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| After the reaping... |
I finally did it... hacked back the two lavendar bushes you can see in the background (between the two yellowish juniper trees). They were so heavy with purple flowers, that the bushes were leaning over, right into the path, making it impossible to mow the lawn beneath. It is not as if a person couldn't have simply lifted the flowers back up, but there was the question of the bees. It appeared that my two lavendar bushes were nourishing a hive or two, since the bush was literally swarming with bumblebees, the weight of yellow and black insects so heavy that the stems were constantly bobbing up and down, even on the most breezeless of days.
So, with a single minded determination (and a need to mow the lawn), I got out the garden shears and cut the bushes back. I do feel a bit sorry for the bees, but I am guessing there are plenty of other flowers in the neighbourhood, and that they will still find enough pollen to take them through the fall and into winter. My kids will certainly be happier with a few fewer bees hanging out in the backyard!
So I now have the table outside covered with lavendar. Not exactly sure what to do with it. Put it in a vase...hang it upside to dry... throw it in a drawer... make lavendar flavoured ice-cream... Actually, I don`t know HOW to do any of those things, but I do seem to recall stories of others doing such things. If anyone out there has ideas about what I should do with the stuff (other than just put it in the compost), I would be delighted to hear it. It does smell incredibly fragrant!
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| ...the harvest |
So I now have the table outside covered with lavendar. Not exactly sure what to do with it. Put it in a vase...hang it upside to dry... throw it in a drawer... make lavendar flavoured ice-cream... Actually, I don`t know HOW to do any of those things, but I do seem to recall stories of others doing such things. If anyone out there has ideas about what I should do with the stuff (other than just put it in the compost), I would be delighted to hear it. It does smell incredibly fragrant!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFVKJl_0evA
ReplyDeleteAbove is a utube demo of how to make lavender honey -- good to taste and good for depression, so says the man on the video. You are going to have to dry those flowers first. Save them and I will give the processes a try when I get over there, even though I don't like honey -- in tea or on toast. I do like adventures though and will take this one.
I know someone who makes lavender braids -- not entirely sure how.... But you somehow bend the plant so that the flower is braided inside the stem (so the flowers don't crumble and make a mess as they dry). the braids apparently look and smell lovely.
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