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Throughout history, the art of scenting our personal and communal living spaces has taken a variety of forms. From the burning of aromatic leaves, grasses and bark in tribal celebration and ritual, to the pungent spices and oils used in incense to guide and enhance meditation and spiritual practices, to our modern day synthesized aerosol room fresheners, scent has always played an important role in our daily lives.

No other sense stirs the emotions more powerfully than our sense of smell. Just the slightest hint of a particular fragrance can evoke long forgotten memories, create that special mood, or, in the case of your teenagers sweaty socks stuffed down the side of your favourite chair, completely ruin a special moment.

With such a wide range, not only of fragrances, but ways to disperse these fragrances throughout our homes, choosing the right ones can be quite an art in itself. Other occupants of the house also need to be considered, especially if any are asthmatic or allergy sufferers, as many of the synthetic sprays and fragrant oils can set off an attack.

The most versatile of all fragrances for use in the home are essential oils. They are readily available and can be used singly or, with a bit of practice, can be mixed together to create that perfect delicate aroma for any occasion. Depending on your own preferences, essential oils can be used in an oil burner filled with water, dropped onto little satches and placed around the home, used to scent pot pourri, or even placed in glass rings that fit around a light globe and heat the oil when the light is turned on. I always put a couple of drops on the vacuum cleaner filter before I vacuum and it blows a lovely scent around the house. High quality aromatherapy grade organic oils are the best choice. They will almost always be more expensive than inferior grade oils but are much more potent and fewer drops will be needed to create the same effect. I mention organic oils because it takes a very large quantity of raw plant material to make a relatively small amount of essential oil, so if the plants have been grown with chemical fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides, the oils will contain high levels of residue from these, making them less potent, and more likely to cause health problems.

Pot pourri not only serves the purpose of scenting your home, but provides visual effect as well. You can get really creative with containers, and if you're feeling extra crafty you can even collect your own materials from

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