Lavender

Widely recognized as a safe and calming herb. Lavender is one of those starter herbs that many people know and love. I call them a starter herb because they are so widely recognized.

I have had the honor of tending to a lavender farm for almost 1 year now. This last winter there were a lot of baby lavenders planted in the field. Currently most of the farm is dry farm. So we pretty much only water when things need it. Which in the summer and early fall is A LOT.

So, since spring I have spent a lot more time tending to these new baby plants as the mingle amongst the crowd of very developed and wise lavender.

Three days a week I tend to these plants, watching their purple shift into an array of hues. With this field, I have learned that lavender experiences many tones. They begin almost green, transitioning to a purple to pale it is almost gray. This begins to deepen, and at one point almost reaches a magenta pigment. When the clouds are out the volatile oils of lavender steam into the air- no matter what, this field can center me.

Once the suns rays have been going long and strong, the buzz of bees becomes the loudest noise in this field. Only muffled by the sound of hawks calling above. The bees get more territorial and less playful. They can get a little sassy when they see my streams of hose water spraying the now toddler plants. I do my best to avoid the tops of the lavender plants surrounding the friends I am watering. As not to stun any bees and disrupt their buzz-iness.

I can see the once open crowns of flowers beginning to fall off. The purple is again beginning to return to a paler gray. Hence, why the bees are so busy.

I pluck weeds that surround small root systems, and leave medicinal weeds that are nutrient rich.

I spritz white sage and other pollinator plants- looking up and all around at the majesty that surrounds me.

This field makes me feel blessed in a way I could never explain.

I have always said I tend to this field, this farm. But the more I am there the more I realize this farm tends to me. It is in every way a reciprocal relationship.

She tends to me, and I to her.

So sometimes in my herbal monographs I have history and folk lore to share. But today, what I have to share is more of an intimate experience. That of my relationship with lavender. I hope this story brings imagery to your mind that reminds you of a plant friend, and may that be the medicine.

A relationship that reminds of my connection to this earth, and that reminds me that life is much more full when we live from a space of reverence & reciprocity.

And I believe true relationship with earth cannot exist with out that.

lavendula

Family:Lamiaceae

Notes:

• This soothing herb is a widely recognized nervine.

• Lavender is native to Europe, North Africa, Southwestern Asia

• Another aromatic plant with highly volatile oils

• widely recognized as a safe and calming herb

• relaxes with muscles and skeletal system

• great for digestion and nervousness

• a remedy for depression and brain fog

• used medicinally both internally & externally

Parts Used:

• Flowers, leaves, stems

Herbal Energetics:

Temperature: Cooling

Moisture: Drying

Tone: Relaxing

Tastes:

Aromatic, bitter, pungent, sweet

Herbal Actions:

• Nervine

• Sedative

• Anti-inflammatory

• Antiseptic

• antispasmadic

Tissue States:

Lavender may help balance these tissue states:

-wind tension

-damp/stagnation

-heat/excitation

Subtle body wisdom from Lavender:

• Safety is your birthright

• Peace is something that must be cultivated & chosen. 

• Rest is productive. 

• Take time just for you. 

• The plants are here to support you, and we are here to support them.

• Right relationship with nature cannot exist without reciprocity and reverence.

• What we tend to, also tends to us.

Please remember to always use at least 3 identification sources when wildcrafting. Also be mindful of where you are harvesting. For example, making sure the plants are not near roadways or somewhere they can become polluted by exhaust or pesticides.

Disclaimer: These articles are for educational purposes only, they are not a substitution for professional medical advice, and as the reader you are responsible for your own health decisions.