As soon as the warm weather returns,in early summer, our herb bed blossoms into a mass of green and many of the fragrant plants add scent to the colour in the garden: lavender, marjoram, thyme, peppermint, lemon balm and rosemary, to mention just a few! Rosemary is a useful herb in cooking and also has many valuable properties as an essential oil. It is an excellent ingredient in skin preparations, supports the healthy functioning of the liver and is used for circulatory problems and headaches.

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) has also long been associated with improving the memory – Shakespeare is not the only writer to have referred to rosemary ‘for remembrance’ and, in recent years, trials comparing the effectiveness of rosemary oil and lemon oil on the learning capacity of university students found that while lemon oil could improve concentration, memory was definitely enhanced when inhaling rosemary oil! Rosemary has a piercing fragrance which can be helpful for treating headaches, especially those caused by nasal congestion or catarrh. It should not, however, be used at all by those suffering with epilepsy, high blood pressure, or when pregnant. The oil is a wonderful addition to any essential oil collection but is not recommended with any of the foregoing conditions as it may have adverse effects, in those cases. As a circulatory stimulant, rosemary oil could be used not only to help with any cold conditions, sluggish circulation and low blood pressure, but it can be blended with other analgesic and warming oils such as marjoram and black pepper for aching muscles and joints after vigorous exercise. It is reputed to darken brown hair, if used in the rinsing water when washing your hair and also is credited with overcoming baldness! The use of rosemary for skincare goes back several centuries at least and was an ingredient in Hungary Water, a sixteenth century tonic for ladies to ensure a youthful complexion.

As I have used aromatherapy to treat some of our pets, I thought it would be worthwhile to mention a few remedies here which may be found useful for minor complaints. It is not unusual nowadays to find herbal remedies for pets which can prove at least as effective as conventional medicine. Animals in the wild naturally seek out plants to help them when they are sick and even your own domestic animals may do so, if given the opportunity.

Maisie, our mini schnauzer suffers with a skin allergy which no orthodox treatment has helped – she has recently taken to chewing yellow dock plants – a remedy for skin irritations!

Homeopathic remedies and flower essences can be invaluable for animals as they are easy to administer and very gentle for small creatures.

Essential oils, in contrast, are very concentrated and care should always be taken when using them with pets, not only in measuring the drops but being aware of the strong scent which may be painful to animals with a keen sense of smell.

However, I have used lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) to calm and aid sleep for Maisie and Zeta, the little dogs. Just one drop on a hanky placed under their bedding worked wonders. I have also used a tea tree (Melaleuca alternifolia) solution to bathe a wound on Maisie’s leg which healed without scarring, subsequently. 1 drop of tea tree in a tablespoon of warm water was all I used – several times a day. Tea tree and lavender have also proved helpful for Maisie’s skin condition. Again in a solution of warm water, as above, and bathing her skin with it twice daily. Some dogs have shown adverse reactions to tea tree but neither of ours have.

Other essential oils that have proved useful for dogs include marjoram, camomile and rosemary which can help relieve muscular stiffness and pain. A blend of 2 drops of lavender, 1 drop each of the other three (Origanum majorana, Matricaria chamomilla, Rosmarinus officinalis) blended in 10ml of sweet almond oil can be used daily, massaged into the joints that are painful. Stop using if any adverse reaction occurs.

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