Magical Botany: Evergreen Academy Review & Lavender Pillow Spray DIY
What would it be like to be a student at a college for magical botanists? Go and see for yourself in Evergreen Academy by Heather Schneider! This lovely cozy fantasy follows Briar Rose as she navigates her first year at the secret Evergreen Academy. The book is filled with delightful botany, beautiful plants, and plenty of helpful herbs.
Lavender Pillow Spray For Sleep
Just like at any school, we see that student life can be hard. And aren’t we all students in this life really? We learn every day, and it can be tough. Happily, Briar has herbs to turn to and so do we!
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How to Make Your Own Lavender Pillow Spray
After one exceptionally eventful day, Briar falls quickly to sleep on a “lavender infused pillow”. Doesn’t that sound delightfully soothing? You can make your own lavender pillow in a few different ways, like using a little sleep pillow stuffed with lavender or you can make a pillow spray with this aromatherapy spritzer recipe.
Supplies
12 drops lavender essential oil
1 teaspoon dispersant such as solubol, vodka (or other spirit), or fractionated coconut oil
2 ounces water
2-ounce bottle with spray top
Directions
Add your dispersant to the bottle.
Then add the essential oil to the bottle.
Swirl to combine into the dispersant. This will help properly and safely dilute the essential oil into the water. Some people don’t use dispersants; the choice is yours.
Fill the bottle almost to the top with water, leaving enough room to insert the sprayer tube.
Then just give it a good shake. Add a label to make it pretty.
To use: simply shake and spray your pillow before bedtime. Keep it bedside!
You can also use this spray on your face and body to enjoy the beneficial skin actions of lavender.
NOTE: Use caution with children & elderly, during pregnancy, or with existing health conditions. Follow dilution guidelines. Please see this Aromatherapy Spritzer post for more information.
How To Use Lavender For Sleep
As a friendly herb for sleep, lavender (Lavandula angustifolia, L. spp.) is approachable and safe for many folks. Due to its popularity, lavender is also widely available.
Those lovely purple buds are filled with helpful properties that are used by herbalists to help soothe away the day. These properties include: antidepressant, aromatic, relaxant, sedative, and soothing nervine.
The aroma of lavender can be very soothing for some people and so using this herb as a pillow spray is a wonderful and simple way to employ the helpful properties of lavender. You can also add a couple drops of the essential oil to a diffuser in your bedroom.
Topically, lavender finds use in the bath or as a massage in oil or lotion. Add a couple drops of the essential oil to your favorite lotion and rub it on your feet as a cozy way to love your body and those hard-working tootsies before bed. Or place a couple drops of lavender essential oil in a roller bottle with some carrier oil to use on the temples and neck before sleep. If you have time for a bath, well, that is amazing! Find a recipe here for one of our favorite calming blends that blends lavender with vanilla. If you want something stronger, this blend might be the one for you!
Lavender is a tasty addition to teas as well. Blended with other calming herbs like linden, chamomile, roses, and passionflower, it makes a very relaxing cuppa!
Learn more about lavender essential oil here and also about how to use lavender around your home over here at the Herbal Academy.
I loved immersing myself in this world where plants are honored, studied, and quite simply everywhere. It was not unlike my own experience in herb school except we didn’t have classes in greenhouses or possess magical plant powers. At least not in the same context as the students at the Evergreen Academy. It was a delightful story set in a beautiful world, and I cannot wait to read the rest of the series!
Until next time, nerdy fairies, sweet dreams!
References
Groves, M. N. (2016). Body Into Balance. North Adams, MA: Storey Publishing.
Keville, K., Green, M. (1995). Aromatherapy, A Complete Guide the the Healing Art. Freedom, CA: The Crossing Press.
Lawless, J. (1992). The Encyclopaedia of Essential Oils. Rockport, MA: Element.