Petals in the Ashes (20 page)

Rose water

Pot pourri

Herbal hair rinses

Scented water to bathe in

Pomander balls

Gather petals from three or four full roses that have not been treated with pesticides. Place in a saucepan with a pint of water. Heat gently until the petals become transparent, but do not allow them to boil. Let the mixture cool, then strain through a sieve into a jug, pushing the petals with your fingers to extract all the liquid. Keep mixture in the fridge (it will keep for a week or so) and use as a cooling spray on face or body.

Pick apart several full roses and dry out on a paper towel in a warm spot, turning them occasionally. Add dried marjoram, thyme, rosemary and lavender flowers or any other strongly scented herbs, plus the dried, chopped rind of an orange and a lemon. Add some dried bay leaves, cloves and a teaspoon of cinnamon. Mix well together and stir occasionally.

Using a herbal infusion to rinse your hair after washing will condition your hair and leave it shiny and sweet-smelling. Use a tablespoonful of dried herbs to two pints of boiling water, leave covered until cool, then strain and bottle. After washing and rinsing your hair, use a cupful or two of the infusion in a jug, pouring through your hair several times.

Thyme

Camomile and dried marigold flowers will add highlights to light hair; sage works well on darker hair. Adding nettles and dried elderflowers will help combat dandruff. Lad's love (sometimes called southernwood), still to be found in cottage gardens and from herbalists, was a seventeenth-century remedy to make hair grow thicker and faster.

Marjoram

Sage

To one pint of water add eight tablespoons of dried herbs, or double this of fresh ones, mixing them according to whatever you have in abundance. Put into a pan and simmer gently for ten minutes, then cool completely and strain, pressing down the herbs to extract as much liquid as possible. Use a quarter of this mixture to scent your bath, and for an extra-special touch, scatter fresh petals on the water. As a guide, rose and lovage are cleansing and deodorising; rosemary and hyssop are refreshing; lime flowers and lavender are relaxing; and camomile and lemon balm are soothing.

Rosemary

Can be made with any citrus fruit. Divide into sections and pin ribbon or lace around to mark the quarter-sections. Stud all over in straight lines with cloves (using a knitting needle first to make the holes), then place the fruit in a paper bag containing cinnamon and shake to cover. Take out and dry completely in an airing cupboard, then add extra trimmings and a hanging loop. The fruit will shrink as it dries so you may need to adjust the ribbon-markers.

Orange

Also by Mary Hooper

Historical fiction

At the Sign of the Sugared Plum

The Fever and the Flame (a special omnibus edition of At the Sign of the Sugared Plum & Petals in the Ashes)

The Remarkable Life and Times of Eliza Rose

At the House of the Magician

By Royal Command

Contemporary fiction

Megan

Megan 2

Megan 3

Holly

Amy

Chelsea and Astra: Two Sides of the Story

Zara

Bloomsbury Publishing, London, Berlin, New York and Sydney

First published in Great Britain in July 2004 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
36 Soho Square, London, W1D 3QY

First published in the USA in July 2004 by Bloomsbury Books for Young Readers 175
Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010

This electronic edition published in July 2011 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Text copyright © Mary Hooper 2004
The moral right of the author has been asserted

All rights reserved
You may not copy, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise
make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means
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publisher. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication
may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 978 1 4088 2545 7

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www.maryhooper.co.uk

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