Weeding Raised Bed Perennials

Every year we say the same thing... This year we're going to get at the weeds before they get too big. Every year we curse ourselves for not being able to do that.

This year we worked on getting attachments to the tractor to help with between row weeding. I got a bar and frame to which I attached two vertical bars to which I attached scrapers.

One scraper is flat to scrape off the heads of the weeds between the rows of lavender.


The other is bent up on one side, to scrape the bottom and side of the raised beds.

They work pretty well, as long as the tractor can fit over the plants and it's not blooming season.



The tractor we have is a 30 horse power New Holland with a clearance of about 14". That is too low for all but some of the angustifolia lavenders. We have one variety, which we really don't know the name (shameful, but no one I've contacted can tell me what it is) that is about 24" tall when it's not blooming, so the low-clearance tractor does some damage to the tops. Luckily, this lavender regrows pretty well. The Provence we have is also too tall, while the Grosso is only slightly too high.

Don Meehan built the scrapers for me. Lucky for me one of his talents is welding. In this picture you can see the raised beds. After the scraper goes through they are more defined.

Essential Oil Chemistry: A Beginning Aromatherapy Primer

By: Ginger Robbins
Uh oh. Chemistry - the word itself can make one's eyes glaze over. But wait, this is "essential oil chemistry'. MUCH more fun! While even beginning aromatherapy students are put off by the mere mention of the subject, they eventually realize the importance of understanding at least the fundamentals. The basics of essential oil chemistry will help you appreciate what gives a fine oil its unique aroma, help you more carefully discern a good oil from a second-rate one, and can improve your practice of using essential oils therapeutically. The greatest benefits of essential oils lies in their potential for true medicinal applications, where their antiviral, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties are effectively utilized. And it is the understanding of their chemistry that enables the practitioner to select the right oils and use them most appropriately. Convinced? Well here's a primer to get you started...
So, why are essential oils called "oils" anyway? They don't feel greasy, and they tend to evaporate completely, unlike common "fixed" oils (such as olive, grapeseed, hazelnut and the like). Essential oils and fixed oils share a similar chemical foundation: their structures are based on the linking of carbon and hydrogen atoms in various configurations. But this is really where the similarity ends. Fixed oils are made up of molecules comprised of three long chains of carbon atoms bound together at one end, called a triglyceride. Every fixed oil is made up of just a few different triglyceride arrangements - olive oil, for example, is primarily made up of oleic, linoleic and linolenic acids (the names of particular carbon-hydrogen chains forming the triglycerides). Their long-chain shape holds them in a liquid state which does not easily evaporate.
Volatile oils are another matter - volatile oils do easily evaporate, due in-part to their smaller, more complex structures. Essential oils are a sub-category of volatile oils, essential oils being specifically those volatile oils that have been distilled directly from plants (rather than laboratory made, or from another otherwise "inorganic" source). Essential oils still have a core structure of linked carbon and hydrogen atoms, but they come in a great variety of shapes including short chains, rings and multiple-rings hooked together. Each of these core structures will have what is known as a "functional group" attached - a sort of "molecular sub-unit". Despite their seeming complexity, though, essential oils are still very compatible with mammalian biology - their atomic structure allows them to penetrate into the deepest regions of our bodies, and even to the centers of our cells.
The therapeutic action of an essential oil is primarily determined by the "functional groups" found in the molecules that make up that oil. An essential oil is actually made up of many individual molecular constituents. Each of these natural chemicals is formed of a carbon-hydrogen structure with a functional group attached. It is the combination of the base structure AND the attached functional group that makes a single, unique molecule. And MANY of these unique molecules combine to form ONE essential oil.
As you can see, essential oils are really very complex in their chemical nature. There are nearly infinite possibilities of functional group and base ring or chain combinations. And ONE essential oil alone can be made up of HUNDREDS of these different molecular arrangements. Don't worry, though! While it sounds complex, one needn't know all the precise chemical details to use essential oils therapeutically. Just know that any single essential oil is comprised of a few natural chemicals that make up the bulk of the oil, and many minor "trace" constituents that also affect both aroma and therapeutic activity.
The best natural, undiluted, properly distilled essential oils with all the major and minor chemical constituents will have the finest aromas AND the most potent therapeutic action. Many factors in an essential oil's production affect the total number and relative amounts of individual chemicals found in the final product. These include where the plant was grown, soil and climate conditions, time of harvest, distillation equipment, plus the time, temperature and pressure of distillation. This can give you an idea as to why two varieties of the same oil can smell so different: The full, beautiful bouquet of a fine essential oil will contain a myriad of notes, telling you that all natural components are present and in balanced amounts.
To best understand this, we'll examine Lavender essential oil; more than fifty individual molecules have been identified in pure lavender essential oil. The aromatherapist must remember that ALL of these chemicals found in pure and natural Lavender oil work together to produce a therapeutic effect. For example, the linalool molecule is antiviral and antibacterial; the linalyl acetate is emotionally calming; other major components including cineol, limonene, pinene and others are all noted for specific biologic and aromatic activity. It is the combined, balanced, synergistic action of these chemicals that make pure, high-quality Lavender such a great healer.
What does this mean to the lay-practitioner? That it's important to find a nice smelling lavender oil! Each individual chemical, both major and minor, has a distinct smell, and is talked about in terms of "notes" within the overall lavender aroma. Some of these are sweet, some citrusy, some are herbaceous, and some camphorous (and the list goes on). A precise amount of each will create a certain Lavender aroma. Some lavenders are more sweet (and may therefore more relaxing), others are more herbaceous. Your nose is an incredible detector of essential oil chemistry, and you'll be surprised how effective it is at choosing the finest, most therapeutically valuable oil. Your nose can tell you if all the constituents are in balance, if the oil is fresh, and interestingly, also if the oil is right for you - trust yourself in this regard!
A balanced approach in aromatherapy, as in all of natural medicine, is best. The most effective practitioner will have a well-developed "internal pendulum" combined with a solid education. Significant variations exist in the quality of essential oils; it is really cost effective to buy the higher grades of oil, as their synergy of expertly distilled chemicals will have the greater therapeutic action. Use your nose, knowledge and intuition to find a source you trust, that delivers consistently high-grade oils for a reasonable cost. Use these same faculties to skillfully select and apply the appropriate oil for each circumstance. Essential oils are complex by nature; at the same time, they have an exceptionally broad scope of therapeutic applications. Hopefully, this little bit of aromatherapy chemistry will enrich your ability to support your own health, and the health of those around you.
About the Author
The author has made available reports on specific anti-microbials such as tea tree and other therapeutic essential oils.

(ArticlesBase SC #2444139)

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/ - Essential Oil Chemistry: A Beginning Aromatherapy Primer

Jam Recipes

We make jams with lavender.  They are really really good, and people buy them a lot. But, I want to let you know how we do it....


Here's my secret... you can take your favorite recipe (that makes about 8 seven ounce jars) and add about a tablespoon of ground culinary lavender and make a great jam.

That's it, simple and yet makes a delicious jam that you will love. Now that we're going into berry and fruit season you can experiment to your heart's content with the bounty in your area.

Need culinary lavender? (We have some, of course.) If you have lavender in your garden, just follow these basic rules. Don't eat Lavendula Stoechas (what a lot of people call Spanish lavender), or most of the Lavendula x-intermedias (the hybrids that have nice long stems, there really isn't a country's name that refers reliably to these). You can eat most of the Lavendula Angustifolia varieties - with Hidcote, Munstead, and Melissa being among the best. You can eat one hybrid variety called "Provence". If you stick to that you'll be perfectly safe and your jams will be that much more delicious.

Come back to this post and comment to let me know how you did.  Bon Appetit!

Necessity and invention - No more stink!

I was to supply the lemonade, paper plates, plasticware, and wine glasses at the community dinner last night. I stopped at the local grocery store to get a couple more cans of frozen lemonade and while I was there I picked up some sorely needed underarm deodorant. Did I mention this is going to be a personal blog post? Well, it won't end up that way, but it starts out....

Tom's of Maine Lavendar (which they spell wrong) or Calendula deodorants have been my favorite for a while, so I bought one and into the plastic bag it went, along with the lemonade. I got to the dinner, forgot about what was in the bag and handed it off to a woman who seemed eager to have the lemonade. On the way home I remembered. Uh oh, it was going to be a stinky day tomorrow.

Wait a minute! I have a lavender farm and we make lots of cool products, and have even been thinking in the background about making a deodorant. So, onto the web I go and I find a couple of really cute videos of younger-than-me women telling how to make a deodorant. One was Mochamoments and she cracked me up - so calm talking about such a personal thing! I actually didn't use her recipe for the deodorant, but I did use her attitude-recipe for being cool with it and having fun.

Want to know my recipe?

1 1/2 TBL beeswax pastilles
1/2 TBL Shea Butter
1 TBL Coconut Oil
10 drops Bergamot Essential Oil
15 drops Rosemary Essential Oil
25 drops Lavender essential Oil
3 drops Castor Oil

I melted the first three ingredients in a small sauce pan, then added the rest of the ingredients. Poured them into a mini jam jar (because that is what I had on hand) and capped it to cool. Meanwhile, I scraped the stuff left in the pan with my finger and covered my armpits with the stuff. It smelled wonderful! Nancy, who works here with me, was making fun of me because I'd tuck my nose into the neck of my shirt and sniff every 10 minutes or so. 10 hours later after hard labor on the farm - guess what! I don't stink!

Make your own deodorant, it's fun and much more healthy for you. This concoction that I made won't last forever, because there are no real preservatives in it, but it will last long enough, I'm sure.

Some factoids:
The essential oils included are good because: They all smell wonderful and all three help with antimicrobial effects. Bergamot can have issues with photosensitivity, but hey, here it's under the arm, where the sun don't shine.

Castor Oil is an amazing oil, used for things like airplanes, skin conditioner, anti-depressant (Wikipedia: Castor oil and its derivatives have applications in the manufacturing of soaps, lubricants, hydraulic and brake fluids, paints, dyes, coatings, inks, cold resistant plastics, waxes and polishes, nylon, pharmaceuticals and perfumes.) Who knew?

Coconut Oil is used a lot in soaps and lotions because it's solid at room temperature, and has other cool qualities such as skin moisturizer and softener. Shea butter is also a moisturizer, but it also helps with scars, burns, rashes, etc. And beeswax is just wonderful - it smells good, is hard enough to make the deodorant "paste" viable as a paste. It protects things and adds moisturizing effects, too.

I'll be making more deodorants, with other ingredients. This is so much fun! Add your comments if you've made your own deodorant, or not. Seems to me we can reclaim our own ability to smell wonderful! And, oh, by the way, Go Lavender!!

Blackbirds, Daffodils and Greenhouse

One of the joys of being on the farm is watching what nature does. The other day I was sitting inside talking and drinking coffee with friends when a huge flock of red-winged blackbirds and a few starlings descended onto our birdfeeder. They looked so neat, especially with the daffodils blooming right there.... I had to share.

We have been working hard in the greenhouse tranplanting starts and starting more. It is looking really beautiful. Do you know our plants are certified organic? That means doing things in the greenhouse can be tricky, because we can't use standard things to eliminate pests. So far we're doing alright, and there aren't many pests aside from pesky fruit flies. The greenhouse is a "cold" greenhouse which means there is no additional heat in it. It has gone below freezing at times in the night during the winter. But now that spring is here (see the daffodils?) the nights are warmer so the plants are doing quite well. Note the purple pots? They're new and boy do they look great!

We've also developed a way of printing out our own tags in color that have plant information AND a little bit of history or story about the variety. We're working like crazy to get those tags written, but they, too, are very cool. I'm excited about this growing season.

When Lavender isn't enough

There is one thing that lavender can't do. It can't mend an aching heart when someone you love dies.

It can make things smell better. It can help with little things like headaches, and cuts and burns. It can be a peace offering. It can help with sleeping. All that is good. But sometimes it's just not enough.

I realized that over the last few weeks and especially, today; let me explain.

Using social media in business can help us keep in touch with loved ones. The people we love spend at least 40 hours a week working, and why would we want to be left out of that part of their lives? Some of my family members have signed on as friends, or get blog posts, or tweets. I love that they comment from time to time on my posts and pictures. I love following their own businesses and daily lives. At the farm we send out a monthly email newsletter to folks who sign up for it. Some of my family members have signed up. In the course of responsible use of this medium we have to mange the list of people and sometimes we have to adjust the address or take it off if someone asks. We send out email newsletters about once a month or less, usually. I just sent one out this morning.

Later this afternoon, I was spreading fertilizer and lime in the lavender fields with a spreader attached to the PTO of my tractor (so cool!), and I realized that the email I'd sent out went to my sister-in-law's email address. But she won't be reading that ever again, because she died a couple of weeks ago. I'd forgotten that her email address was still active on my list. I felt horribly guilty for having forgotten to take her email off the list.

I've been walking around somewhat in a fog because of the grief her death represents, if someone asks me about it and I start to tell them, I choke up. This is normal, I know, but it's more intense than when my Dad died a year ago at the age of 83. Sally was 42. My brother is 43. I love them both and their three young children. Taking her name off my email list was yet another reminder that she is gone. Her bright smile and sparkling eyes will never gaze at me again. She'll never write "Hey, Sistah Sal" to me again. Being in her kitchen helping out after the funeral, was just plain strange without her turning from the stove, waving a spoon, and laughing at something we just said.

As much as I love lavender and enjoy it's scent and effects and the pure joy of growing it, the knot in my stomach and the tears that come unbidden have muted the pleasure I normally would have every day as I walk a few steps away to work. Until that passes, I have to run on memory. I remember lavender is a delight, that growing it is a pleasure, and that making things with it is fun and a creative outlet. Luckily, I have folks who remind me, and people how are coming to the farm who have that appreciation tell me how much they enjoy it. They remind me every day of the sheer joy in things that smell good, that are impressive to see, that bring peace.

It is peace that the priest commended her to last Wednesday, Feb. 10. May that be true and I pray that she is smiling & laughing at the antics of her kids, my brother, her Mom & Dad, her sister and her family, me, my sister, and the rest of the 1,000 people who came to say goodbye to her. And, maybe there is a whiff of lavender there for her, too.

Donation to Haitian Relief

In the January edition of our newsletter I announced that Lavender Wind Farm would donate 10% of sales for one week. I had some misgivings because it seemed selfish to say that if people bought from us we'd donate. I had fears that people wouldn't believe that we actually would make the donation and that we wouldn't sell enough to donate much at all. That week just ended and we donated $86.07 to the UUSC Haiti Relief Fund. I am very gratified to have been able to send that much - this is our down season and that represents a very good week.

Our customers deserve credit for making this possible. Rather than getting 10% off for themselves, they made it possible to send more money for long term help in Haiti. I'm proud of them, they're great! Thank you, all.

Our wonderful people - Thank you and Happy New Year

It’s Christmas, and almost the end of the year. 2009, what a year, and pretty soon we’ll be in the double digit years of this decade. This year we were so lucky. Part of that luck was the incredible group of people who worked here and I want to tell you about them. In the quiet of the winter part of the year they don’t work right now, I’m looking forward to some of them coming back as the new year perks up.

Stacy has been our #1 manufacturing person. She made most of our products, and provided us with such a warm gentle love of people and animals that I believe we all were changed. Plus she’s cute, although she hates it when I take her picture. I took her to England to a lavender conference at Cambridge University. It was a great trip and we both learned a lot. It was Stacy's first trip abroad, and I hope she takes many more, she had fun.

Mare is a good friend as well as a worker here. She is always on time if not early, pitches in when things are busy. Her crowning moment this year, though, was when we found a rat in the garage. She went home and got her rat terrier - Laird - and put him in the garage with some encouraging words. In less than 5 minutes he brought her the dead rat, strutting with pride.

Leslie spent a year with us which ended at the end of January this year. She was the one who brought the dog she was sitting to work everyday, so the pond became known as Bailey’s Spa. She loved working outside, and brought good will and cheer here every day, along with many many hours of hard work.

Kathy has been working here for years. We don’t see her often, but she comes and nags at me to get my papers in order and then helps me do it. I wish I could say the changes she’s wanted are permanent, but there always is a white flurry here when she’s gone.

JP is our neighbor’s son and needed a job for a little while. He’s in high school and does well.

Kevin, Willow, and Elizabeth were interns for Georgie Smith over at Willowood Farm on Ebey’s Prairie. They came early in the season to put a dent in our weed population. Then, Willowood needed them back and they disappeared into a season of vegies and farmers markets. What a great year they had!

Kendra came in the spring and brought a new perspective to life. She’s into the goth lifestyle and taught us about things we’d never heard of. She loved working outside, so when she left each day, she’d go to another farm and work there, too. I loved her smile.

Michelle used to sell shaved ice at the farmers market with her mom. This spring she needed some non-Mom money and came to weed for us until better offers came her way.

Amber is Leslie's friend and the real owner of Bailey. Turns out she's a bookkeeping whizz, so she comes and helps me during the busy season. She also helped during our annual festival. We like having her around.

Elizabeth came at a time when I wasn’t sure I needed anyone, so I said she could work for a month or so. Then, in September, when she left to go back to WSU I was really sad. She was a fabulous worker and I think she made some good friends here.

Dorian’s Mom wrote last winter to see if she could get her daughter a position. I don’t usually hire without an interview, but I went ahead and said okay. I’m so glad I did, Dorian is a smart cookie and introduced us all to the incredible hassles involved in becoming an ex-pat. Then, when I took Stacy to England to go to the lavender conference she had Stacy come and visit for a few days in Oxford. Dorian brought Katie with her.

Katie grew up in Hawaii, went to Wellesley with Dorian, and came here for the summer. Turns out she’s a fabulous musician! No, we didn’t get music in the lavender fields - I forgot to ask!

Nancy moved to Whidbey Island this summer and dropped by the farm to check it out. She told Mare she’d like to volunteer here, and when I got wind of that I hired her on the spot. Her sense of humor and unfailing cheerful spirit makes us all laugh. Just a word to her California family and friends - we’re keeping her, you can’t have her back for long.

Rick had a hard year. This spring his back went out and he spent the summer trying to get it back in shape. Then this fall he was attacked by Vertigo. What a distressing condition, the world spins around his head. He’s feeling very mortal right now. That’s good for the rest of us, because he’s doing a great job at Deception Pass State Park and for Lighthouse Environmental Programs so his head would be way to big if it weren’t for his health.

I spent my first year after being with my father as he died. I realized I get crabby when I grieve, but I think that’s done now, thanks in great part to all the cheerfulness on the staff. In addition, my 82 year old mother and her darling husband traveled over 3,000 miles to visit us. They inaugurated our deck, sitting on it every evening and bringing a peaceful reminder of what is important in life.

And then there's our customers. They brought us so much this year: enthusiasm, ideas, sales, bringing their friends, advice, and pictures. Thank you for coming and enjoying our farm, we do this for you.

We are truly fortunate.
I wish you all a wonderful and happy New Year in 2010

Custom Label for Jams

Ok, we've just put on the coolest thing - at least I think it is....an ability for you to create your own custom label for your jams.

You can now get our jams with a custom label! Having an event? Want to give a completely unique gift? All you have to do is email us your image and text for the label. The label can't hold unlimited text, so we'll have to edit if it's too long.

I'm excited to see what you come up with

Caroling

Last night I joined a few people to sing carols at Whidbey General Hospital. A group had gathered last Thursday at Careage - led by the Shifties. Both of these events were so beautiful, I never before really felt how important music is to people. Especially in this kind of situation where it is so quiet most of the time, and the sheer press of humanity is missing. With the group of people moving through the hallways and crowding into rooms you could feel the embrace of company and the sounds of cheerful chatter and song. For the people inside for whom vibrancy is a distant memory, if it can be remembered at all, the sound of live people singing familiar holiday songs brought smiles and tears. Those reactions brought awe to me, and a reminder that we can't always tell if a person who is ill can hear us or is aware - but we must assume that they can. Sometimes, we get a clue from a lone tear running down a cheek. I thank both Vern Olsen and Ginny Vracin for inviting me along, such a gift!

Lavender tooth powder

I got curious about making a tooth brushing powder with some lavender, of course. I read up on some ingredients and then tried my first batch.

1/8 C Baking soda (neutralization and scrubbies)
2 drops peppermint essential oil (flavor and a whole host of benefits)
2 drops lavender essential oil (anti-microbial)
1/8 tsp of Equal sweetener (Aspartame, while somewhat questionable for health is powdered, but glyercine would make a paste and sweeten it - depends on what you want)

It didn't taste all that good, but after brushing with it my mouth feels really fresh and clean. Let me know if you try anything like this, and we'll all get some great ideas for DIY lavender tooth paste/powder recipes.

Eating and Planting and farm realities

We started a new tradition at Lavender Wind Farm. Once a month we all collaborate on a lunch menu. We invite one or two special guests to share this fabulous repast. In November we had an Indian menu - I never would have imagined that we'd have feasted as well as we did. You can have a look at the table. Then, if you are lucky, and local, you might get an invitation.


Even thought we stuffed ourselves, we still went out and worked after lunch. Nancy has transformed the greenhouse to a friendly and over-stuffed place. Full of repotted plants that are getting reestablished before they are put out to grow over the winter. Nancy is one of the staff who comes to work every day with a huge smile and keeps telling us she just loved the work. That is so nice.

The only problem is, that we have to accept the reality that we are a farm that, like the plants that grow in our fields, we need to sleep for a while in the winter. That's hard on the employees because they get laid off until the income returns. The work is always there! I love the people who work here, they are the BEST!

Video on Pruning

I found out my little camera can take videos longer than 5 seconds (like my old one). It's not Hollywood, but it's useful to try to share some information that's too hard to share with just words.

We often get questions on how to prune lavender plants. Anyone that sells lavender gets these questions and some people have done some videos - this is ours.

Lavender Applesauce Cake Recipe

Here is a recipe that is getting a surprising amount of positive comments. Thought you'd like to try it out!


Lavender Applesauce Cake

3/8 C Veg. Oil
2 C sugar
2 eggs
2 1/2 C flour
1 1/2 tsp soda
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice
1/2 C raisins
1 1/2 C applesauce
3 tsp lavender

Icing
6 TBL butter
1 TBL cream cheese
2 C Confectioner's sugar

Preheat oven to 350º

Blend oil, sugar, eggs in food processor so they are smooth and fluffy.
Mix dry ingredients in separate bowl.

Add applesauce and raisins together with the sugar mixture into the dry ingredients, and mix by hand., just until they are all combined, don’t over mix.

Pour into a 9x13 greased pan (or sprayed with vegetable oil) and bake for about 45 minutes (time depends on the oven, keep checking after 45 minutes).

Cool in pan for 15 minutes, then take it out and finish cooling on a rack.

Use the last three ingredients in the list for the icing. Blend them in food processor until creamy smooth. Ice the cake after it has completely cooled. If you want an additional treat add 1 tsp of Lavender Extract to the icing. Yum!

We have the Culinary Lavender and the Lavender Extract for sale.

Warm climate lavenders

The lavender family of plants is large. There are some that ring the warmer parts of the Mediterranean and go a little further south that don't even look like the lavenders that we think of as typical. They have a variety of names such as Lavandula buchii var. buchii, Lavandula canariensis subsp. canariensis, Lavendula minutolii var. minutolii, Lavandula roundifolia, or Lavandula pinnata var. pinnata. They have heads with multiple spikes, they don't smell particularly nice, although they do put out a strong odor. It might be that the smell is what helps them survive, nothing wants to eat them. The leaves vary, but in general tend to have a ferny look to them. They are tender, in our northern area we can grow them as annuals, but not perennials - or you can put them in a pot and bring them inside during the winter.

Distilling Lavender Essential Oil

When you get a bunch of lavender growers in a room and ask them about distilling you get as many passionate descriptions about the only way to distill as you have people in the room. At the International Lavender Conference in Cambridge earlier this month there were people from world famous lavender farms as well as much smaller entities, like ours. Henry Head, from Norfolk Lavender, showed off his distilling system that has been in use since 1933.

For those who are debating the issue of whether copper or stainless is the best, the vats are lined with copper. They are clearly very old and well used after having distilled their world class oil for over 75 years. Hanging is a top to one of the pots and a pusher that compacts the lavender in the pot. To Henry's left on the floor is the separator.

To get the lavender to the distilling room he showed us the harvester they have developed. The front part scoops up and cuts the lavender and it goes into the green bin behind. The unit is attached to a tractor, I believe, and harvesting goes quite quickly. Norfolk Lavender produces primarily an oil out of angustifolia lavenders, I don't think they do much with the hybrids (lavandins), but if you know differently, please comment to correct.

Day Four International Lavender Conference

What a great day at Norfolk Lavender. Henry Head, who spent the last 30 years building it up into a world class venue for lavender, lavender distilled oils, and lavender gardens, put together a fascinating day of tours and information sharing sessions. He brought in the perfumer he uses to create the scents for Norfolk Lavender products. I have to say, getting my nose to be able to smell the subtleties of the oils is difficult. Maybe after 30 more years of sniffing I'll get there.

Day Three Lavender Conference

Presentations today focused on using lavender essential oils for health care, both physical and mental. It was an amazing collection of information and case studies - much more research is needed, of course, but let's just say that there are certainly reasons to do the research because the potential for significant healing seems to be there.

The afternoon was spent with Dr. Noel Porter who trains people on how to use the nose to evaluate and identify aspects of lavender essential oil. He had kits set up with many constituents of the essential oil of lavender so we could learn to smell the different parts. Then we were tasked to identify them in a complete lavender oil. This was really tough!

Day Two Lavender Conference

This, after all, a first rate university, here at Cambridge, and the scholarly presentations are quite good. We haven't had much in the way of practical exchanges, but the scientific papers give a lot of food for thought. For instance Timothy Haig presented on his research on how to use lavender extract to suppress weeds. In his case he was trying to rid wheat fields of annual rye. That was somewhat amusing to me because this year we planted annual rye to reduce weeds between rows of lavender without having to till. It worked, although we did have to mow between the rows. But he said he made a slurry of ground up lavender leaves and stems and then strained it out and applied it to the weeds. I have to ask him for a bit more information on details - so keep checking to find out more.

I put out our catalogs and brochures and had some of our essential oils out for these world experts to smell and comment on. I've learned a lot about the constituents of the oils, and we have an oil workshop today that should give me lots more information.

Day One Lavender Conference

At Cambridge University about 85 people from all over the world have gathered for the First International Lavender Conference. Tim Upson from Cambridge University Botanical Gardens has organized the conference with the help of Susyn Andrews (co-author of Genus Lavendula). Stacy and I have joined this group for six days of lavender immersion. Already we have learned so much and are inspired.

As you might know, there are many varieties of Lavender in the world. The garden here has some from the remote areas around the Mediterranean and the Canary Islands and more. The Canary Island and other desert lavenders are spectacular in how they look. I think we have started seeing them in the USA, sometimes they are called "Fern Leaf" lavenders.

I'll be posting more as time permits.