This spring, I was overjoyed when I found a gigantic bush of lavender cropping up in the flower garden. Yesterday, I harvested it all, and made little posy bouquet's for gift giving this holiday season. Not quite sure how to sustain their life the best.. for now, they are just hanging to dry on the kids easel.
Eliza is learning cursive handwriting - I was pretty distressed to find out they aren't teaching it in schools anymore. I found that laminated chart for .25 cents and a garage sale and so we're off on that adventure.
I'm quite convinced that lavender is a gift from Heaven. My hands still smell lavender-icious and they are gorgeous just hanging there.
Tips on prolonging thier life? Will they just need to be rejuvinated with a bit of essential oil come gift giving time? What do you guys do with lavender? Tell me please, I still have more out there to pick!
After I made these, Eliza wanted to make a little bouquet for herself. She went out into the garden, and picked the flowers of her choice. With a little help wrapping them from dad (how sweet is that?) she now has a few of her own little posy's to share with friends. These flowers won't last very long, but she enjoyed picking them and wrapping them, so it was definitely worth the 20 minutes it took for the activity. :)
Hit me with your lavender ideas, I'm all ears!
xo
Sandi
what? They aren't teaching cursive at your schools anymore? My kids' school started it in 3rd grade and i can't tell you how excited my son was to finally learn cursive! In 4th grade now he still uses it, makes him feel grown up.
I bet your house smells LOVELY with all that lavender!!
Posted by: heather from arizona | August 25, 2011 at 08:02 AM
I use lavender to make sachets to put into drawers. A great place to order dried lavender in bulk is Save on Crafts.
Posted by: Wylie | August 25, 2011 at 08:31 AM
Put the flower heads in sugar to make lavender sugar, it's delish sprinkled on top of scones! I've got a copy of 'The lavender cookbook' by Sharon Shipley which has some amazing sweet and savoury recipes for cooking with the stuff.
Posted by: Kim McBirnie | August 25, 2011 at 08:57 AM
Thought I'd saved this! It's a how to on lavender sugar.
http://writingacookerybook.blogspot.com/2011/07/lavender-sugar.html
Posted by: Kim McBirnie | August 25, 2011 at 09:06 AM
My mom always grew lavender in her flower gardens as well and when we were little she would take us out and help pick it and then we would make it into little lavender wands. To make them, you take a little bunch of lavender with long stems, use ribbon to tie around the bottom of the flowered part, then fold the stems back over the flowers. You then weave the ribbon in between the stems until you get to the bottom and then you tie it in a bow. We always hung then up in our bathroom like hanging potpourri.
I found this tutorial online that demonstrates how to make them: http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/1407/#b
-Caitlin
Posted by: Caitlin Wallace | August 25, 2011 at 09:49 AM
When I lived in France I used to make lavender wands and linen sacks of dried flowers from the bushes around our house. Sometimes I'd toss in a bit of dried rosemary, which adds a nice pungency. The wands are easy and you can find tutes all over the internet; I think it's traditionally 31 stems per wand.
Posted by: MJ | August 25, 2011 at 10:52 AM
The kids still learn cursive here too. One thing I love to do with lavender is toss some buds around on the carpet before I vacuum. Makes the house smell heavenly.
Posted by: Mama Urchin | August 25, 2011 at 11:05 AM
This might be helpful?
http://www.purplehazelavender.com/crafting.html
One of the many farms here in town.
Posted by: Kim T. | August 25, 2011 at 11:39 AM
hey hun, I mentioned you on my blog... hope you dont mind... xxx
Posted by: amy | August 25, 2011 at 11:57 AM
I bought some dried lavender from a farm market 2 years ago and stored it in a small paper bag (so it wouldn't mold). It still smells great! I bought a plant too, sadly it didn't grow back the next year. :(
How about making some organic soaps with it? You could wrap it in your fabrics and put beautiful labels on it. I would buy it and keep it in my craft room to smell!
Posted by: Lisa | August 25, 2011 at 12:43 PM
Lavender bottles/wands are great because they require minimal supplies (lavender and ribbon) and you can pop them straight in the drawer and not have to worry about seed heads falling off. Once you get the hang of them they're really fast to make too. I also tuck the wands into my fabric bins. Here's a how to - you can vary the number of stalks you use - it depends on the type of lavender you have - just make sure it's an odd number.
http://www.homemade-gifts-made-easy.com/how-to-make-lavender-wands.html#axzz1W5K0cjjZ
Posted by: MelissaT | August 25, 2011 at 04:09 PM
I use lavender in my eye pillows, along with buckwheat hulls and whole flaxseed.
Posted by: Cheryl Jaeger | August 26, 2011 at 04:26 AM
Ooooh the lavender bundles are so pretty!
My friend and I had a conversation just yesterday about cursive writing and I found out last night in Ga we are still teaching cursive but they are thinking about doing away with it next year. So glad my daughter is learning it this year! It seems sad...and just another sign of how different my daughter's world is and will be.
Posted by: Victoria | August 26, 2011 at 05:25 AM
Love all the wonderful info on lavender!
Posted by: Laurel | August 26, 2011 at 07:07 AM
I make homemade organic "dryer pillows" out of mine. I just make little pillows out of organic wool felt and stuff them with lavender. Toss one of those in the dryer along with a handmade dryer ball (made from organic wool roving) and it's a perfect alternative to fabric softerners! I'll add a little chamomile to them for a special dryer pillow that I use when drying bedding.
Posted by: Patrice | August 27, 2011 at 04:46 PM
I went to bulk barn this evening, and found a tea that has lavender buds in it! I thought it was weird, but I had to try it. It had pomegranate and green tea leaves as well. Maybe you can add it to tea for a little extra flavour. It tasted really wonderful.
Posted by: Julia de Boer | August 27, 2011 at 08:28 PM
I have a bunch of lavendar in my "herb garden" and I keep saying I want to try lavendar lemonade and baking with lavendar :)
Love the dryer pillow idea posted by Patrice - I am SO going to do that!
Posted by: Bonnie | August 27, 2011 at 09:01 PM
My neighbor gives me the lavender from his big bushes and I always let the little flowers fall off and mix it with flax seed, add some oil and make sachets and eye pillows. He just gave me some last week and the little flowers fell off as soon as it was dried though I was hoping to keep them intact. Not sure if it is just this variety or what but I am not sure how to keep the flowers on the stems.
Posted by: mo | August 29, 2011 at 01:01 PM
I have seen it used in cookies, yumm!
Posted by: Jeannette | August 30, 2011 at 02:36 AM
Take the flowers off and make lavender pillows. Use a light weight organza or something like that. Leave an end open in the pillow pocket for the lavender flowers - put this in your drawers or under your pillow.
Posted by: DeAnna | August 30, 2011 at 09:30 AM
Is all lavender edible? You may want to look into that, but I recently made Lavender Lemon Shortbread Cookies that were a huge hit. Of course the recipe only called for 1 Tablespoon of lavender, which wouldn't put much of a dent in your surplus.
Posted by: Rebecca | August 30, 2011 at 02:29 PM
The most fantastic way I have ever used Lavender was in baking fresh wheat bread....OH.MY.GOODNESS!!!!! I love lavender but this is...so amazing. I bake my regular wheat bread recipe and add about 1 TBS of lavender flowers. The result is amazing. I know this seems wierd but it's like a mix between a great hot soak in a bath and ...well, fresh warm bread out of the oven BUT COMBINED!! its awesome.
One more food/lavender recommendation-I ate this in a exquisite little bistro in Moab, UT (Desert Springs Bistro, it's so fine). They (again with the bread) bake fresh little loaves of wheat bread, dip it in pumpkin seed oil with lavender flowers. It's an awesome twist on the classic french loaf dipped in EVO and balsamic. I don't know if you bake but if you do...try those ideas!
Posted by: Suzanne Morrison | September 01, 2011 at 09:16 PM
Here's another one. I love this!!! I like to make little bath soaks for baby gifts...or anyone really but they are so very loved as little baby gifties. You take a nylon stocking and cut it into a few sections; tie one end and then combine rolled oats and lavender flowers into the opening and then...of course, tie the other end. You throw it in the bath and it makes the most soft and fragrant water to bath in. It's a great rendition of the classic lavender sachet. The nylon keeps all the muck from getting out and clogging up your drain and you just squeeze it and love it. You may want to make a little basket of them and keep them under your sink incase you find yourself enjoying a bath and want to be soft and smell good. (Happens often, right?) Enjoy!
Posted by: Suzanne Morrison | September 01, 2011 at 09:26 PM
What a great idea with the lavener, I just use laveder oils. I must say you done it better. We have lavender all over here where I live. No more oil for me. Thank you.
Posted by: davek | September 04, 2011 at 03:31 PM
Times are changing for the better if I can get this oinnle!
Posted by: Mccade | September 06, 2011 at 06:03 PM