Harness the properties and constituents of essential oils for the busy gardener to soothe you after a hard day's work in the garden. Essential Oils for the busy gardener walks you through the best essential oil choices for aches and pain, like Lavender and Juniper. Myrrh is lovely for dry, parched skin after spending all day with your hands in the soil.
Often, we lose track of how much time we spend outside, and it's easy to get sunburnt; Peppermint and Roman Chamomile are champions of relief here. Hay Fever causes misery for those that suffer from it, but Melissa, Chamomile and Lavender can fight against some of those allergic reactions. Occasionally, we may need motivation and cajole out of our seats into the garden with Sweet Orange.
Make our Gardener's Fit Kit with Muscle Rub, Hard Working Hand Cream, After Sun, No More Atchoos and Motivate Me Blend.
I am an avid gardener and allotmenteer.
However, my back and knees are not!
They release an audible moan as soon as I step foot out there. I cajole them into comfort and silence with essential oils like Lavender, Juniper and Marjoram. Join me as I share my top tips on getting the very best out of your essential oils and gardening time.
The Health Advantages Of Gardening
Gardening is a pleasurable pursuit for many, and it has many health benefits and can impact your well-being most positively.
Spending this relaxing time in nature scientifically improves your mental well-being. That time is always well spent to feel more relaxed, less stressed and refreshed.
Who needs to go to the gym when the veg patch needs double digging, or the fruit cage needs re-netting?
The Royal Horticultural Society, that stalwart of all things gardening, has plenty to say about the benefits of gardening and the impact it has upon our entire well-being to make us FEEL better. Gardening is proven to reduce depression and improve our social interaction, and physical activity can cut our risk of coronary and heart disease.
Step out into the garden and reap the many benefits.
It Is Not All Roses Around The Door
While the research shows how wonderfully positive gardening is for our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being, we all know that gardening can also come with some issues.
There are only two ways about it if you have a garden of raised beds; gardening involves much bending down. Weeds tend to culminate in a carpet at your feet if you don't get on top of them at this time of the year, which takes its toll on your back.
The allotment is ripe for digging, and many of you will be eyeing up the veg patches for a turn of the rich soil to start this year's seeds. Digging, too, is energetic and causes plenty of aches or pains, not to mention the odd blister here and there.
Having your hands thrust deep into that beautiful humus-rich soil or potting compost is lovely, but your hands can feel dry later in the day. Ingrained dirt can also be an issue at busy times of the season when your hands are constantly in and out of the soil. My nail lady is used to me now and rolls her eyes at me when she finds a row of carrots underneath my nail polish.
Hayfever season is also fast approaching, and being in the garden as a hayfever sufferer can be nothing short of torture. Sore, itchy eyes, a runny nose, and sneezing are no fun when you want to prune your beloved roses.
Perhaps, you are still nose deep in seed catalogs waiting for better weather and need more motivation to move. Essential oils for the busy gardener have an essential oil blend to create some get-up-and-go!
Benefits of Essential Oils For The Busy Gardener
Essential oils are the essence of plants. You can extract a plant's natural oils from its flowers, leaves, stem, and even bark.
These essential oils contain the constituents and components that make up a plant, which all have their benefits and uses, and it is those we are going to capitalize upon today.
There are many advantages to using essential oils as a busy gardener; they are all natural and may fit your ethos to seek organic, natural alternatives and complementary therapies.
We can use these natural essential oils and harness the properties of the chemical constituents to help relieve pain and inflammation, reduce hay fever symptoms, repair our dry, cracked skin and uplift our moods.
Best Essential Oils For The Busy Gardener
With just a handful of essential oils, you can create an effective Gardener's Fit Kit that is perfect for keeping on hand at home or in the garden shed.
Aches and Pains
Lavender (Lavandula Angustifolia)
Lavender Essential Oil is perfect for when you start with every good intention, only to find that you have overdone it! Lavender will always be at the top of the list for muscle pain because of its proven efficacy. Perfect in a muscle rub or a steaming bath.
Juniper (Juniperus Communis)
Juniper Essential Oil is rather brilliant at detoxifying our muscles of lactic acid, the cause of all that soreness. Juniper's effectiveness is down to its diuretic actions, therefore, do not use this oil if you are pregnant or if you have a kidney condition.
Combined with Lavender Essential Oil, it creates a synergistic powerhouse of a remedy for muscle aches and pains. I often use it for an arthritic finger to flush the lactic acid out.
Sweet Basil (Ocimum Basilicum)
You want to grow it under your tomatoes to deter pests and enhance flavor, and you want it as an essential oil in your Gardeners Fit Kit. Chemically, it is rich in linalool which is not only great for inflammation and pain but is an antidepressant too. It does not only knock out your aches and pains but also uplifts and motivates you.
Liz has many more essential oil recommendations for aches and pains in her article 10 Best Essential Oils For Muscle Pain: Excellent For Body Aches check it out!
Dry, Parched Skin
Mom used to make Marigold and Myrrh Hand Cream, and I'll be honest, it wasn't my favorite to try and sell because it always smelt vaguely like smelly feet to me.
However, I was converted after selling it to a farmer whose hands were probably in the worst condition I had ever seen. His hands were all dry with cracked skin, which was sore and sometimes oozing. Also, the cracks in his flaky skin were full of ingrained dirt and who knows what? He was a farmer, after all!
He returned to me three months later, asking for several more jars, and showed me his hands.
Beautifully clean, soft, perfectly smooth skin. I was bowled over by it. He had so much faith in the product I sold him that he went to great lengths to remove the ingrained dirt and try and re-condition his hands. He was delighted with the outcome. So was I. I imagine his wife was rather pleased too.
See what my sister has to say about Myrrh Essential Oil from childhood; funnily enough, she has a similarly positive impression of the Marigold and Myrrh Hand Cream. We have both been sold from an early age.
Marigold
There are two types of Marigolds - Calendula (Calendula Officinalis) and Tagetes (Tagetes Minuta V.Bipinata).
For this purpose, I prefer Calendula, but you can use either. Both make for rather excellent skin conditioners and healers. Calendula carries a minimal risk of inducing contact dermatitis, so decide for yourself, but I can use it …and do it…even with my super sensitive skin.
It would be my first choice in a rich hand cream for feeding dry skin and dealing with rose thorn nicks and abrasions when the brambles win!
Myrrh (Commiphora Myrrha)
Myrrh Essential Oil is not just a skin healer; it is a skin knitter, tying together pieces of flesh that have undergone terrible injury, like the farmer's hands.
Wherever skin needs some healing, be it a nick, cut, graze or rose thorn, make Myrrh your go-to essential oil. As a bonus, Myrrh Oil is made up primarily of terpenes. Research indicates terpenes contain anti-inflammatory properties. It will be helpful for your hands and skin, but also relieve your aches and relax after a hard day in the garden.
It offers a great example of how one essential oil can play a multi-functional role in your Gardeners Fit Kit.
Sunburn
You may have caught the sun if you have been out pottering in the garden all day. It doesn't even have to be sunny to expose yourself to the UV rays that are considered harmful.
Always try and wear a high SPF sunscreen in the garden, but if you're anything like me, you plan to pop out for 5 minutes and are still there two hours later. It's easy to forget.
If you experience a sunburn, the best essential oils to turn to are Peppermint, Roman Chamomile and Patchouli.
Peppermint (Mentha Piperita)
Peppermint Essential Oil is perfect for cooling your skin and creating that delicious and most welcome cooling effect with menthol.
Do take care using it at night because of its stimulating effects on children under 6, as it can slow respiration.
Roman Chamomile (Anthemis Nobilis L.)
Roman Chamomile Essential Oil is always at the top of any of my lists where a soothing effect is needed, especially where it is needed upon itchy skin and prickly heat. Not only that, but it's lovely to soothe our mood too.
It is an excellent choice for using with children if they have been a little too long in the sun, too; it is soothing for their delicate, precious skin. Like patchouli, it's a perfect skin conditioner for when it looks like the skin might peel.
Patchouli (Pogostemon Cablin)
Patchouli Essential Oil is an excellent soother of the skin and works pretty fast too. Research shows it has potent anti-inflammatory activity and can be harnessed to soothe irritated and inflamed skin.
This is the essential oil to turn to, along with Roman Chamomile, if your skin looks like it is about to peel. Reach for these two essential oils. Try mixing them with fresh aloe juice.
Discover them in 9 Best Essential Oils For Sunburn: Soothe, Cool, And Care For Your Skin.
Final Note: When I developed my After Sun formula, I felt it was less effective than my mom's. Yet, I had friends and customers ordering vast tubs of it in readiness for spending the summer barefoot in a field because it worked for them. I saw lobster-red skin look refreshed and soothed as quickly as the following day.
Yet, here was me, secretly still using a bottle of my mother's. One day, I discovered that it contained Sandalwood Amyris Essential Oil (Amyris Balsamifera), which was the catalyst for changing my formula from something already great to something AMAZING. Just a few drops of Sandalwood. Try it for yourself.
Hay fever
Melissa (Melissa Officinalis)
Hands down, our favorite here is Melissa Essential Oil with its antihistamine properties. Still, often it is more effective to create a blend to target specific Hay Fever symptoms than to rely on just one essential oil alone.
Chamomile
The properties and chemical constituents of the Chamomiles, German and Roman, are outstanding for anything that could be described as red and sore. Those sore, itchy eyes, redness and soreness around the nose from constant running and wiping are when you need to turn to your favorite Chamomile.
German Chamomile (Matricaria Chamomilla L.) contains a constituent called Chamazulene which effectively numbs the area around the eyes so that the histamine flare-up does not feel as irritated. Be very cautious about getting in your eyes; exercise extra care, please.
Roman Chamomile (Anthemis Nobilis L.) is great for when things feel inflamed and need calming down as it has anti-inflammatory properties.
Lavender, Myrrh and Sweet Basil can all be used as well. Can you see how we are building on the multi-functional properties of essential oils in your Gardener's Fit Kit?
Also Read: 9 Best Essential Oils For Allergies: No More Sneezing
Motivation To Move
Peppermint (Mentha Piperita)
Peppermint is beautifully refreshing. It invigorates, stimulates, awakens, and enlivens. But here, it helps you focus and progress toward your goals. It is boosting the motivation to move from the armchair and seed catalogs into the garden.
Sweet Basil (Ocimum Basilicum)
It is the essential oil to turn to when you're overwhelmed with the idea of starting. The weeds have run rampant in your absence, or the grass grew 6 inches in a week, and it all seems too much to deal with today. Then Sweet Basil is your saving grace here. You are steadily focusing your mind. You'll be out there wielding weeding weaponry before you know it! Don't say that after a Merlot or three.
Sweet Orange (Citrus Sinensis L)
My' go to' favorite for a bit of get up and go! It always sat right on my desk when I needed a 'hit' of something enlivening, motivating and uplifting. Great at boosting your mood. You will skip around the garden in a jiffy with a bottle of Sweet Orange. Sniffs people! Not swigs!
Best Essential Oils For The Busy Gardener- Top Picks for A Gardener's Fit Kit
Here at VINEVIDA, we are fully aware of the current cost of living crisis and how it impacts our customers worldwide.
We encourage you to employ savvy tactics in your essential oil purchases. Learn what essential oils do and where you can capitalize on their properties for a multi-functional approach.
Considering all that, we have done the hard work for you. If you will buy essential oils to address your post-gardening woes, buy these!
Our top five recommendations for essential oils for your Gardeners Fit Kit would be:
Essential Oils and Fit Kit For The Busy Gardener
Let's get stuck into the best part of Aromatherapy and make our Fit Kit for the busy gardener!
I have included a small range of products that you will find indispensable. Swap things you feel you don't need and make them your own. Make it fit for your purposes.
Follow these quick, simple recipes, designed to be very cost-effective, for excellent results all year long.
Gardener's Fit Kit - What's In It?
- Muscle Rub - A massage oil you can also use in the bath.
- Hard Working Hand Cream - Thick, unctuous, hydrating and nourishing care for your hands.
- After Sun - A very light, refreshing and cooling lotion for when the sun gets the best of you.
- No More Atchoos - Chock full of essential oils to combat allergens associated with hay fever.
- Motivate Me- An essential blend you can use in a diffuser or rollerball.
Before we begin, let's have a quick chat about dilution rates.
We would recommend 3% dilution for adults, 2% for people in a weakened state and, 1% for children over the age of 6. 0.5% for any younger than that, and we do not recommend using essential oils on children under the age of 6 months old unless it is an emergency.
For each recipe, we tell you how many drops you need for each dilution percentage, and all these recipes specify a 2% dilution rate.
Reduce it if you plan to use it with children, but also consult the safety data sheets for each essential oil, as you may need a far lower dilution rate for children for a particular essential oil. Melissa, for example.
If in doubt - double-check. Still in doubt? Leave it out.
Let's get cracking!
Gardener’s Fit Kit #1 - Muscle Rub |
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| Makes 1 x 100ml bottle | ||
Equipment:
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Ingredients |
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| 50ml Jojoba Carrier Oil | 45ml Tamanu Carrier Oil | Selection of essential oils |
Essential Oils |
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3% dilution for healthy adults = 60 drops, 2% dilution= 40 drops, 1% dilution = 20 drops This recipe uses a 2% dilution rate. |
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20 drops Lavender Essential Oil (Lavandula Angustifolia) |
10 drops Juniper Essential Oil (Juniperus Communis) |
10 drops Sweet Basil Essential Oil (Ocimum Basilicum) |
Method:
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Safety:Do not use in the first 16 weeks of pregnancy. |
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How to Use:
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Gardener’s Fit Kit #2 - Hard Working Hand Cream |
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If you are going to the trouble of making this, it is worth making a few jars. It keeps well and even better, if you want to add a preservative. Add color if you feel you want a prettier finish, but you don’t need it. Makes 5 x 50ml jars or one big 250ml jar |
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Equipment:
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Ingredients |
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| 3 tbsp of Shea Butter | 3 tbsp of Mango Butter | 1 tbsp Coconut Carrier Oil (solid) |
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Glycerine 30ml |
Witch Hazel 10ml |
100ml 3.38 fl/oz Aqueous Cream Base |
| Optional: Preservative - follow manufacturers instructions | Optional: Colorant like beet powder or cosmetic color or micas. | ~ |
Essential Oils |
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3% dilution for healthy adults = 150 drops, 2% dilution= 100 drops, 1% dilution = 50 drops This recipe uses a 2% dilution rate. |
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40 drops Myrrh Essential Oil (Commiphora Myrrha) |
40 drops Roman Chamomile Essential Oil (Anthemis Nobilis L.) |
20 drops Calendula Absolute (Calendula Officinalis) Or substitute with: 20 drops Frankincense Essential Oil (Boswellia Serrata) |
Method:
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Safety:Do not use in the first 37 weeks of pregnancy. |
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How to Use:
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Gardener’s Fit Kit #3 - After Sun |
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| Makes 1 x 250ml bottle | ||
Equipment:
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Ingredients |
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| 160 ml/ 5.41 fl oz Aqueous Cream | 1 tsp Almond Carrier Oil | 50ml / 2.70 fl oz Rosewater |
| ½ tsp Rosehip Carrier Oil | 30ml Glycerine | Optional:Preservative - follow manufacturers instructions. |
Essential Oils |
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3% dilution for healthy adults = 150 drops, 2% dilution= 100 drops, 1% dilution = 50 drops This recipe uses a 2% dilution rate. |
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25 drops Peppermint Essential Oil (Mentha Piperita) |
35 drops Roman Chamomile Essential Oil (Anthemis Nobilis L.) |
40 drops Lavender Essential Oil (Lavandula Angustifolia) |
Method:
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Safety:
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How to Use:
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| Gardener’s Fit Kit #4 - No More Atchoo’s | ||
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This is perfect for when the HayFever season starts with a vengeance. Fight back with No More Atchoo’s. Makes 100ml / 3.38 fl oz |
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Equipment:
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| Ingredients | ||
| 50 ml Aqueous Cream | 40 ml Rosewater | 1 tsp Rosehip Carrier Oil |
| Essential Oils | ||
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3% dilution for healthy adults = 60 drops, 2% dilution= 40 drops, 1% dilution = 20 drops This recipe uses a 2% dilution rate. |
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5 drops Melissa Essential Oil (Melissa Officinalis) Substitute for: 10 drops Lavender Essential Oil (Lavandula angustifolia) |
25 drops Roman Chamomile Essential Oil (Anthemis nobilis L.) |
10 drops Myrrh Essential Oil (Commiphora myrrha) |
Method:
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| Safety: Do not use in first 37 weeks of pregnancy. | ||
How to Use:
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| Gardener’s Fit Kit #5 - Motivate Me | ||
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You can use this essential oil blend in a couple of different ways. You could use it in your essential oil diffuser to pervade the atmosphere of your home or you can pop it into a rollerball and dispense it on your pulse points when you need a bit of a boost. To use in a diffuser follow your individual manufacturer's instructions, you may just need to add the essential oils directly to a pad or into water and therefore, you may not need to dilute them into carrier oil after all. Makes 2 x 10 ml roller balls or 1x 20 ml rollerball |
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Equipment:
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| Ingredients | ||
| 16ml Sweet Almond Carrier Oil | 2ml Rosehip Carrier Oil | 3 x Vitamin E Capsules |
| Essential Oils | ||
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3% dilution for healthy adults = 12 drops, 2% dilution= 8 drops, 1% dilution = 4 drops This recipe uses a 2% dilution rate. |
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2 drops Peppermint Essential Oil (Mentha piperita) |
3 drops Sweet Basil Essential Oil (Ocimum basilicum) |
3 drops Sweet Orange Essential Oil (Citrus sinensis L) |
Method:
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Safety:
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How to Use:
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The Final Word
I love my garden but don’t love the aches, pains and dry skin that follows. As you can imagine, my home is filled with lotions and potions for one thing or another. My Gardeners Fit Kit is among them.
All of the essential oils mentioned in this post have their role in addressing some of these gardening woes. However, if you are on a budget like the rest of us, pick from the top five recommendations, Lavender, Sweet Basil, Myrrh, Roman Chamomile and Peppermint. They will bless your house with their multifunctional qualities, and you’ll repeatedly reach for those little bottles.
When I first started learning about Aromatherapy and Essential Oils, I used to apply a sticker to the bottle that was jam-packed with keywords like:
‘Anti-inflammatory, dry skin, coughs, anti-bacterial and soothing.’
That could help you as you take your first steps into the beautiful world of essential oils.
Wherever you are on your journey, you can use these essential oils and harness those remarkable properties to make your whole gardening experience much more enjoyable.
The Gardeners Fit Kit is perfect for all your post-gardening needs, and you’ll enjoy having special bottles and tubs of gloriousness to treat yourself with after all your hard work. It will be well deserved.
Which essential oils for the busy gardener are you going to choose first?
