lavender in the garden

I love having scented plants in the garden.  Three of my favorite scented plants are lavender, rosemary, and roses.  I also like to dry roses and lavender because they really keep their scent and they are so easy to dry.

this is how we hang

I dry my roses early in the season knowing that I’ll want to use them before the end of the summer.  I’ve learned that the dark pink ones dry best, and I need to cut them before they start to open too much.  I was experimenting with the yellow roses in the picture above.  They have such a beautiful sweet scent, but they dry a rather ‘brownish’ color that isn’t pretty.

this is what we start with

Lavender is usually ready to harvest in the middle to end of July here in Ireland.  I LOVE to work with lavender!  I’ve made wands and sachets and wreaths before. You can read and see about those here,  here and here.

Step one: Spanish moss

Making a wreath is so easy.  I use a straw wreath and floral u-shaped pins to attach everything to the wreath. The Spanish moss is a great filler.

rosemary as the base

I like to have green in with the lavender to brighten it up.  We have a rosemary plant that doesn’t get used enough in cooking so it is getting rather big.  I gave it a super trim and had quite a lot to work with then.

one bunch of lavender at a time

I did not have any design in mind when I started (ahem, probably not the best way to start!).  I just went with the flow and put things where they seemed right to put. 😉

just need the roses now

The roses are the most delicate. It was helpful to have the moss to use to help pin them in place.

My hands smelled so good while making this!  I’m not sure which I like more – the rosemary or the lavender!

My gladiolas ‘the dark knights’ and some of those sweet smelling yellow roses that tend to droop!

lavender wreath on our playhouse

This is our playhouse. I’m slowly creating a tiny garden around it and I’ve started with lavender.

wreath on the playhouse door

lavender, rosemary & roses wreath

Tadah!  It was so quick and easy to make and I love the result.  It didn’t require that much lavender, either, which means I still have loads left to work with!

Summer Wreath 2016

My wreath from last summer needs some freshening up, but I still like it 🙂  Are you making anything from the garden this summer?

In peace,
Dana