The Scent of Summer

Certain scents are associated with seasons, places and events. For me, basil, watermelon and especially lavender is what summer smells like. It is one of the strongest, longest lasting of scents. I have heard, it was recovered from a pyramid, with the scent still lingering.

There are loads of uses for lavender; culinary, medicinal, decorative. Today, I am going to show you one my favorite ways to preserve lavender, how to make a lavender wand.

It’ fairly easy, really. Best of all, you don’t need to use the blooms when they are perfect. I use the English lavender that grows in my garden. You want it to be a little past it’s prime, so a bit grey, the stems still green. This will make sure that your wand won’t get moldy.

You need at least 32 stems, you can use more, but keep an even number. Clean all the stems of excess leaves. I like to put out an old white piece of linen to catch the bits and pieces. Leave the stems long, you will trim them later. Gather all the blossoms so they are evenly lined up.

Now, pick out your ribbon. You will need about three yards, better to have more, than run out. I use satin ribbon from the craft store, but grosgrain works well also.

Tie a firm knot, just below the blossoms, leaving most of the ribbon trailing down. Okay, now the fun starts. Start bending stems over the blossoms two at a time, weaving the ribbon, in and out. Two stems together.

I know this is a bit odd, but it gets easier after a couple of rows. You are weaving the ribbon in and out, evenly. Think basket weaving and bead stringing, but it smells better.

Keep the ribbon as tight as you can, it is much easier to tighten now, than after you have finished.

Once all the stems are bent down, it is just weaving in and out, trying to keep the ribbon tight.

You can move the stems so they are evenly spaced. It takes me about 30 minutes to finish a wand.

When you have woven past the blossoms, tie the ribbon tightly, the wind it around the stems and tie it off. Trim ends of lavender, and viola! C’est fini!

These lavender wands last a very long time. Just a little squeeze freshens them up. Any questions? I would love to see your efforts! Please post some images.