Labyrinth Hill

Fresh lavender needs special handling--

It's that time of year and we're gearing up for the lavender harvest at Labyrinth Hill.

Depending on where you live and the variety of lavender you grow, your lavender harvest may have already begun. Or perhaps you need to go to your local lavender grower to take advantage of their U-cut to bring in a fresh bouquets.

And of course, in the absence of a local source for fresh lavender flowers, Labyrinth Hill will ship our fragrant "bundles of joy" anywhere in the US.

One of the first questions we're asked is how to take care of the fresh lavender bundles. Here's our time-tested technique for the longest enjoyment:

• Remove the rubber band that is wrapped around the bundle
• Trim 1" from the lavender stems
• Place the freshly trimmed lavender in a wide-mouth vase
• Add no more than 2" of fresh water
• Allow the lavender to take up all the water
• DO NOT add more water
• The bundle will dry in place

Your dried lavender bouquet will last for months as long as it is kept away from direct sunlight.

Happy Harvesting!

Susan L. Harrington, CEO
(Chief Education Officer)
Labyrinth Hill lavender

Lavender Wedding Ideas--

Here's the last in my series on using lavender at a wedding. If you've used lavender at a wedding, please share with our readers by leaving a comment below.

If your wedding isn't during the fresh lavender harvest, don't despair! Fresh lavender bundles can hang to dry and bring a hint of summer to a winter wedding.

We're watching the stems quickly turn to deep purple. Ahhh the excitement and the fragrance is already in the air!

Susan L. Harrington, CEO
(Chief Education Officer)
Labyrinth Hill Lavender

Lavender Wedding Rice

Use fragrant, environmentally friendly dried lavender as lavender wedding rice.

• Wedding venues no longer allow rice because it’s difficult to clean up and it attracts rodents.
• Not only does birdseed also attract unwanted guests, it sprouts unwanted plants.
• As for bubbles, they create a slippery mess that stains fine fabrics.
• Lavender used as wedding toss vacuums up easily providing an instant air freshener.

Fresh Lavender at the Bridal Party Table

Use the bridal bouquet as well as the attendants' bouquets as the centerpiece for the bridal party table!

On Monday I'll have the last in this series of using lavender at a wedding!

Susan L. Harrington, CEO
(Chief Education Officer)
Labyrinth Hill Lavender

Attendant Fresh Lavender Bouquets

• Gather bundles of fresh lavender, approximately 200 stems each. Shape the bundle to form a dome of lavender
  
  
• Hold the bundle firmly, but gently and twist the stems in a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction.
  
  
• Take one yard of wide ribbon and wrap the bundle twice, tightly, just above the hand where you're holding the bouquet. You will start with about 3/4 of the ribbon trailing.
  
  
• Lay the bundle down and tie a square knot. Finish by wrapping the short and long ends of the ribbon in the same direction around the knot.
  
  
• Fold under the end and secure in place with 3-4 pearl-headed pins.
  
  
• Trim the ends of the stems, about 4 inches below the ribbon so the bundles will stand on their own.

Fresh lavender bundles will fare quite well for the duration of the wedding day without needing water!

 Fresh Lavender in a Casual Wedding Bouquet

Here I am again with more ideas for using lavender at a wedding! Yesterday's post included three simple ideas. Today I'm sharing more fragrant ideas for using lavender--the ancient herb of love and devotion--at a wedding.

Enjoy...and share your ideas for using lavender at a wedding.

Fresh Lavender Bouquet

• Include fresh or dried lavender in the bridal party bouquets. Stems of deep purple set off dreamy white or pink roses.
  
  
• Dried or fresh lavender stems in small vases at the reception carry on this fragrant theme.
  
  

Dried Lavender Buds

• When flower girls toss dried lavender along the aisle, wedding day jitters disappear! As the bridesmaids step on the aromatic buds, a gentle, calming fragrance greets the bride.

Use Fresh Lavender at a Wedding

It's wedding season and what better time to use fragrant lavender the ancient herb of love and devotion!? Fresh lavender is generally available in June and July depending where your farm is located.

Tomorrow we'll have some more lavender wedding ideas!

Here are a few simple ideas for using lavender at a wedding:

• Tie bundles of dried or fresh lavender with bows for the end of each seating row at the ceremony.
  
  
• Use a ribbon-trimmed bundle of fresh lavender as the bridal bouquet toss.
  
  
• A new wedding tradition is to present the toss bouquet to a guest of honor rather than have the "bouquet battle." Use dried lavender stems along with other dried herbs and flowers for an everlasting memory!

I am constantly amazed at how the Internet shrinks the world. Thanks to the ubiquitous "www" or world wide web, I've been able to pass along my experience as a small-scale lavender grower to like-minded folks not only across the USA, but also around the planet--from little old Hansville in north Kitsap County, Washington State.

My six-unit "starter" course Lavender: From Soil to Sachet most recently has drawn students from Canada, Mexico, Poland, and Italy. But the most fascinating of my new students is a resident of Zimbabwe, Africa. If you follow the news, you know that Zimbabwe is a country experiencing severe hard times. It is intriguing to speculate how my basic on-line course could be helping to rebuild the agricultural economy of that once-prosperous country--or, at least, helping one person there to improve his situation.
 
We are home from the North American Lavender Conference, sponsored by the Sequim Lavender Growers Association. I was privileged to be a guest speaker for two sessions--not on lavender, but on marketing and Internet use. And was delighted to meet, in-person, several of my on-line course students from around the country who came to the conference via Seattle. Others attending came from as far away as Quebec and Florida.

Fellow session leaders included keynote speakers Paul Abbott and his brother, Reuben, from the Isle of Wight Lavender Farm in England. They brought their expertise in growing and propagating lavender.Among other speakers--all excellent--was Oregon's Andy Van Hevelingen, who is oft-cited in many "how-to" manuals and is credited with creating a number of varieties, including the white-to-pink blooming lavender, named for his wife, "Melissa."

All in all, each of the more than 115 registrants seemed to have gained good new ideas to help them in their current and future lavender-growing adventures. And, as is typical, networking and exchanging ideas with fellow growers (or fellow sufferers) was a key benefit of attending.