Lavender – Get A Head Start In July

In the UK, July brings the fresh scent of Lavender to the air. Harvest time approaches about the third week of the month when the flowering heads reach their peak.

If you have Lavender in your garden, or you can get some, why not bring the fragrance indoors? No oil burner needed! To fill your home with fragrance, put a few flowering heads into a saucepan with some water and bring to the boil for a few minutes.

Beware through – it can be quite “heady”. Best used at bedtime or when the kids won’t go to bed.

Lavender is used dispel headaches so even if the kids won’t go to bed, maybe you won’t get the headache and just chill.

You have probably heard of, used, or made Lavender bags. They are very helpful in not only fragrancing linen drawers but keeping bugs away too.

Lavender essential oil has many more uses. Please do not use in pregnancy nor for the very young. It is always advisable to consult an Aromatherapist.

Here are just a few facts you may not know about lavender oil:

The oil was used with Bitumen to produce photographs in the early days of photography; this indicates that it may be light sensitive and, as it is also sensitive to other environmental conditions, the oil needs to be kept in dark glass bottles and stored like medicines.

It is said that France exports more lavender that it produces….That probably means it has been added to or produced elsewhere. I am informed that Rosemary oil, a chemical called linalyl acetate or synthetics are used. Whatever it is, it will still smell nice if it is fresh but may not have the acclaimed therapeutic capabilities “pure” essential oil has.

There are many types of lavender plant. French lavender is now commonly planted in England by producers opposed to English lavender because it yields more essential oil.

Lavender oil can smell differently and have different therapeutic qualities simply depending on where the plant is grown: When grown at high altitude. the oil has a clear aroma which is good for psychological and spiritual uses and then there is the standard Lavender which is good for use with more earthy, physical conditions.

The best and really effective lavender oil I have used comes from Jersey Lavender. If you are ever out there, get some, It really works as I found out recently:

I don’t know why but I accidently touched the frying pan. Ouch! I immediately ran my fingers under the cold tap for ten minutes. The small blisters on my fingertips were appearing. I dabbed them with a drop of Lavender oil in the hope that the pain would diminish. I was expecting the blisters to go in a few days but they disappeared within half an hour! I was completely back to normal. This would not have happened with oil from the other bottles of lavender I have. Jersey did the trick.

For more on treatment of small burns see:

what's cooking not me.