You should smell this one!! I platz for joy every time I
stick my nose in the bottle to smell it. Roses and Lavender may not be [flower]bed
mates when it comes to growing them – one prefers a slightly more arid
environment while the other (rose, naturally) wants something a little more
moist – their fragrances sure as mud go together.
So without much further ah-dodo, here’s what you do:
You will need:
- 1x 5l glass bottle (for a BIG lot of bath salts);
- approximately 4 - 5 big, fresh, fragrant roses of any colour;
- English lavender foliage (my lavender bush is not producing any flowers yet but you are welcome to add the flowers to this mix);
- 2 - 3 kg Coarse Sea Salt (this can usually be found at Chinese supermarkets. WARNING: Do not substitute with dishwasher salts!)
- 1x big ladle/spoon
- 1x piece of linen to cover the bottle’s opening
- Rubber band
Start off by thoroughly rinsing your herbs. I seriously
advise using roses from your own garden, free from store-bought pesticides and
chemicals. Also try and avoid roses that have any form of disease or insects on
the petals.
Remove all the petals from the roses and press between two
clean dish towels to remove excessive water. Spread the dish towel open and leave
the petals uncovered to air dry further while you get busy with the lavender.
Pinch a tip of a sprig of lavender in one hand. Take your
other hand and pinch the stem between thumb and forefinger just below the fingers of the other hand. Slide your
fingers down the stem, removing the leaves from the stem. Again, dry
the leaves the same way as the rose petals.
If you are adding lavender flowers, you may use exactly the same
method to remove the small flowers from their stems.
Place your glass bottle inside another bowl or dish. This is
just to prevent spillage. Boy, do I hate spillage! And my boyfriend hates the
MESS! By placing your bottle inside another bowl you will catch anything that
might slip off the outside of the bottle, without letting it go to waste!
Now start to scoop a couple of spoonfuls of salt into the
bottle. Aim for a layer of around 2 – 3 cm. Then add a layer of rose petals and
some lavender leaves. Cover the layer of petals with another layer of around 2 –
3cm salts.
Cover the opening of the bottle with a piece of linen and a
rubber band.
IMPORTANT NOTE: do not put the lid on the bottle! You need
to allow the moisture to evaporate, while the salts draw out the essential oils
and fragrance into the salt crystals. Covering the bottle with its lid will
cause the mixture to grow mouldy and iffy and smell acrid and horrid… not good!
Leave this mixture in a cool, dark cupboard away from too
much traffic for around 2 weeks. Pour it all out into a dish big enough to mix
it through thoroughly. Scoop back into the bottle and, if necessary add some
more salts. You may leave the mix for another two weeks in the same dark place,
or you may start using it right away but adding a handful or two to hot
bathwater.
Enjoy, and remember to switch off the phone, the beeper, the
husband, the neighbours and every distraction available to mankind!
