Lavender Days…
Hello everyone,
Lavender days…how magical those first few days of the New Year were! Yes they were (although I know it’s quite hard to imagine just now!)…baking hot, with a ferocious sun beating down from a bright blue sky. In the field of flowers the atmosphere was alive with the pungent aroma of lavender, as Clemmie and I cut stem after stem; filling baskets and tossing the overflow onto hessian sacks as we made our way at a snail’s pace along the row; halting our routine from time to time to change position and move the big old oriental parasol just enough to keep us in the shade. It was an experience one might travel the world for, to be immersed in (as well as jolly hot, back-breaking work!).
Once each morning’s pick was done; we hauled our bounty to the Dairy to snip flower heads from stems, to weigh and then…distill. I can’t begin to tell you the joy of it all, the dizzying, uplifting delight, of filling that big, airy space with the intoxicating scent of fresh lavender.
And now…the time has come to release the Botanical Water yielded from those very few perfect summer days! As with the previous two releases (Rose Geranium and Orange Blossom) the amount available is limited. There won’t be an opportunity to distill lavender again ’til the same time next year. I did however, manage several distillations over those days, so in this instance I thought it fun to offer you both the option of a little 10ml atomiser as a face mist and/or…a slightly larger 35ml bottle, which you might use as a linen mist, for a hint of ‘sun-baked washing over a lavender bush’ in your linen cupboard! Of course, the 35ml still isn’t huge (I’ll never have the quantity for huge amounts but then quantity isn’t the point). The intention is quite simply to share a moment from the garden here, with you there. And this LAVENDER BOTANICAL WATER contains all the heat and sun absorbed by those tall, strong, flower spikes during the brief few days that actually felt like real summer, captured in a bottle.
To order, please click the following:
If you would like to add a 10ml bottle of Rose Geranium #2 or Orange Blossom #2 (either to your Lavender order or separately) I still have a little of each available. The Rose Geranium is as fresh and crisp as when I first released it in the spring; while the Orange Blossom is intensifying as it travels on its transient journey…and lingers longer. I’m now more inclined to apply that one to my wrist for that heady, transportive moment to the midst of an orange grove, rather than misting my face (although so enraptured was Craig at our late summer perfumery here a few weeks ago that I thought he might empty my entire little ‘sample’ bottle in his joyous face-misting exercise!).
Please note I can only fit a maximum of two bottles into the cardboard pillow box and mailer satchel to post (I can squeeze in one of each size…or two small). You’re welcome to collect from here too if you’re local…we just need to arrange a time.
You can find links to purchase all on the Botanical Water webpage where you can also read more about the waters themselves.
How I hope you will soon have a mountain of freshly ironed lavender scented linen in your cupboard…and sleep in a lavender haze, dreaming of sweet summer days.
Very best wishes as always,
Mickey
ps In the coming months (assuming the ground eventually dries out and the sunshine returns to strengthen plant growth) I’m excited to offer Distillation Days for very small groups…you can learn more here!
pps Petal Pounding & Preservation Dyeing 01 May with India Flint…don’t miss out – details here!
