Many ingredients to soothe mind and body can be grown in your very own garden

Just as you’re thinking you’d like a little pampering now that most of the holiday stressors are past, you might look to your garden for inspiration. Many spa ingredients come from nature, and plotting next season’s plantings could include the makings of soothing lotions, bath salts, soaps and more.

From the earth

Did you know that boiled lettuce added to a bath can help relieve sunburns — as will lavender — or that calendulas are a natural antiseptic? Then there’s aloe, which helps to heal cuts and relieves sunburn, too. Cucumbers reduce puffiness around the eyes, and the juice of the cucumber cleanses sensitive skin.

And did you know that you can actually grow your own loofah (Luffa aegyptiaca) sponge? It is a relative of the cucumber, a climbing annual vine. After you harvest your loofahs, soak them in water to soften, peel the brown skin, remove the seeds (save those for next season) and allow the loofah to dry in the sun. Then say goodbye to dead skin and hello to silky smooth elbows and heels.

The key to a home and garden spa is to use fresh ingredients whenever possible. Don’t concoct lotions, scrubs and other treatments in a metal bowl — the ingredients can have a reaction. Use glass or ceramic bowls, then test what you’ve created on a concealed area and wait 20 minutes, making sure there are no adverse reactions before you begin slathering it everywhere.

Aromatherapy

Aromatherapy is the practice of using plant-derived fragrances to create or change your mood. Terre Wood has been a certified aromatherapist for 25 years; she owned a holistic healing center for 15 years and has been in private practice since 1988.

“In 1980, when my first child was born, I began to explore alternative healing because I discovered she had environmental sensitivities and was highly allergic to pesticides that were sprayed on fruits and vegetables,” Wood says. “This really began my exploration into organic foods and herbals.

“Motherhood helped me remember my natural roots and fondness for all things relating to Mother Nature,” she adds. “Aromatherapy and herbalism helped me develop a lifestyle for practicing wellness. At this stage in my life, I rarely get a cold.”

Understanding the earth and what sprouts from it and how that intertwines with humanity is a lesson that goes far beyond devoted gardeners.

“Acknowledging that plants are healers can even mean we recognize the power that exists within their beauty, the natural fragrance they emit and the way this can purely make one feel,” Wood says. “When you walk in a garden, dig in the dirt, sip a cup of herbal tea while taking a bath or anoint with your favorite blend of plant aromas — you naturally let down and relax.

“Flowers and plants are like old friends that comfort and nurture the soul, and no words or drugs are necessarily required when you are in their presence. They can provide an environment for meditation with peace-inducing sensations to help balance the chaos of the day.”

Spa-worthy

While actually concocting your own spa treatments might seem like a lot of work, don’t forget the money you’ll save, especially when you give those homemade soaps and remedies as holiday gifts.

Alex Fiori, a co-owner of Salon di Marco who has worked in aromatherapy for 16 years, recalls how she first began looking at plants in a different light.

“I had been introduced to natural remedies from my mother and the other women in my family,” she says. “We never went to conventional doctors and used mostly remedies from nature. Then it was not trendy or avant-garde. It was simply a way of life.”

That respect of nature has seeped into all of the treatments at the salon, where each treatment is customized for clients using only natural ingredients. For example, the spa offers the warm French clay and algae body wrap and the sea salt glow, where ingredients are hand-mixed at the time of treatment. The spa also blends its aromatherapy on site.

Fiori has dabbled in creating treatments at home from her own garden as well.

“I grow herbs to use in my cooking, and I have made salves and poultices for healing purposes,” she says. “I make my own cough syrups in the winter and my own healing salves for muscle sprains and healing wounds.”

What the experts grow

Fiori has some recommendations for using your green thumb as a healer.

“Try the dandelion to detoxify the liver,” she says. “Mullein is for bronchitis and colds. Plantain is a powerful antibacterial that aids in healing wounds.

“In my garden, I grow lavender. With its fragrant blue tips, it helps me slow down and unwind. You can add the dried flowers to your bathwater or make tea and calm down. Sage helps strengthen the lungs and is a wonderful aid to the hot flashes of menopause. And rose, my favorite, helps stimulate sensuality, refresh the soul and bring joy.”