The Cedar Edit
Every October, there is a morning when you step outside and notice the air has changed. It is cooler, damper, and smells faintly of woodsmoke and wet leaves. The fells wear their bronzed bracken coat, and the light falls low and golden through the trees. Something deep and instinctive tells us to slow down, gather inwards and make our homes warm.
That feeling has a scent, and for us, it is cedar.
A tree with a long memory
Few trees have shaped human history quite like the cedar. Some of the oldest stories we have place it at their centre: in the Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the earliest works of literature, a cedar forest is a sacred, almost otherworldly place, home to the gods.
The Egyptians sought out cedar from the mountains of Lebanon for boats, coffins and temple doors, and used cedar resin and oil in their rituals. Further east, the Himalayan deodar cedar takes its name from the Sanskrit devadaru, meaning 'timber of the gods', and has been burned as incense and used in traditional medicine for centuries. Across the Pacific Northwest, the Indigenous peoples who share their home with the western red cedar have long called it the tree of life, using it for canoes, longhouses, clothing and ceremony.
Cedar is also there in the quieter, everyday traditions. Cedar chests, cedar-lined wardrobes and cedar blocks in the sock drawer: a household habit passed down through generations because the scent keeps clothes smelling fresh and moths at bay. Wherever people have lived alongside cedar, they have trusted it to protect and shelter what matters.
What cedar does for us
Cedar is one of aromatherapy's most trusted and grounding oils. It is warm, woody and soft, with a gentle sweetness that makes a room feel instantly sheltered. Traditionally, cedar has been used to:
Ground and steady – helping to ease overthinking and bringing the nervous system back to centre
Calm tension – helping reduce the feeling of stress at the end of a long day
Support restful sleep – cedarwood is associated with winding the body down towards rest
Connect us to nature – the scent of woodland, timber and shelter, brought indoors
It is also, quite simply, one of the loveliest smells there is. In autumn, when we spend more time indoors, the scent we choose to fill our homes matters more than ever. Cedar is the one that says, you're safe, you're home, you can stop now.
Bringing the woodland home: our three cedarwood scents
At FERN+FELL we are more than a little in love with cedar - which is why it is part of three different blends. Every fragrance for us begins in a place, a moment experienced in nature. Our three cedar scents begin in the trees.
If you love a woodland walk, you will know that moment when the trees welcome you and everything softens. The noise of the world falls back, the air turns cooler, darker, rich with resin and rain-damp bark. This is Whinlatter, Ennerdale and Lanthwaite Woods in the quiet hours, with only the creak of an old branch and a flutter of birdsong for company.
Cedar and black spruce are deeply grounding, while eucalyptus and pine clear the head and sharpen the mind, recreating the restorative effect of a forest walk. The Japanese call this Shinrin Yoku, or forest bathing. Woodland is the candle for a Sunday afternoon, a rainy morning, or any moment you need to feel the forest settle around you. Our woodland blend was created by our founder Sharon as a way to extend her beloved forest and woodland walks once home.
Picture the woodshed in October. Fresh-split cedar lingers in the cool air, tempered by something warm and citrus-bright drifting in from the kitchen, where a bowl of oranges sits on the table. This is the smell of a home that greets the seasons with welcome while autumn settles in.
Cedar steadies and grounds, while sweet orange and tangerine bring warmth and optimism. Balance holds you steady when the ground shifts, and it is the one we light in the heart of the home: while cooking, while the post is opened, while the house fills with people coming in from the cold. Kitchens and hallways are the heart of our homes, where we welcome and gather, this blend brings balance to these spaces.
The last hour of daylight in a woodland clearing when the warmth has gone from the air, but the trees still hold it. The cedar is sweet and sheltered, while geranium brings a gentle softness that is the perfect companion. Woody, soft and unhurried.
Rest is the scent of winding down well. Cedarwood is traditionally associated with calm and sleep, and geranium balances and soothes emotional tension. Light it while the bath runs, or as the day is unpacked and set aside, for a quiet that has been genuinely earned.
How to build cedar into you day - four small autumn rituals with cedar
• Come home slowly. Light Balance as you walk through the door and let the kitchen or hallway fill with warmth and citrus.
• Take the forest with you. After a windy autumn walk, light Woodland and let the outdoors follow you in.
• Make the evenings count. Switch off the overhead lights and bring in candlelight. Rest was made for this hour.
• Run a bath, close the day. Light Rest, soak, and let go of the day.
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