Sunday Bouquet

This Sunday's bouquet consists of the gorgeous 'Abraham Darby' pink English roses and catmint. Catmint was one of the first herbs I planted in my yard. I hadn't yet learned about herbs and found myself buying it just for the name as I love cats. Catmint had become one of my favorite plants as it blooms all summer long.

I also harvested some lavender today. This variety is 'Hidcote.' I simply grab handfuls of the stems and cut. Then I make bunches and gather with rubberbands that I save from our newspaper deliveries. The stems are cut again so the end of the bundles are even. The bundles are hung to dry on nails I hammered into the back of the cornice above my kitchen sink. There are north facing windows above the sink so the drying herbs do not get any direct sunlight.

The kitchen smells heavenly and the little bundles dry very nicely there. I also save the buds from the stems that are to short for the bundles. Those buds go into a bowl to dry for culinary purposes. Have you ever tried lavender on vanilla ice cream? Or lavender shortbread? MMMMMMMMM Good!