Maid Just For You: Relax...it's Lavender take two

Lavande Relaxante by Brazilian Composer Corciolli

lavender - haiku

cheerful mountain sun
the lavender you enthralled
knows love and not hate

Ena N. Mori

Precious Lavender

I hope you are as relaxed as I am after writing part one of Relax...It's Lavender, my Love. I had previously discussed with you my own personal discovery with Lavender, it's history and mentions in the Bible, but primarily Lavender's power to clean and disinfect. Lavender should never be underestimated by any means. Now let's delve in a little deeper because there are more avenues to explore. The gift of Lavender keeps on giving. After all, God designed this precious herb that way just for you and me to enjoy.
Lavender is a flowering plant from the mint family. The smell of Lavender has been documented at the University of Miami School of Medicine, who has studied the effects of Lavender on relaxation and sleep. Lavender slows heart rates, lowers blood pressure and puts you in a parasypathetic state. which affects the parasypathetic nervous system .

This is the part of the autonomic nervous system originating in the brain stem and lower part of the spinal cord that, in general, inhibits or opposes the physiological effects of the sympathetic nervous system, as in tending to stimulate digestive secretions, slow the heart, constrict the pupils and dilate the blood vessels.

This explains the effects that Lavender has on us. Why we become so intoxicated that we want to relax and sometimes sleep, Beloved.

Grow Lavender Grow

Necessities in a Lavender's Life

Lavender plants are pretty tolerant, but the optimum condition for the best results for growing Lavender, my Love, are warm climate, soil loose enough to drain water well, and a lot of sunshine. At least 6 hours a day of sunshine, but make sure that you water them enough to where the soil stays moist. Now if you live in a place where the temperature gets into the 100's, placing your Lavender plants in full sun may not be such a good idea, Sweetie. In that case, partial sun will be just terrific. Partial sun means 3 to 6 hours of sun a day. Still you must pay attention to the moisture level so your Lavender will not dry out.

Lavender needs an alkaline soil level, and they love a chalky calcium additive such as oyster shells. I can't wait to plant them back in my hometown of New Orleans, when I move back. There are plenty of oyster shells down in N'Awlins the Sportsman's Paradise and lots of seafood Now after you have survived the first growing season of Lavender by protecting the soil's moisture level like a hawk, you can relax, because Lavender can tolerate drought and snow too. It is a hearty plant and will serve you well once you get your Lavender established.

Tender Loving Care

Lavender's enemy is too much dampness, not snow. If you live in an area of a lot of humidity, before planting, separate the Lavender far enough from each other to get plenty of air flow and sunshine. Wet roots is a killer to your luscious Lavender, so keep an eye on those babies. Another way to be a good mother to your Lavender is to only put down mulch after the first freeze, in order to keep it dry. Planting your precious Lavender near a wall keeps it protected from Old Man Winter's harsh blows. This will also make a happy Lavender plant to harvest plenty of essential oils.

Snip, Snip, Prune

You will be cutting off flowers from time to time, after your Lavender has grown more than a six inch stalk, but severe pruning is what Lavender needs. Springtime and Fall, after harvest time, is when you should prune them back down to about a third of their height. If you live in an area where winter dries your plants, then don't bother to prune, nature did it for you. Make sure that you don't prune to soon in the season because you WILL discourage growth and you wouldn't want that, Sweetheart. Here is a wonderful video for further visual tips on growing beautiful Lavender...enjoy

Now Let's Just All Take a Deep Breath and Enjoy the View for a Moment...Can You Smell the Lavender?

Lavender Has a Purpose

Hung Out to Dry

Once you have grown your Lavender, my Precious, into a hearty colorful bush, just prior to the flower buds opening, it will be time to HARVEST! Be sure that your lavender is dry and that there hasn't been rain for a few days before cutting. Your best tool will be a hand held sickle if you are harvesting a lot of Lavender, otherwise scissors or pruners will do just fine.

Here is a short tutorial on drying Lavender

Squeezing Out Every Last Drop

Here are three different ways to squeeze out Lavender's oil or extracts. I hope you try them all.

Where There is Smoke, There is Fire

There are many ways to enjoy Lavender but did you know that you can smoke it? Smoking Lavender is both anxiolytic and very relaxing. Adding Lavender to smoking blends has been practiced since Lavender and rolling your own cigarettes has existed. It's a shame I had not heard of this before, considering all the anxiety medications doctors have tried to perscribe to me. (none of them worked). All this time, here was beautiful, pure and natural Lavender at my disposal.

Lavender is added to tabacco and other smoking herbs to improve the mixture's overall flavor and calm down nerves, especially just prior to sleep. Smoking Lavender by itself can be calming and has a pleasant taste. Although I do not recommend just using Lavender to smoke for two reasons; one, it is quite strong and two, it can be expensive....Besides a little goes a long way when blended with other herbs and tobacco. Everything in moderation is the best way to go, always. You will throughly enjoy using Lavender in your smoking blends, especially if you are having trouble sleeping and your mind races as you lay there. Lavender melts all your troubles away. If you are having double the trouble sleeping then do as some folks do and drink Lavender Tea while smoking to get a dose of anti-oxidants and twice the potency...you will feel the difference.

Since you are also able to volatilize Lavender, then using Lavender oil in a vaporizer makes for an amazing aromatherapy. For example, in a Baby's room, when they are teething and can't fall asleep, adding Lavender to the humidifier will lull your infant to sleep. Then of course placing a bouquet of freshly cut Lavender by your bedside and a Lavender sachet under your pillow, will make the Sandman come around more often. Make a pillow filled with dried Lavender buds and Hops, for an excellent gift to enter LaLa Land, Beloved. And best of all Lavender contains phytoestrogens, which mimics human Estrogen. So remember, boys under the age of 13 may be effected during their development and should not ingest Lavender very much, if any. But for us Ladies....this is great news!!! Lavender is an aide to menstrual cycles and you can also rub Lavender Oil on to reduce cramps because it is Antispasmodic. Lavender is excellent also for pre and post menopause, as well, because it boosts the Estrogen level. Another terrific use for Lavender is treating acne, rosacea, sunburn, scars, toothaches, infections and toe nail fungus. Here is a terrific website for more on Lavender's medicinal uses. This site has many articles and pages on these medicinal uses.

Lavender Takes the Cake

Have you eaten Lavender yet? It's amazingly good. You can use it on just about anything and it's delicious. Try some of these recipes, Darlin'. You will thank me later.

The list goes on...especially the cake recipes. Have fun experimenting these suggestions and search for some more. Well, I must bid you Adieu and I look forward to us meeting again here. I Love you all. Remember as always that Cleanliness is next to Godliness.

Monday, August 6, 2012

Relax...it's Lavender take two