The Aromatherapy Garden

March 21, 2016
Keville (Herbs for Health and Healing) reveals the “scents, secrets, and science” behind plant aromatherapy, persuading readers to grow flowers and shrubs for the stress-reducing smell as much as for sight and touch. She first describes the tradition of aromatherapy and then covers designing, cultivating, and harvesting plants for their scents. The last third of the book profiles fragrant plants, from angelica to yarrow. Keville weaves references to studies about healing and invigorating smells into short cultural histories of each plant, and includes a hodgepodge of facts and stats (nine pounds of tuberose buds equal one ounce of essential oil; moths smell honeysuckle a half-mile away). Most admirably, Keville rises to the challenge of describing each scent (“Basil’s spicy clove scent, with its hint of mint and pepper, makes it delightfully sweet, hot, and sharp all at the same time”). With such rich descriptions, readers will long for the actual aroma. Color photos.

May 15, 2016
Many people and most animals know things about the world through the sense of smell. Fragrances attract or repel, so are important in the natural and social worlds. Floral and green (herbal) fragrances are important to pollinators in literature and history and for practitioners of aromatherapy. Fragrance gardens come in many themes, such as culinary, teas and tisanes, braille, moonlight, regional native plants, and aromatherapy healing gardens. Designing, cultivating, harvesting, and preparing products from a scented garden are presented in this pretty volume. The photographs accompanying the aromatic plant profiles are lovely and inviting to gardeners who wish to plant and nurture a fragrant garden. The profiles include information about plant hardiness zones and descriptions of their scents. Beliefs about their mood-altering properties and uses throughout the world are included along with insect attraction and repulsion characteristics. Libraries with gardening collections will find this a popular item.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)