What’s That Smell?

The Woodlands Garden Club members learned how to make a “pomander” at the November meeting. What’s a pomander you ask? From the French pomme d’ambre (apple of amber), it’s a ball or perforated container of sweet-smelling substances such as herbs and spices, placed in a closet, drawer, or room to perfume the air or (formerly) carried as a supposed protection against infection. Or, a piece of fruit, typically an orange or apple, studded with cloves and hung in a closet by a ribbon for a similar purpose.

Pomander balls made with oranges and cloves have a great holiday scent and make festive and fragrant decorations for your dinner table and around the house. With Betty and Sharon instructing us, we did such a great job that employees from the offices nearby stopped in to check out that “wonderful smell.”