Watercolor and Ink - Lavender harvest

Lavender harvest time

I love Lavender and at this time of year, it's ready to pick and harvest.  I have 3 large plants in my yard so, every year, I cut them down and leave about 1/3 or more of the plant for next year.  I have been doing this for a number of years, plus, bought even more at Lavender festivals etc.

Today, I started bundling up the plants with rubber bands.  I have a hanging rack in my garage so, I suspend them upside down, using the rubber band and hooks I have lined up.  Once the bundles are dry I rotate out old dried flower arrangements and put in the freshly dried lavender.  I never throw any of the old lavender out.  I use it in sachets, bath salts and today, I'm making a batch of carpet deodorizer.

With my oldest dried lavender, I take about 1/3 - 1/2 cup of ground up seeds and add them to about 2 plus cups of baking powder.  As you can see, I'm not using exact measurements but, I go off the scent of the lavender when determining how much to use.  If the scent is weak, I'll use more and if it's strong, less.

Once the mix is done, I put it in a mason jar.  My husband drilled holes in the lid of one a couple of years ago and it works great as a shaker.  I shake it onto the carpet and vacuum it up about 1/2 hr to 1 day later.  Scents are absorbed by the baking soda and pulled up into the vacuum.  It works great!

I also like to paint Lavender so, I have it though out the house in many forms.

First batch of fresh Lavender.  I had to stop picking it when the rain started.  I'll get the rest tomorrow

Here is a bag of my oldest dried Lavender seeds.  I put them in this coffee grinder (another great garage sale find!).  I grind it to a powder, mix it with baking soda and put in all in the shaker

One of the sachets I made.  It's an old quilt square that I just sewed around the edges.