Tag: Lavender

Counting on 2026 …. Day 56

9th June

Another seasonal harvest is lavender. 

Lavender is best picked before  in the morning before the sun warms the flowers releasing their fragrant oil and best picked before the flowers become to open – again to ensure maximum fragrant oil that you are essentially harvesting. The cut flowers are put in paper bags (or large envelopes) before being put somewhere to dry – eg the airing cupboard. 

Later in the year the dried flowers can be put into cotton bags and used to scent drawer and bed linen.

However only  cut some of the flowers. Leave plenty of flowers for the insects – especially bees – and then for the birds – such as goldfinches – which in the winter will enjoy pecking out the seeds. 

Counting on … day 1.150

25th June 2023

Another seasonal activity is picking and drying lavender. Lavender is best picked in the morning before the sun has reached the plant, and when the flowers are not yet at the stage of being fully open. This helps maximise the amount of lavender oil present in the flower. I collect the cut heads (stalks still attached) in paper bags and then put them in the airing cupboard to dry. Later in the year I will use the lavender to refill lavender bags. Sometimes I use small lavender bags which means removing the flowers from the stalks (by rubbing them inside the paper bag:the dry flowers drop to the bottom of the bag). Other times I use larger bags and fill them stalks and all!