Lavender

This coming Saturday, June 26th is the Ojai Lavender Festival.  If you want to know, see, smell, taste and enjoy everything lavender this is the spot for you!

In my garden I have 3 varieties of lavender growing, which all bloom at various times throughout the summer.  

The Lavendua Stoechas "spanish lavender" is the first to pop up and I love it in arrangements.  It really isn't all that fragrant but it is a stunner in the perennial beds.

My favorite for drying is the Lavandula Intermedia "grosso" and Lavandula Angustifolia "hidcote".  Both have long spiky flower stems and really pretty traditional lavender flowers.  Grosso is the most widely used for oils and apothecary purposes and it dries beautifully.  

I have this stuff hanging all over the place...  on the front porch, in the garage and on the garden gate.  

It dries really quickly and then I trim up the stems and wrap each little bundle in raffia.  I like to put it in the linen closet and in drawers.  It is such a fun little gift to give a friend and so easy to do!

The Ojai Valley Inn and Spa has beautiful lavender beds below.  This is a wonderful place to stay for a weekend if you are in the area.  With over 220 acres it has a substantial impact on the area and a really interesting history, more about that later!

Our local Farmers market has a great Lavender provider, Rivendell Aromatics.  They have acres of lavenders and also sell haas avocados and other interesting fruit.

This farm is up the road from us on the way to Santa Barbara.  She sells lotions, soap, oils and dried lavenders that are just wonderful.  She will be at the festival this weekend and they are featuring lavender lemonade

Or better yet, how about  a lavender margarita?

Yum

Here's to the start of summer...cheers!

~kelley~