My apologies to lavender

Plus, my first foray into becoming a glorious witch

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One of my adulting goals is to learn about medicinal herbs. I want to become a glorious witch.

I have mentioned this interest in passing maybe a couple of times over the past year or so and was so touched when Jon gifted me an herb CSA for Christmas. We have been a member of produce CSAs for many years but I had no idea an herb CSA was a thing. Thank you for the beautiful work you do, Muddy River Herbals.

June 15 was the first pickup and included two types of lavender: English lavender and Lavandin (aka French lavender). I was initially a little skeptical about whether I would be able to use the herbs because I have always carried a negative association with lavender given that in candle, soap, and body product format, the perfume smell is overpowering to me.

In one morning, that perception completely changed.

Part of the deal with this CSA is that they send recommendations for how to prepare your herbs. In this case, I learned that English lavender is best used for ingestion whereas French lavender (which tastes a bit more bitter) is better for topical. The email included instructions for how to make brewed beverages and lavender oil.

The brewed beverage (tisane) is super easy. Since we have an abundance of mint in our backyard and since I was also a little concerned about whether I could drink the lavender alone (given aforementioned perfume issues), I decided to make a lavender mint brew that included ratios of 1 tablespoon fresh lavender + 3 tablespoons fresh mint for every cup of water. I made a triple batch and it was perfect timing because my stomach was not feeling well.

This beverage is DELIGHTFUL. The lavender is not overpowering at all and I enjoyed it best in pure form; when I tried to add a little honey the flavor amplified in a way I did not enjoy—it was, well, kind of perfume-y. I ended up using the entire bundle of English lavender with several batches of tisane, mostly enjoyed over ice. It was the opposite of the situation where you get a bundle of herbs, use a little, then the rest rots!

Then it was time to consider the provided lavender oil recipe. After doing a little internet digging I decided to try to make a lavender salve, which I feel we would be more likely to use than lavender oil on its own. Making the lavender oil is easy; I just de-stemmed all of the lavender and added olive oil. I need to give this jar a stir every day for 4 to 6 weeks before the oil is ready to be used to make the salve and I am relishing in the process. After all, you can’t become a glorious witch overnight!

And so, I apologize, lavender, for misunderstanding you these past 50 years. I now understand your magic.