Excerpted from Creating Fairy Garden Fragrances

by Linda Gannon

The earthy colors and scents of the equinox celebrate the depth of the secret presence at the heart of nature. As autumn arrives with a vibrancy even in its dying, so sweet and sensual. The hillside is ablaze with burnished copper leaves, russet vines, ripe red berries, and velvety mosses,as this glorious season seduces the earth.

Enchanted Forest

A rich, autumnal potpourri blend, Enchanted Forest is rich in balsam, vanilla, and patchouli -- earthy, sensual, and mysterious. It is gorgeous in forest green and shades of brown, with sprinkles of moonlight thrown in.

You will need:

Dried Flowers and Herbs

2 cups deer's-tongue leaves

2 cups patchouli leaves

1 cup balsam fir needles

Essential Oils

20 drops patchouli oil

10 drops sandalwood oil

8 drops vanilla oil

Fixative

1/4 cup cut or ground oakmoss  

Textured Elements

1/2 cup orange peel

1/2 cup sassafras root bark

1/4 cup sandalwood chips

1/4 cup cinnamon chips

1/4 cup vanilla bean chunks

Finishing Touches

1/4 cup vervain blossoms

1/4 cup silver-painted pinecones

1/4 cup foxglove flowers

1/4 cup silver glitter

Foxglove Facts

It was believed that if you picked the tall spires of foxglove -- the most legendary of fairy flowers -- you would offend the fairies, but growing them in your garden would surely please the pixies!

The delicate pink or white, bell-shaped blossoms are covered with tiny flecks that are said to be fairy fingerprints.

Foxglove derives its folk names of fairy gloves and fairy caps from these splendid blossoms, which became props when the fairies played dress up. Other names include fox's glew and, because of the poison found in its exquisite "cups," witch's thimble and bloody bells.

Digitalin, obtained from the blossoms of foxglove, is used to treat heart ailments.

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net