Lavender Blues
Lavender is a Calming Herb
Lavender is an immensely popular herb mostly due to its wonderful fragrance and growing importance as an essential oil. Unlike most of its herbal relatives it is not a culinary herb. Lavender is a perennial that grows better in a well-drained and slightly alkaline soil. For better performing plants use a top dressing of lime in the fall. If you live in conditions where your soil is generally wet or soggy, lavender would not be a good choice for your garden.
Some varieties of Lavender, which are hardy to Zone 5, are:
· English Lavender
.Jean Davis (pink flowered)
· Hidcote (deep purple flowers)
· Munstead (blue flowers)
Because it is a woody plant lavender requires a bit more maintenance. Pruning needs to take place after you harvest the flowers in the summer. Make sure you use sharp pruning shears. Cut any remaining flower stalks and approximately 3 inches of foliage. This pruning is necessary to keep the plants from becoming spindly looking. If you can’t prune in midsummer wait until the following spring and provide a more intense pruning until the plants are well shaped. Because lavender grows slowly I recommend purchasing established plants at your local garden center.
Lavender is a famous fragrance that can be found in many perfumes, cosmetics, and potpourris of every kind. Harvesting the flowers is an easy process for the kitchen gardener. Cut the flower stalks as soon as the flowers open. Tie several stalks together and fasten them with a rubber band. Hang them upside down to dry. You can remove the flowers from the stems for use in potpourri, floral water, and linen bags. Store them in a tightly sealed plastic bag and use them within the year.
Lavender oil is extracted mostly from the flowers of the plant. This process is done primarily by steam distillation. The essential oil has a calming effect, which makes an effective remedy for the nerves and aids in treating anxiety, headaches, depression, migraines, nervous tension and emotional stress. It’s aroma increases mental activity, as well as removes nervous exhaustion. So on those rough days just sit a spell in your little patch of lavender to ease your stress.
About the Author
Nancy Merkle is an long time amateur gardener from the Chicago area. She enjoys sharing some of her tips she has accumulated through the years with anyone that would like to visit her
website.
|
|
WHITE APRON KIDS CHILDREN FITS 7-12 YR OLDS 19×28 INCHES REAL FABRIC 100% POLY NICE GIFT or PARTY FAVOR $2.79 BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN APRON 19 X 28 INCHES REAL FABRIC 100% POLY, WILL LOOK LIKE NEW FOR YEARS CENTER POCKET, REINFORCED AT STRESS POINTS EXCELLENT PARTY FAVOR, GIF OR FOR A PLAY OR SCHOOL FAST, WE HAVE ALL COLORS, WE ARE THE MANUFACTURERS… |
|
|
CHEFSKIN PERSONALIZED ADULTS APRON LIGHTWEIGHT…NOT FOR COMMERCIAL USE…..MONOGRAM NAME EMBROIDERY SELECT 2 NAMES, COLOR AND FONT, APRONS AVAILABLE in HOT PINK, BLACK, WHITE, PINK, LAVENDER 100% POLYESTER LIGHTWEIGHT CENTER POCKET LONG STRAPS. WE SHIP 1 DAY AFTER PURCHASE + 2-3 DAY DELIVERY. WE SHIP FAST PERFECT FOR WEDDINGS,PARTIES, THANKSGIVING CHRISTMAS SCHOOL PLAYSETC $12.99 ADULT SIZE APRON 100% POLYESTER LIGHTWEIGHT INCLUDES UP TO 2 NAMES EMBROIDERED CHOOSE COLOR FONT AND APRON COLOR FROM WHITE-BLACK-HOT PINK-PINK- WRITE IN THE GIFT MESSAGE: COLOR APRON–NAME AND THREAD ie BLUE APRON Ryan in WHITE COLOR…. |
|
|
PINK APRON KIDS CHILDREN FITS 2-7 YR OLDS 15×21 INCHES REAL FABRIC 100% POLY GIFT PARTY FAVOR $2.99 BEAUTIFUL APRON EASY CARE LONG LASTING NICE APRON THAT FITS KIDS FROM 3 TO 9 YEARS OLD. YOU CAN DECORATE OR FOR SCHOOL PROJECTS OR FOR B’DAY PARTIES OR TO HELP MOM or DAD…. |
|
|
Kiko $4.67 All products are BRAND NEW and factory sealed. Fast shipping and 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed…. |
|
|
Wedding Album $8.85 All products are BRAND NEW and factory sealed. Fast shipping and 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed…. |
|
|
Lavender Blue: Songs of Charm, Humour & Sincerity [ORIGINAL RECORDINGS REMASTERED] $6.72 All products are BRAND NEW and factory sealed. Fast shipping and 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed…. |
|
|
Ladies in Lavender $6.46 In 1936 Cornwall, England, the lives of a pair of aging spinsters are turned upside-down when they find a Polish violinist badly injured on the beach following a fierce storm. While nursing him back to health, one of the women begins to fall in love with him and soon finds herself competing with a youthful artist for his affections. Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Natascha McElhone, and Daniel Bruhl sta… |
|
|
So Dear to My Heart (Disney Gold Classic Collection) $29.99 One of Walt Disney’s most precious film classics, SO DEAR TO MY HEART combines live action and animation to tell the heartwarming story of a young boy with big dreams and an even bigger imagination! Jeremiah is the determined country boy who adopts a rejected and mischievous black lamb named Danny. While drawing a picture of Danny in his scrapbook, Jeremiah daydreams of winning a blue ribbon at th… |
|
|
Ritz Carlton – Naples … |
|
|
Doc Johnson Lucid Dream #14 Multi-Speed, Waterproof G-Spot Vibrator, Twist-bottom Control … |
