For far longer than I care to ponder I’ve had a rather hazy relationship with lavender. I know it when I see it. I’ve grown it successfully in the dampness of North Carolina, the deserts of Arizona and the lush soils of California. But could I tell you any details? Not really. So I jumped at the opportunity Timber Press afforded me when they published Lavender: The Grower’s Guide by New Zealand horticulturist Virginia McNaughton.

In my own garden I have a huge plot of lavender in bud, captured here on a recent foggy morning. From my reading this book I believe these are angustifolias, the spindly, skinny versions that we most commonly see in gardens.

I love the lavender at this stage. It is already ripe with perfume when I water it or brush by it. But I am filled with anticipation of what is about to unfold, because ultimately, this is what this lavender patch will look like, as it did last summer.

And then it will be a mass of bees and butterflies for weeks and I adore that stage of its life (and mine). This plant is, indeed, a gift to all the bees in your neighborhood.

happy bee photo courtesy of Antonia Hall

Also gracing my garden are the lavenders called Stoechas. They appear to have little wings on top and are very endearing. Propagation requires taking soft wood cuttings from the plant.

Lavender has been a regular part of my life for many years now. I use lavender oil regularly in my baths. And I never fail to take a bottle of lavender oil with me when I travel as I know the restorative powers of its fragrance, sprinkled on a pillowcase or, again, in a relaxing bath to take the stress out of travel. The bottle (found at any good health food store) is so small one can easily drop into ones purse and be relied upon as a quick resource when one needs a mental adjustment. I liked the lavender notes in the introduction to this book that read:

“Spiritually, lavender is considered a plant that will raise perceptiveness and take an individual to higher states of consciousness during mediation. Since fabled Lemurian times, special devas or plant guardians were appointed to look after the plants until such time as mankind was able to absorb greater knowledge. Its therapeutic use in aromatherapy and its wide range of healing applications as well as other fragrant and ornamental uses make lavender one of the most versatile of herbs. It is truly a magical plant and those who have ever been enticed and enchanted by its sweet, heady perfume become enamoured for life.”

Yes, I’d say I’m a lifelong fan. You?

Looking about my own environs I discovered a neighbor who had used lavender in a very efficient and beautiful way, lacing it with other plants such as roses, guara, and rock rose, creating a natural boundary between her property and the sidewalk that ran before her home. What a lovely “fence”!

Happily, Lavender: The Grower’s Guide will serve as the only book you will ever need to identify more than 200 species and cultivars of lavender, and will provide you with all the information you will need to lovingly include this most exquisite addition to your garden. Enjoy!

Love and gardening blessings,
Kathryn xoxo
Footnote pics for Ewa in Poland (See comment below! :)):

So this is the very old structure holding this in place, Ewa. Have you ever seen lavender this old? No? Neither have I. The woman who most likely planted this was the wife of the man who built this house many decades ago. And this is a small town so old timers remember that she was president of the local gardening club! So in our nineties this is what we apparently have to look forward to in our gardens! 🙂 I guess!

And following is what that patch of lavender looks like at the moment. But within a month or so after all the bees have gathered all their pollen and the butterflies have come to visit and the lizards have hidden underneath it [anyone remember?] it will simply fall over from all the love and visitors. Think of it as the Velveteen Rabbit of Lavenders. 🙂 xoxo

Posted on June 6th, 2010 by Kathryn
Filed under: Book Notes | 14 Comments »

Mother’s Day arrived and I got inspired to Be the Mother, which included baking a salmon, steaming asparagus and, lucky everyone, baking a carrot cake. I could not for the life of me find a recipe in my recipe box. (Did I ever have one?) So I googled Carrot Cake and found a recipe that looked interesting. As I am wont to do, as I began assembling I began tweaking the recipe and am very glad I did! I now have what it undoubtedly the best carrot cake recipe I’ve ever found and I am inspired to pass it along straightaway to you. Maybe you need to bake a cake! So here goes.

The Best Carrot Cake in the World

*Set the oven at 350 F.

*Coat the inside of a bundt pan with a mixture of soft butter and a bit of olive oil, and then sprinkle some white flour inside and shake the pan around so the flour is more or less distributed. Don’t worry. It will be fine.

*Beat four eggs in a big bowl.

*Add two teaspoons of vanilla.

*Add two cups of sugar and beat that in.

This is how it will look.

Now. This is going to sound outrageous, but just pretend you are Julia Child and go with the flow.

Melt a lot of unsweetened butter in a heavy skillet very very slowly. Do not let it get in the least bit brown, OK? You are going to want to end up with 1 1/4 cups of melted butter. (I know. I know. But I have to tell you–otherwise how will you follow the recipe?) Like this:

Add the melted butter to the egg mixture. Set aside.

Now, get out a bunch of organic carrots, peel them lightly, cut off the ends and voila.

Chop up the carrots into maybe two inch pieces, and put in Cuisinart. If you don’t have one, borrow one or invest in one. Otherwise this is going to be way too much work and we don’t want that, and besides, you won’t have this consistency.

And you are going to need it, because this recipe requires three cups of grated carrots! Yes, it does. Yummy.

Add to the egg mixture 1 3/4 cups of unbleached white flour and then 1/4 cup of whole wheat flour. Then add a pinch of salt, two teaspoons of baking powder, two teaspoons of baking soda, two teaspoons of cinnamon and then grate at least one teaspoon of nutmeg into the batter. After these are mixed up, hand stir in the three cups of carrots. Just stir a reasonable amount of time.

When this is complete, I opted to throw in a small handful of golden raisins and a sprinkling of currants. Then you will have this:

Then, my dears, fold in a cup of chopped nuts. I’d suggest walnuts or pecans. Now, isn’t this final batter amazing??

Pour the batter into the bundt pan. Pop in the oven for 50 minutes and then check to see if it’s done with a toothpick or small fork. I’ve made it twice now and both times I needed an hour.

Remove the cake from the oven.

Critical point. You must be patient. This cake should cool at least one hour before you try to remove from the pan. I slid a knife around the edges probably after half an hour and ever so gently lifted it underneath, but did not attempt to remove. After an hour I flipped the pan and the cake effortlessly slipped onto my plate. Then I waited another hour before I frosted with cream cheese frosting, which is ridiculously easy.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 C. butter, softened
8 oz. creamcheese, softened
1 teaspoon of vanilla (only use the real stuff)
4 cups of confectioner’s sugar

Done.

This cake is so unbelieveably delicious I can’t wait until you try it and then let me know. This will become one of your best recipes and your family and friends will love you for making it. Enjoy, dearest readers.

Love and kitchen blessings,
Kathryn xoxox

Posted on May 15th, 2010 by Kathryn
Filed under: People at Play | 20 Comments »