The Plant I Put in My Shower That Makes My Bathroom Smell Amazing — And It’s Not Eucalyptus
Whenever there’s an opportunity toadd some plant lifeinto my space, I’m inclined to take it. What’s especially satisfying is when the plant isn’t just providing an aesthetic upgrade, but also a functional one. If you love the affordable hack of hanging eucalyptus in your shower (justdon’t forget this crucial step), you might be interested in trying out a new kind of natural diffuser. And if you grow your own herbs, there’s a decent chance you already have more than you know what to do with.
Mint, specifically peppermint, is one of the most aromatic herbs. It also is one of the fastest-growing herbs, which is what inspiredthis Instagram Reelwhere the content creator makes their abundance of mint into an air freshener by placing some of their cuttings in the shower. As the creator Claudia Messenger notes, “Mint has no respect for itself or others,” and they’re right because mint will take over your whole dang garden if you let it. Thrilled to find another use for my mint, I had to give it a try. Here’s a couple of things to keep in mind if you’d like to add some mint to your shower, too.
For the most fragrant mint, harvest often, and keep your plant and cuttings short.
Compared to the eucalyptus shower hack, your shower mint isn’t going to smell as potent — however, it’s still soothing. If you’ve already grown mint yourself, you may have noticed the longer and more unruly it gets, the less potent the fragrance. For the mintiest mint possible, you want to harvest often, which shouldn’t be an issue, as you likely have too much anyways. Keeping your herb on the shorter side will elicit the best aroma results.
Be generous with how much mint you use.
Because your mint sprigs are a lot smaller compared to the long eucalyptus stems you bought from Trader Joe’s, feel free to be generous with how much you use in the shower. Initially, I bundled a small bunch and hung it from behind my shower head, but the more I added, the more I enjoyed my mint shower.
You don’t need the propagation stand, but it will keep your sprigs alive longer.
If yourshower doesn’t have the perfect windowsillfor apropagation stand, no worries. You can still bundle and hang your mint in the shower, just as you would your eucalyptus (or, you can try thishanging propagation stationand drape it over a hook or showerhead). It won’t last as long as eucalyptus, given that it is a more delicate plant, but again, if you’re growing your own you likely won’t encounter a shortage.