L is for Lavender...not just your grandma's soap anymore!

Every year I have one bush of lavender that is super happy and prolific.
I try to harvest most of this one which is a French lavender.

The bees absolutely love it at sometimes there are probably 50 of them
dancing their way on pointy bee toes to pollen heaven...

At the same time there are numerous little amber coloured moths after the same treat...

These little guys are called Woodland skippers or

 Ochlodes Sylvanoides (if you want to get scientific about it).

I prefer Woodland skipper myself...

So now, into the heart of the lavender...

Lavender is such an amazing plant.

Most people associate it with perfume, soaps, essential oils, bubble bath and so on 

but lavender is a highly medicinal plant....

Some of the beneficial properties include:

Antidepressant

Analgesic

Antiseptic

Cicatrizant (promotes healing through the formation of scar tissue)

Expectorant

Nervine

Vulnerary

It's also an aphrodisiac, a stress reliever, excellent for respiratory ailments,
a flu and cold steam made with lavender will

certainly make you feel much better afterwards...

to quote one website..."a refreshing note to a tired mind"

You can make tea with it, flavour lemonade, cook with it...

I flavour my blackberry jam with it and when you open that jar on a cold February morning...

the essence of summer pops straight out at you...

I put up a drying rack in the studio where it's warm and dry and hung the bundles...

So as not to lose any while its drying, I put up a mesh curtain to catch all the buds that fall off...

It smells divine in there right now!!

Aromatherapy is a powerful way to heal...

Our sense of smell is probably the most important memory trigger we have.

We can be transported back to times and places by the slightest scent.

Luckily lavender will always be a warm and calming bouquet for me.

It's essence will sit me in the heart of my garden here, bees buzzing, sun warming my shoulders.

It will always provide an aura of summer, a fragrance to "refresh my tired mind".