Purple Passion

It's lavender season...finally.  I love lavender!  In fact, there are two plants that I always plant in my garden, no matter where I live.  One is a Cécile Brunner climbing rose.  The other is lavender.  

Lavender has an interesting history.  It is known for it's soporific and medicinal properties.  The smell of lavender blossoms will relax you.  We have lavender-filled bags to put over our eyes during savasana at the end of yoga class.   It is so soothing.  

Lavender is also known as an antiseptic and anti-inflammatory.  I read that essential lavender oil was used during World War I to wash down hospital walls and floors.  A bit of lavender oil on the temples is said to help a headache.

The word itself comes from the Anglo-Norman French lavandre, which, I think, means to wash.  It was often added to bath water or water used to wash linens to add a sweet scent.  At any rate, lavender is a pretty amazing herb.

When I moved to this place six years ago, there were two lavender plants here.  They were given to Paul by a friend.  They are the most prolific lavender plants I have ever seen.  There are now around fifty lavender plants growing on the property and they are all from seedlings started by the existing plants.  This doesn't count all the baby lavender plants I have given away.
 
And now that they are all blooming, the plants are abuzz with honey bees!  When I walk out to the garden, it sounds like a little freeway humming out there.  Bless those honey bees and more power to them.  I just wish I knew where to find their lavender honey!