ThePigAndThePeacock

Roses - Weekly Geek 2.13.09

In honor of Valentine's Day tomorrow, today's weekly geek is about the rose. Roses and love have a long history together. In Greek mythology, Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty, formed the rose from mixing her blood from a thorn prick and her tears over the death of her lover Adonis. Even Aphrodite's sons name, Eros, is an anagram for rose.

Formed from the blood and tears of lost love or not, roses are still beautiful and rose essential oil has many beneficial uses. Rose essential oils can act as an antidepressant, antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, astringent, antibacterial, and antiviral. It can also calm nervous tension. Rose essential oil can soothe and heal skin conditions, including cuts and burns. Rose essential oils are used in aromatherapy for it's calming effect. It can ease stress and lift the heart.

For Valentine's day, you should probably consider giving the whole flower (or a dozen or two) instead of just the essential oil. When giving roses, you want to make sure you give the right color since each color has its own meaning.
Red - traditional symbol for love and romance
Pink - Grace and elegance, admiration
Yellow - warmth and happiness, true friendship
White - Innocence and purity, associated with new beginnings like weddings
Orange - Desire and enthusiasm, passion and excitement
Lavender - enchantment, love at first sight

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Lavender - Weekly Geek 2.6.09

The Pig and the Peacock are big geeks at heart. We love little tidbits of knowledge. We've decided to post some of those bits of information here (and spare our boyfriends from having to hear them every night). This weeks geeky lesson is on lavender.

Lavender is not just a wonderful scent, it is great for relieving stress and anxiety. Before we get into that, let's start with the basics. Lavender, or Lavendula, is a genus of 39 species of flowering plants that is, surprisingly (to me at least), in the mint family. It is native to the Mediterranean region, south to tropical Africa, and to the southeast regions of India. It is now cultivated extensively for its aromatic flowers in France, Italy, and England and as far north as Norway.

Lavender has a long history in herbalism and aromatherapy but research is just recently beginning to find out how beneficial this flowering plant really is. Researchers at the Royal Berkshire Hospital NHS Trust, Reading, UK gave 122 patients either massage, aromatherapy using lavender essential oil, or bed rest. The patients were assessed before and after the therapy sessions including a physiological stress evaluation, as well as subjective evaluations given by the patients themselves about their anxiety levels, mood and ability to cope with their intensive care. Patients in the lavender aromatherapy group reported significantly greater improvements in their mood and perceived levels of anxiety. They were found to be less anxious and more positive immediately after the treatment.

The ancient Greeks called lavender nardus (after the Syrian city of Naarda) and it was used to prepare the holy essence. The ancient Roman paid a months wages to a pound of lavender. Today you can find lavender essential oil in many bath and body products. Use lavender to relax by adding a few drops to your bath water or soak in our Pampering Floral Bath Tea. Be careful with straight lavender essential oil, however, because it can cause allergies and photosensitivity.