage a habit to go there and relax…to jog that relaxation memory all over again. When you go to the next level of making your own spa treatments with fragrant herbs from the garden, your experience will be all the more memorable.

Elements of design

Making a sanctuary space is a very personal project. What says “sanctuary” to you? In a garden it can be the sound of water, a private building for retreat, a rustic pergola, or a collection of favorite plants to sit in the midst of after a busy day. There are no set rules on the actual measurement of space. Large or small in size, it is more about the importance of making it work for you.

Sanctuary, on an expressive level, is all of these things. The addition of practical pieces of a design will create the privacy, security and comfort you are seeking.

To clarify your planning, start with some questions. The answers will guide you to discover ways of creating a garden sanctuary.

What will I do in the space?

■ Sleep…eat…read…soak.

When do I plan on using it most?

■ In the morning drinking a cup of tea…or evening relaxation after dinner.

What additions are needed to meet my needs?

■ Reading needs a quiet space with only the gentle, natural sounds of bees humming, splashing water and birds as the backdrop noise.

■ Sleeping spaces need protection from weather.

■ For outdoor bathing or showering, privacy is required.

What precludes your enjoyment of this space?

■ Noise…hot sun… too much work.

As with any upscale destination spa, the complete environment – the surround – is planned specifically to nourish all the senses. And so it can be with your home spa.

DESIGN ESSENTIALS FOR THE SANCTUARY GARDEN

Plants

The garden needs to be planned to grow herbs for use in your spa remedies, of course, but more than that, you are creating space to experience the hand-blended treatments. This is your outdoor spa. Its space is defined with ornamental plants that are chosen for hedging privacy, overhead natural canopies and living walls.

For an overall calming effect, blend fragrant plants and soothing color palettes. Your plant choices become healers, aromatherapy, and sensory stimulators. Use them to fill in around seating, pathways and other hardscape in the garden. (It goes without saying that you would avoid plants with spiky or thorny habits.)

Security

Add structure, like a pergola, or plant trees as an overhead canopy. This provides a sense of shelter and comfort, much like the ceiling of a house. Garden walls, whether living plants or built structures, define the area and make us feel secure and safe.

Privacy

Create a haven. Privacy screens and hedges block out uninvited eyes and undesirable views.

Rooms

Divide an area from the busy activity of an outdoor space. A distinct entry point trough an arbor or gate reinforces the idea that you have walked into a special space.

Outdoor living

Are you planning for an outdoor bed, shower, bathtub, hot tub, or seating? This is where comfort is imperative. Bring all of the luxuries of home outside. Create a sleeping area in a quiet place shaded from bright daylight. For a seating respite, choose comfortable outdoor furniture. Place it where it captures your favorite time of day or where you will frequent it. Buffer a bathtub or shower from prying eyes, inclement weather and intruders by surrounding it with plants and privacy structures. If a hot tub is already installed as part of the home, create a relaxing view by planting a beautiful tree as a focus or bring in elegant, colorful pottery and surround it with colorful plants. Look for ways to integrate the hot tub into the landscape so it doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb. For the undesirable views you cannot change, hide them with fencing or large plants that billow and camouflage.

Even the simplicity of a small patio or balcony becomes a retreat by placing pottery and fragrant herbs to create your surroundings. Finish with comfortable, deep-cushioned seating and a table.

Personal space

Be selfish, this is a place to read, eat, sleep, bathe or shower. Make it personal.

Protection from the elements

Know your garden space well by watching how the sun plays in it – note the warmth of the morning sun or a cool shady spot from the heat of the sun. Position your space very purposefully. If your favorite spot needs shade from hot sun, consider a pergola that will filter the light and cool the air. You can create spaces to use year-round by adding a garden shed that can be heated and gives protection from rain and snow. Or re-style a greenhouse once used for nurturing plants into a living space to nurture your soul.

Sound

Outside noise influences our ability to relax and many times in a garden it is sound we cannot control, like a noisy street or neighborhood. You may need to add desirable sounds: water bubbling from a pottery fountain or the splash of a waterfall to help drown out unwelcome noise. Plants can also be strategically placed, such as bamboo and tall ornamental grasses, to catch wind and rustle organic sounds through a space. Use plant varieties to encourage birds to nest and shelter, to add their vocalization as background noise.

The Importance of Texture

Much has been said about the sense of smell, sight and sound, but the sense of touch brings heightened awareness as well. Soothing massage, water against skin in a bath, the feel of hot or cold temperature; the tingle of skin by application of the spa treatments, everything done by touch. This shows another element to be mindful of in a sanctuary space: the texture and feel of plants, fabrics and furniture.

In a garden, plants with plush leaves like lamb’s ear (Stachys byzantina), the quilted leaves of hosta, and soft ornamental grasses add texture. The bark of trees with peeling layers, like paperbark maple (Acer griseum), or the soft, smooth sheen of Tibetan flowering cherry (Prunus serrula) are visual texture in mixed plantings. Consider adding touchable flowers and seed heads, like ornamental Alliums, the downy, soft flowers of Spanish lavender (Lavandula stoechas) and the silky fragrant petals of gardenia.

Fabrics against skin quicken the sense of touch, but there is a remembrance of how it will feel just by the sight of the texture.

It is not hard for many of us to imagine an early experience of raw, scratchy wool on freshly showered skin. Fabric from linens, towels, robes, pillows and furniture covers needs to feel comforting, embracing. For fabrics that touch skin after a treatment, choose textures of natural, soft cotton, and the smoothness of silk.

If you have the luxury to create a dedicated, private spa space and are able to select the material for construction, give careful thought to the texture of floors and walls. The closer to a natural material such as bamboo or smooth wood, the more comforting the texture and feel of the space.

■ INSIDE YOUR HOME: THE SPA SURROUNDINGS ■

You know the moment you walk through the door of a resort spa. You feel indulged. Natural wood, greenery and earthen tones surround you. The fragrance of fresh herbs lingers in the air. You are handed a fluffy, cotton robe to change in to. The music, the lights, the fragrance, all capture your senses. The atmosphere is intentional and carefully designed to envelope and prepare you for the rest of the treatment. The environment is really a part of the healing. It begins to lower your blood pressure and blot out the stress of the day.

Find your space

Go ahead, steal ideas from luxurious destination spas and recreate the experience at home. Most of us do not have the extravagance of space to set aside as the spa room, so get creative and find ways to make space. Choose a relaxing area where you can feel separate from the usual activity of the home. The bathroom is typically the chosen space because of the access to water and a tub, plus a door that locks! Keep a basket of spa essentials ready for those times you choose to make the everyday bathroom into your own private spa destination. If there is another room inside that is more relaxing, then use it. Not all spa treatments need a tub.

CREATE THE ATMOSPHERE

Lighting

Lighting that can be adjusted from bright to dim is helpful. Add a lamp that uses a 3-way bulb or replace the regular light switch in the room with a dimmer switch. Bright light is needed for scrubs and treatments. But you’ll want to dim the lights or use candles when using relaxation soaks, steams or massage.

Sound

Soft music or the sounds of birds and nature are good for relaxation during soaking times. Create a playlist that is used just for spa time. Music is a memory trigger and targeting the right kind of music or sounds to your spa time will encourage calm and relaxation. Or, if you’re in a playful mood, step up the music beat to go with invigorating scrubs or foot treatments. Nature sounds take away the artificial buzz that music can be; the sound of waves crashing on the beach, birds and even the gentle drum of rain clears your mind. You can design the mood with sound.

Color

Color is an important mood maker. Greens and natural earth tones hues are the most relaxing. No need to paint all the walls with color in an existing space, but introduce calming, cool colors with pillows, linens and towels.

Color in a Sanctuary Space

Inside the home or out in the garden, what the eyes sees affects emotion. Color is an important part of setting a mood. A few general guidelines:

■ Warm colors – like reds, oranges and yellows – are for spaces with activity. They are the colors of fire and heat, and tend to make a space feel degrees warmer than it actually is. For a more relaxing experience, avoid true reds, which are known to increase blood pressure and heart rate. It is much more soothing to bring in paler pinks and peach – warm colors, but not so strong.

■ Cool colors, like shades of blue, calm and lower blood pressure.

■ Hues of green make a space feel degrees cooler.

■ Jewel tone colors, like deep violets and burgundy, add a luxurious appeal.

■ If your space has strong, stark colors, bring in some grey, white or black accents to help blend and play down the dominant tones.

■ Neutral colors on walls and floors provide a backdrop for light to bounce off, and invite experimenting with brighter-hued accessories.

■ The presence of natural wood, whether in garden fixtures, furniture or floors, suggests calm, whereas painted wood will create a different mood, according to the color you use.

No need to be boring or overwhelming. Well thought out touches of color, outdoors and indoors, like garden pottery, furniture coverings and toss pillows on the bed might just be the simple change you need to enhance your surroundings. You’ll know when you’ve achieved a feeling of sanctuary.

■ YOUR PERSONAL PRESCRIPTION TO TAKE A SPA ■

A spa session is your intermission from a busy world. Power down the phone and computer. Your spa time is not intended to be interaction with social media, it is time to pamper yourself.

■ Make space! Create a relaxing, healing space in your own home or garden.

■ Make time! Make an appointment with yourself. At the end of a stressful day, steep in a bath of aromatic herbs, to not only clean the daily grime off skin, but allow your mind to let go of things that cannot be taken care of in the moment. Think ahead of a busy time and have a pro-active spa moment. If there is an upcoming event that will be stressful, plan an uplifting sugar body scrub before the event.

■ Share! Welcome friends for a meal, conversation or gathering into the garden. The enchantment of fragrant herbs and peaceful space will soon begin to weave its spell. Strew rosemary and lavender cuttings on pathways and patios to release natural air fresheners when walked upon. Provide rosewater with fresh cut lemon slices for hand washing before and after a meal. Invite girlfriends (or boyfriends) for a foot scrub party. Treat someone special to a private herbal massage or shared bathing.

With those lovely images in our minds, let’s turn our attention to the herbs and discover who they are and what they can do to make our lives – and our spa time – delightful.