There are certain plants that just evoke summer, like basil, tomatoes and lavender. While all three are versatile and indispensable, I am always amazed at the uses we've come up with over the years, for lavender. Everything from deterring pests to attracting mates. Having trouble sleeping, a bout of anxiety, an onset of baldness? Lavender's the cure.
I wish my plants were large enough to toss the sheets over to dry. I've read that's what the laundress used to do, to infuse them with the scent. I did indulge in a lavender sheet spray, which I am totally enamored of. I'm open to suggestions. How do you use lavender?
Learn more: Growing Lavender | Lavender Aroma Therapy | Lavender Moth Repellent
Photo: © Marie Iannotti
Comments
Lavender is great! You can take the flowers fresh or dried and add to water and spray on sheets or clothes…also acts as a natural starch for ironing clothes!
Lemon Balm…great for anxiety. Add to decaf tea w/honey or by itself is good too. Smells wonderful!
Jenn
I never heard the starch tip before. I’ll definitely give it a try.
As for the lemon balm, I guess instead of stressing out because it was spreading throughout the border I should have just sipped it and relaxed. Good to know.
It does smell wonderful.
Made a sachet of Lavender. Slip it under your pillow in the morning, when you crawl back in that night, the scent will envelope you.
Also, Lavender tea is very relaxing, add a little honey.
I wonder how lavender ice tea would be?
That’s a nice idea, to keep the sachet under the pillow during the day and letting the residual scent put you to sleep. A lot of times the sachets are too pungent to sleep on, but that sounds like a good compromise.
I love lavender.
I love white wine.
So, the natural result is lavender infused White Wine.
Soak a few lavender buds in a bottle of white wine for at least 24 hrs. in the fridge.
There is nothing better than this chilled concoction at the end of the day.
For me anyway…..
Lavender wine. Now that’s something I would never have thought to do.
I love the fact that lavender is so intense, you can do most these things last minute, rather than weeks ahead.
I am trying a way that I read about of how to extract the oil out of herbs by covering chops herbs (in my case lavender) with vodka for several months in a air tight container, then straining the herbs out and freezing the remaing liquid. After pouring of the alcohol all you should have left is the oil! We’ll see if this works!
That’s new to me. I’ll be very interest in hearing how it turns out. How do you pour off the alcohol?
Vodka is strong stuff. The sleeve of my jacket once fell into a glass of vodka at a party. When I went to get my jacket, all the dye had been leeched out of the cuff. I was tempted to try it as a household cleaner.
After I dry my lavender tips, I put them in a baggie with some lavender oil and let it sit for a week or so. It gives a stronger and longer lasting fragrance to the sachets. I put them into nylon bags and then into cloth or knitted sachet holders and give them to gifts. My tags have a picture of my lavender plants with a note that says: “Lavender from Lauren’s garden. May your dreams be peaceful.” They have been a big hit.
Lauren, I’ve never given a lavender gift that wasn’t a big hit. You must be very popular.
Do you ever add the oil to older lavender, to revive it? I’m wondering if you can harvest it now, for holiday gifts, and wait to add the oil until shortly before you’d be giving them out.
The easiest way to infuse your sheets with Lavender is to add a couple of drops of essential lavender oil into the softener compartment of your clothes washer. Your sheets will come out smelling divine. More details here