LAVENDER

A Perfect Morning

Tea and scones with lavender honey 

The air filled with scented lavender

And my French magazine in hand

I could not resist to share......

Since Roman times, lavender has been used to scent baths, clean clothes and as a herbal remedy.  Its name comes from the Latin lavare (to wash), or from a variant of lividula (livid in colour), depending on which source you believe. It is the traditional cure for head lice and burns.  During medieval times and up to the beginning of the 19th century, the wild lavender growing in the scrublands of northern Provence largely satisfied the demands of shepherds, washerwomen and early parfumeurs.  However, as Grasse's perfume industry started to expand at the end of the 19th century, increasing numbers of villagers in Provence began to cultivate lavender.

Production in Provence grew massively until the 1970s when cheaper lavender started to arrive from the East, mainly Bulgaria.  The decline continued with the development of synthetic alternatives.

What saved the lavender industry was, in part, a beautiful myth.  With lavender came the bees, the cicadas and the scented honey to create a portrait of a bounteous and scenic Provence that appealed to tourists.  Then an interest in aromatherapy and natural, organic products increased demand for the real thing.

Besides its use in perfumes, lavender oil helps to treat insomnia, irritability, headaches, stress, cuts and burns, eczema, bedsores, sunburn and insect bites.  Lavender is used in potpourri sachets and to scent soaps, detergents and washing powder.