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Sleep Pillows and Sachets, Room Fresheners and Candles
Appears in
Published 1991
In some parts of the world the filling for a mattress or palliasse is still composed of dried grasses, hay or straw which, newly-made, have a sweet meadow scent of their own. It was a simple step, perhaps, to add to the filling the dried leaves of aromatic herbs. The wild herb, lady’s bedstraw, Galium verum, takes its name from this custom, and sweet woodruff, Galium odoratum, was also valued due to its perfume of new-mown hay produced by the chemical, coumarin, in its dried leaves.
For centuries the papery blooms of wild hops have been used as a stuffing for pillows due to the relaxing and sleep-inducing effect of the herb. An old-fashioned mixture of dried herbs recommended for stuffing a herbal sleep pillow calls for 1 part hop flowers, 1 part skullcap leaves, 2 parts elderflower and 4 parts catmint leaves and flowers. Naturally, any of the specially fragrant herbs such as rosemary and lavender - the latter is recommended as a treatment for headaches - can also be added to the filling for a pillow or cushion.