Lovely Lavender!

These beauties are living the good life. I had originally planted them (temporarily) in a gladiola bed just until we had finished the larger herb garden where I had planned to do a hedge of lavender as an outline for my working garden. BUT, they decided on their own that they wanted to stay put and take over the glads' home. I can't argue with them since they are so extremely happy and prolific.

Even though I am very allergic to bees (and any other bugs for that matter), I am really happy to see so many more out and about this year than over the last few. The crisis with the honeybees and the Colony Collapse Syndrome hit our area in a big way. The almond growers were really hurting as they depend on these tireless little workers to pollinate thousands of acres of almonds in our valley. On a much smaller front, our little gardens benefit greatly from the attention and wouldn't be able to survive without them. Somehow it seems that all is starting to right itself in our corner of the world when Spring finally arrives and you hear the unmistakable buzzing from your posies!
I will be harvesting some of the lavender this weekend, especially the English variety which is a little behind these beauties. I am playing with some different recipes and concotions based on the use of both fresh and dried lavender. By the end of the weekend, I will have projects strung all over the house in various stages of drying and curing. I am getting the feeling that Michael thinks I'm a mad scientist sometimes..poor guy really didn't know what he was getting into!