According to the National Cancer Institute, essential oils can be effectively used as a supporting treatment to enhance the quality of lives of cancer patients by providing them will stress relief. It's no secret that the fragrance of freshly blooming flowers can elevate moods and refresh the spirit, and single-note essential oils provide a pure, authentic fragrance experience. They can be used to scent unscented lotions and skin creams, used in candle and soap making, or used in specialty vaporizers to distribute fragrance throughout the home. Single-note florals work well for all of these purposes, but there's something about old-fashioned garden flowers that many people find comforting. It should be noted that essential oils should never be applied in their undiluted form directly to the skin.

Following are six of the best single-note floral essential oils.

Rose

Rose oil is probably the most commonly used floral essential oil and certainly one of the most recognized -- in fact, its familiarity is part of its appeal for many people. People automatically associate rose gardens with sunny days and gracious living, and placing a drop or two of rose essential oil in an essential oil diffuser can make even a small urban apartment smell like a country home where summer breezes carry the scent of a rose garden indoors through opened windows.

Lavender

Lavender is another old-school favorite flower that has a scent that can stand alone as a single-note essential oil. Along with having a calming effect and promoting a sense of peace, lavender is also said to provide mild relief for psychical pain and help with insomnia. Lavender is also right up there with the rose as one of the most recognizable floral fragrances.

Jasmine

Jasmine has a sweet, delicate-but-distinctive aroma that is said to promote sense of peace and well-being. Jasmine oil may also help alleviate menstrual cramping and provide relief for menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes. Many people love to mix jasmine and rose oil together for a more complex fragrance experience, but jasmine nonetheless holds its own extremely well as a single-note scent.

Honeysuckle

The sweet scent of honeysuckle brings back childhood rambles though semi-wild country lanes and mid-to-late summer evenings on the porch -- the memory alone is enough to lift anyone's mood. Along with stress-reducing properties, honeysuckle is said to promote good sleep and to act as a pain reliever. Honeysuckles clean, soft fragrance also makes it a great additive to shampoos and lotions.

Sweet Pea

Not many people can resist the enchanting fragrance of this old-fashioned cottage garden staple. It's heady, romantic scent is also simple and clean, making it a perfect single-note essential oil. It is said to relax the nerves and to promote a optimistic outlook on life -- and who could help feeling hopeful for the future when surrounded by the piquant scent of blooming sweet peas?

Evening Primrose

Evening primrose is an enchanting cottage garden plant that provides a light, barely-there aroma for those who prefer their fragrances to be airy and understated. It's an excellent choice who are sensitive to smells because it provides just a hint of pleasant aroma. It's long been used as a mood elevator, and, like lavender, may also help those who are struggling with insomnia to get a good night's sleep. It is also used to gently lift away unpleasant kitchen odors.

Even though scientific evidence is far from conclusive concerning aromatherapy as a supporting treatment for cancer patients, anything that lifts and calms the spirits the way that single-note floral fragrances do certainly can't hurt. Scent can have a powerful influence on mood and emotion, and almost everyone has positive connotations concerning old-fashioned garden flowers. For more information, look at sites like http://www.wearelivingitout.com.