Here's your sweet lavender,
Sixteen sprigs a penny,
Which you will find, my ladies,
Will smell as sweet as any.
Sixteen sprigs a penny,
Which you will find, my ladies,
Will smell as sweet as any.
So goes an old London Street cry. Some days I wish we still lived in the age of street cries . . . every so often I imagine in my mind what that used to be like . . . to hear people walking by the house yelling out their wares. What a fabulous cacaphony of sound! There are many other things about that era I would not wish to live however, so I'm happy to be born when I was!
You will often see lavender referred to as Old English Lavender, but in reality, it's really a Mediterranean plant brought to these shores by the Roman's more than 2,000 years ago, to perfume the water in the baths that were so very important to them. In fact, that is how it got it's name . . . from the Latin word "lavo" . . . meaning "I wash."
(source)
The lavender in our garden is slowing down now . . . it's scented stalks drying out . . . but just a few weeks ago it was covered with bees, busily collecting the nectar. Have you ever tasted Lavender Honey? I have, and it's most delicious. Monks of old grew lavender, both for the bees and the honey, but also for all sorts of medicinal purposes . . . it being said that
"Flowers of the lavender comfort the brainses very well."
Nowadays these flowers are still dried to be used in lavender bags or potpourri . . . to add fragrance to our homes, or distilled to produce lavender oil. We even cook with it. I have a bottle of pesticide free lavender in my spice cupboard even now . . . and a small pot of lavender sugar.
Our lavender bush out front now is getting rather sad looking. It still
blooms profusely during it's season of joy . . . but it is rather
overgrown now and needs to be replaced I think . . . or cut right back .
. . I'm not a gardener so I'm not altogether quite sure what we need to
do with it. Perhaps I should look it up.
(our cottage in Kent)
Our cottage in Kent had a lovely huge bunch of lavender growing in the back garden. I used to love sitting at the picnic table watching the bees at work.
At the Manor itself, there was an Elizabethan Lover's Knot garden out
front which was planted with lavender. It was so very beautiful when
the lavender was all in bloom . . . it was so very beautiful even when
it wasn't in bloom! It was just plain beautiful. I sometimes miss that
very pretty environment that I got to work in . . . although I have to
say that I don't really miss having to work for them . . .
In all truth, none of it was really worth the price I had to pay for living and working there. I have PTSD from all I experienced in that toxic work environment, with night terrors etc. Other than that, it was quite a once in a lifetime experience to be sure and there were a great many aspects of the job I did enjoy such as being able to stretch with and explore all of my culinary ambitions. I am really quite proud of the work that I did there when all is said and done. For a humble girl from podunk small town Nova Scotia, I did me well.
We are still being battered by Storm Francis. I am not sure how long this is going to last but its pretty wet and windy! Poor Mitzi didn't get any walks yesterday and I am not sure if she will get any today! Probably not if what I am seeing outside our dining room window is anything to go by!
And with that I best leave you with a thought for today . . .
° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
•。★★ 。* 。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★
*Kindness comes in many forms
•。★★ 。* 。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★
*Kindness comes in many forms
but always from the heart.•。★★ 。* 。
Baking in The English Kitchen today . . . . Vanilla & Blueberry Breakfast Cornbread! Its delicious served warm, split, buttered and drizzled with honey!
Have a great day. I hope that you are able to carry God's love with you all the day through today! Bless you all, for you surely bless me. Don't forget!