Why is it that the air smells so wonderful after a welcome downpour of rain?
Stand still in the rain and sense the smell…
Often, when out walking or working in the garden, I have been struck by the wonderful fragrance that comes with a sudden shower of water on dry ground or parched earth. I put it down to the sudden refreshing of foliage or grass blades – but there is a technical, chemical word for it – ‘petrichor’.
Parched earth
This was identified in the 1960s – researchers found that the smell is produced by bacteria in the soil that create a molecule called geosmin. As rain hits the ground geosmin is released into the air. As well as being used in the production of certain antibiotics it is used in commercial perfume production. One perfumier has said ‘It’s a really potent material and it smells just like the concrete when the rain hits it. There’s something very primitive and very primal about the smell.”
Perfume from rocks and rain
Not for nothing does the word petrichor have Greek roots – petros, meaning ‘stone’ and ichor, meaning ‘fluid that flows in the veins of the gods’. The perfume ‘matti ka attar’ has been made in Uttar Pradesh, India for countless years. Petrichor is so potent that the minutest amount is identifiable even when diluted billions of times. It can be blended with essential oils of vetiver, sandalwood, patchouli, jasmine, rose, ylang-ylang, and frankincense.
Often used to freshen the air, as an ingredient in aromatherapy and as a soothing agent in the relief of stress its calming and restorative qualities help focus the mind and impart a sense of well-being.
Enjoy that sense of well-being…
So next time you are caught out in the rain, pause for a moment and enjoy the extraordinary smell of this amazing phenomenon.
It is at this time of the year that peonies come into their full glory. Full blown flowers with voluptuous blooms like glamorous ball gowns or a ballet dancer’s tutu. Layers of delicate petals and a triumph of scent wafting on the early morning air. The tight buds seem to burst forth in an extravagant explosion of flower – delighting in the spring air and eager to show off their charm and glory.
Peony in full flower
DH Lawrence paints an evocative impression of peonies in his poem A Baby Running Barefoot. Reading it you can almost feel the soft skin of a child’s foot, the tender silken smoothness that can never be recaptured in later life. Very much a flower of the moment the peony flower cannot linger but seems almost heaven sent whilst it lasts.
A Baby Running BarefootWhen the bare feet of the baby beat across the grass
The little white feet nod like white flowers in the wind,
They poise and run like ripples lapping across the water;
And the sight of their white play among the grass
Is like a little robin’s song, winsome,
Or as two white butterflies settle in the cup of one flower
For a moment, then away with a flutter of wings.
I long for the baby to wander hither to me
Like a wind-shadow wandering over the water,
So that she can stand on my knee
With her little bare feet in my hands,
Cool like syringa buds,
Firm and silken like pink young peony flowers.
DH Lawrence
‘…like pink young peony flowers’
In Greek mythology Paeon studied under Aesculapius, the god of medicine. However, when Paeon cured Pluto by using a peony root after he had been wounded in a battle with Hercules Aesculapius was enraged and tried to kill Paeon out of jealousy. Pluto saved Paeon by transforming him into the peony flower as he knew that its beauty would be praised and admired. Thus the peony came to represent the quality of compassion.
In another legend, the nymph Paeonia caught the eye of Apollo – he began to flirt with her. Embarrassed, she blushed and turned bright red. Aphrodite, Apollo’s ‘other half’ realised what was going on and, in a fit of rage and jealousy, she turned Paeonia into the red peony we know today. So the peony also stands for bashfulness.
The flowers of the red peony stand for bashfulness
The Chinese, too, tell a story in which a beautiful, but wilful, empress one winters day used her powers of magic to order all the flowers in her garden to bloom. Every flower obeyed, with the exception of the peony. Furious, the empress banished all the peonies in her garden to the coldest and most hostile parts of her empire. But the peony survived, bloomed and produced such a display of wonderful flowers that all were astounded. The empress realised that she had been defeated and allowed the peony to return, naming the plant the ‘Queen of all Flowers.’
The peony was a popular medicinal herb in Europe until the sixteenth century but is seldom used today. The herbalist, Culpepper, recognised two variants, one for treating male complaints and one for female problems. It is also used in Chinese medicine – again with different varieties for different ailments, such as liver and circulation, eczema and ‘cooling the blood.’ None of these should be tried without proper medical advice. However, we can all benefit from the beauty of the plant and its exquisite scent – true balm for the soul.
True balm for the soul…
The peony has been captured in many art- and craft-forms. Embroidery lends itself to some of the most exquisite representations. For a demonstration of this now’s the time to relax, indulge yourself for a few moments and enjoy the following video from Malina GM Embroidery:
Click the image to see the video (opens in new tab).
Ask a lot of folk what the three key festivals in the Christian year are and most would probably have no difficulty naming Christmas and Easter – but the third? With its strange name, ‘Pentecost’, maybe it doesn’t quite slip off the tongue so neatly.
The word comes from the Greek word meaning ‘fiftieth day’ – because it falls fifty days after Easter Sunday – this year on 31st May. It is a celebration because it marks the birthday of the church – the body of Christ’s people. After he had ascended to heaven, Jesus told his disciples to wait in the city for the Holy Spirit, a sign that God would still be with his followers, despite his physical withdrawal. He tells them that they will be ‘clothed with power from on high…’ (Luke 24:49.)
…clothed from on high
The church’s birthday at Pentecost goes largely unnoticed – and how sad that is. We’re told that ‘churchgoing’ is in decline; at the moment, of course, it is almost impossible due to coronavirus restrictions but there are many green shoots of growth and renewal, especially with the vast array of social media and technological communication resources available. ‘Streamed services’ abound; radio and TV have found inventive ways of ensuring that a pattern of worship and reflection is possible. Enforced isolation means that people have found different ways of reaching out to others and there are many heart-warming tales of communities rediscovering links with neighbours through offers of shopping or simply easing loneliness with a chat. So many ways of ‘being church’; of loving God and neighbour; of seeking a more meaningful life enriched with the power and presence of God.
Glory from on high
On that first Pentecost the followers of Jesus probably had no idea how the gift promised by Jesus would appear. They had been told to go to Jerusalem and wait. But at last they were rewarded as the Holy Spirit came to ‘inspire’ his people – to breathe new life into them and make their lives all the more joyful. The Holy Spirit appeared as tongues of fire above the head of each disciple and they found they were able to speak in many different tongues, making the message about Jesus available to all people.
Tongue of fire
It is the same for each one of us today. God does not abandon us at Ascensiontide, when his Son returns from earth to heaven. Instead, God sends a new comforter, or strengthener. In the words of one of the chants from the Taize community in France:
‘The Lord restores you. God does not push you away. The Lord comes to meet you.’
God is with us for all time. The Holy Spirit comes to build up those who love him. And that is truly a birthday we need to celebrate.
