Wednesday 13 July 2016

Lavendula augustifolia

Lavender's blue, dilly, dilly, lavender's green
When I am king, dilly, dilly, You shall be queen
Who told you so, dilly, dilly, who told you so?
'Twas my own heart, dilly, dilly, that told me so 
I love to dance, dilly, dilly, I love to sing
When I am queen, dilly, dilly, You'll be my king 
  Who told me so dilly, dilly, Who told me so?
 I told myself, dilly, dilly, I told me so
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Lavender's Blue is a traditional 'Olde English' folk song from the late c17th
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Lavender is a low maintenance plant to have in your garden requiring nothing more than a good clip in the Autumn and is drought tolerant. It attracts bees and butterflies but is deer and rabbit resistant. It can be used in cosmetics, medicine and cuisine. Lavender fragrance has been prized for millennia. Lavender eases tension. Rub a few drops of lavender body oil on your temple to help you sleep. Try Sprinkling dried blooms onto your desserts or cakes
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With this post the computer is going off, but I will be back again soon

18 comments:

  1. Oh, that is one of the very first song I ever learnt, and it goes so well with the beautiful lavender pictures. It makes me smile :)

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  2. Please don't be gone for long - I'll miss you! But enjoy each day wherever you may roam.

    I am definitely a lavender lover, have always been as far back as I recall. Yardley's soap, lavender infused linen water , room spray, growing the plants, which sadly have disappeared from my garden over the years - but I plan to start again once I get more sunny spots (tree pruning, removing required!), and of course seeking out the fields of purple in Provence and even one here in North Carolina! Gorgeous lavender photos Rosemary - they really make my heart sing this early morning.

    Take care - enjoy.
    Hugs - Mary

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  3. I'm so relieved it's rabbit resistant! It does mean I can plant lots here and know it will survive. 'Lavender's Blue' is a folk song I've always known; it is strange how some of these songs survive down the centuries.
    Have a good break.

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  4. Have fun Rosemary. My Lavender is blooming but is not as pretty as yours.

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  5. I learned to sing "Lavender's Blue" when I was a little girl but I only ever knew the first verse! Thanks for filling me in on the rest of it!

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  6. Lavender is a lovely plant isn't it! I love it when our lavender hedge comes into full flower each summer, a real high spot for me and scented as well!

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  7. Most beautiful Lavender post I ever saw!

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  8. Hello Rosemary, Over here we don't have lavender as a common wildflower, but we do have blue flowers such as the blue vervain, and of course chicory which has made itself thoroughly at home in the U.S.
    --Jim

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  9. Enjoy your time away.
    Love lavender and hopefully mine will bloom for the first time this summer..

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  10. Dearest Rosemary,
    For such wonderful Lavendula augustifolia blossoms I surely envy you!
    Living at a latitude of Tunesia, we cannot grow any Lavendula species. We've tried them all... it's way too hot for them.
    ENJOY and absorb the bounty of Summer.
    Hugs,
    Mariette

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  11. Don't know the song but Lavender fields feature in the strange but good film "Perfume" and I've had dried boxes hanging up in the house as gifts at Christmas. Supposed to be good for deterring clothes moths as well in wardrobes.

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  12. Dear Rosemary, thank you for these beautiful, soothing, calming photographs of lavender (and today we need that very, very much; so horrible news from a city near all those lovely lavender fields). I looked at your photographs and thought: they are worth to make a calender with - using only the different shades of "blue". (My favourites are Hidcote and Munstead.) On the balcony, of course, I have "dwarfs" - but the bees come.

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  13. The garden wouldn't be the same without lavender. I counted seventeen bees on mine the other day - seems they love it too.

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  14. Love the smell of lavendar.. Enjoy your break.

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  15. Gorgeous lavender.. so so healthy. Ours doesnt get so purple. We dont get the rainfall you do.
    I love lavender ... I cook with it in wintertime.. and use the soaps..
    Happy days Rosemary.. see you soon.
    love Val x

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  16. Your lavenders are so beautiful. I love lavenders. They spray my garden calming fragrance and soft blue or purple colors. People living Nara Park area have some deer-resistant Japanese Andromeda in their gardens but wouldn’t know about English lavender. Have a ncie break, Rosemary.

    Yoko

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  17. The lilt of Lavender's Blue is now going through my head. Beautiful photos of lavender. I have it in my garden at home and harvested a lot of it before coming to the UK. Now I'm thoroughly enjoying the flowers here.

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  18. Lavender grows very well on our island. It has something to do with our Mediterranean-type climate. I spray lavender water on my pillow at night, and on those nights in which sleep seems elusive, I drop a bit of lavender oil on the bulb of the bedside lamp. I keep bars of French Lavender soap in my dresser drawers and on the shelves of the closet - I may be overdoing it, but I am sure you get the picture - I love lavender!

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