8 Ways We Love Lavender

Eminence Organics is passionate about using the best natural, organic and Biodynamic® ingredients to provide the healthiest and most effective skin care products. The Eminence Certified Organic Farm is home to many of the ingredients found in our award-winning Eminence Organics products – rhubarb, stone crop, chamomile and stunning lavender.

We Love Lavender!

It is easy to see and smell why lavender is such a popular herb. Lavender showers us with natural gifts. Not only is this flower beautiful and romantically fragrant, it has healing properties that calm, soothe and replenish, and it is surprisingly easy to grow and care for.

Here are eight ways we feature and celebrate lavender:

1. Planted

Lavender adds something special to any garden, unfolding fields of bright purple blooms. Whether planted in the ground, along a stone wall, or potted in a favorite planter, this bountiful herb adds fragrant color. There are many varieties of lavender. Lavender grows best with at least six hours of sun. It prefers excellent drainage like rock gardens & raised beds with lots of stone.

2. Bouquet

The secret to success with lavender bouquets is harvesting flowers at the right stage.

Lavender bouquets bring the beauty and fragrance of the garden indoors. Lavender is an easy-to-grow herb, and it’s also an easily handled cut flower. Harvest it fresh, and use it fresh or dried to create pretty lavender bouquets.

Keep an eye on your lavender flowers to know the right time to harvest. For fresh or dried bouquets, aim to pick flowers when roughly three-quarters of the blooms in each flower head are open. This usually corresponds to the time when blossoms are opening at the base of the lavender flower spike.

The strong vertical lines of lavender flowers play a strong counterpoint to the rounded forms of other summer blossoms.

Tip: If you’re arranging bouquets in water, be sure to remove all lavender leaves below the waterline for the longest vase life.

3. Sachet

Lavender is known for its long lasting aroma. Remove the dried florets, gather them into a decorative pouch – tied with a commemorative ribbon – and tuck your lavender sachet into a favorite drawer. When someone asks you why you smell so lovely, you’ll smile knowing why.

Sew dried and crushed lavender into a hand-made eye coverlet, and place gently upon closed eyelids to welcome a peaceful rest.

4. Dried

When you create dried lavender displays, you’ll be able to savor that perfumed garden glory indoors for a long time. At this stage of the growing cycle, lavender stems are thick and able to support flower heads as they dry. Lavender flowers also have a strong, deep purple hue at this point in the season.

An easy way to create a dried lavender bouquet is to arrange stems, after cutting, in a vase without water. Flowers and stems will dry upright in the vase. Once the lavender dries, gather stems to form dried lavender bunches for wreaths or decorating. Sunlight fades the color of dried lavender, so keep displays out of direct sunlight if possible.

5. Ornamental

Lavender stems are an excellent natural resource for creating any number of rustic floral accents. Make a festive lavender wreath, add a sprig of dried lavender to a wrapped gift, make a special placeholder or name tag for a dinner party, save your place in a favorite book with a lavender “bookmark”. There is nothing nicer than a lavender accent to make something extra special.

6. Fragrance

Lavender boasts of properties that dissolve stress and magnify deep peace, calm, confidence, comfort, contentment, strength and assuredness. Apply 2-4 drops of essential lavender oil to an aromatic diffuser to add a peaceful and relaxing aroma. Or, add a drop or two of essential oil directly, rubbing lavender’s relaxation properties into the skin.

7. Ingredient

In the kitchen, cooks treasure the lavender herb for its subtle flavor. Adding lavender to pastries, meats, butters, honey, shortbreads and any number of delicacies turns an ordinary item into a culinary masterpiece. Infuse simple syrup with a sprinkling of lavender and use to sweeten iced tea, lemonade, or even to flavor meringue. Grind some lavender into sugar and use it in simple butter cookies or infuse cream for lavender-scented whipped or ice cream. Make your own dry blend of herbs and flowers (we like lavender with mint and rosemary) and rub on lamb chops or chicken wings before grilling. You can even candy the blossoms and use those to garnish.

You’ll find lavender, fresh and dried, at most farmers’ markets. There is edible lavender and ornamental lavender. Select the former for the kitchen, and use it sparingly to balance out a dish with just the right hint of flavor.

8. Organic Skin Care

At Eminence Organic Skin Care, we delight in combining organic lavender into some of your favorite skin care products, including Lavender Age Corrective Night Concentrate and Lavender Age Corrective Night Cream. We add lavender, argan oil, shea butter and jojoba oil – ingredients that aid in hydrating and renewing skin as you sleep, helping you wake up with a gorgeous, even complexion.

Whether planted, dried, decorative, edible, or an added ingredient to your organic skin care regimen, lavender is a wonderful way to bring peace, relaxation and purity to your day.

January 3, 2018