Well summer finally decided to show up around here with warm temperatures and sunny skies, and we've been frantically harvesting ever since! And we're making good progress. One of our culinary lavenders, French Fields, is hanging to dry in the barn, and I'm making wreaths with the Felice lavender. Royal Velvet will be ready next week. My daughter Lauren arrived from Reno yesterday and will be spending the summer with us, helping with harvest and at the shop (thank goodness!). Last week I hired four of our sweet neighbor girls to help (see above...aren't they adorable?), and wow did they do a great job. I'm hoping they enjoyed themselves because I will be calling on them again!
July is just a very busy month for lavender farmers, so we always appreciate help from friends and family. This is when most of the harvest happens, along with festivals, classes, painters, and events. In Newberg, not only do we have a weekend lavender festival (The Willamette Valley Lavender Festival), but an associated Plein Air Art Show, which showcases the talents of local artists as they paint our local lavender fields. I've loved seeing the artists out in my field these last few weeks and look forward to seeing their creations at the show! In addition, Taste Newberg has created a self-guided Newberg Lavender Trail that lists local businesses selling lavender-themed products and menu items. And many of the local wineries hold some kind of lavender-themed class or activity. I'm looking forward to teaching a wreath-making class at Elevee Winery (one of my favorite wineries!) at the end of this month. They take their lavender love very seriously here in Newberg!!
If you can't make it to a lavender farm this season, you can still join in the fun!! We have lots of great farm-made products that will transport you to the lavender fields of Oregon (I was going to say Provence, but I think we here in Oregon are giving them a run for their money!) Just pop over to our downtown Newberg shop if you're local or our online store if you aren't and let the lavender love begin!
Have a great month!!
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Caring For Your Lavender Bouquet
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You have your beautiful lavender bouquet, whether bought at a local farm or harvested from your own yard, but how do you get the longest use from it? I recommend adding just an inch or so of water to your vase, letting the water dry out, and then taking your bouquet and hanging it upside down to dry. That way, you are able to enjoy your fresh lavender bouquet for a few days... and your dried lavender bouquet for a few years! Another option is, once it's dried, debud, and then gather the buds into a sachet! | |
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 PC: blueberry.org |
Ingredients
- 2 9-inch frozen pie crust rounds, thawed
- 6 cups fresh blueberries
- 1⁄2 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, separated
- 3-4 tablespoons cornstarch
- 3 teaspoons dried culinary lavender, separated
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon cold salted butter, cut into small pieces
- 1 egg, beaten
Instructions
- Fit 1 pie crust round into a 9-inch pie plate. Lightly prick the bottom of the dough with a fork.
- In a large bowl, toss together the blueberries, 1/2 cup sugar, cornstarch (see tip below), 2 teaspoons lavender, lemon juice, and vanilla. Pour into the crust and arrange the butter pieces evenly over the blueberries.
- Grab the second pie crust round and roll it out into a 12-inch circle. Place the crust over the berries. Alternatively, you can create a lattice design if desired. Using a fork, crimp the edges of the crust together to seal the pie up.
- In a small bowl, combine the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar with 1 teaspoon of dried lavender. Pinch the lavender and sugar together with your fingers to break the buds up into the sugar.
- Brush the top crust with the beaten egg and sprinkle with lavender sugar. Using a sharp knife, slice four holes in the top of the crust for air pockets. Cover and chill pie until crust is firm, about 1 hour in the fridge or 30 minutes in the freezer.
- Preheat the oven to 400°. Bake for 20 minutes, then reduce the oven to 350° and bake another 30 minutes until the pie is golden and the sauce is bubbling.
(Recipe from blueberry.org)
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Blueberry Lavender Cocktail | |
Ingredients
- 1⁄4 cup frozen blueberries
- 2 ounces vodka
- 1⁄2 ounce lavender simple syrup
- 1⁄2 ounce elderflower liqueur
- Splash of soda water
Instructions
- In a cocktail shaker, muddle frozen blueberries to release their juices.
- Add vodka, lavender simple syrup, and elderflower liqueur; muddle mixture. Add ice and shake well.
- Pour the cocktail (with the ice and muddled blueberries) into a cocktail glass and top with soda water.
(Recipe from blueberry.org)
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I wrote this a few years ago, but given the divisions in our communities that only seem to be growing wider, I thought this might be timely, and a good reminder that we never know what people are going through and that a simple act of kindness can go a long way toward healing.
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She’d been struggling for a while. She’d just ended a tough relationship and quit a soul sucking job with a racist, homophobic, misogynistic boss. She’d tried all the things you’re supposed to try -- exercising, no alcohol, eating well -- and nothing was working. She was depleted and had nothing left with which to fight the darkness that was overtaking her. Life seemed pointless. She didn’t want a therapist. They didn’t seem to help. And she didn’t want meds because the last time she tried them, they made her feel even worse. Maybe only if she was desperate. So I talked to her when she wanted to talk and hugged her when she couldn’t talk. I told her I would be there no matter what, that I loved her, that she was amazing and smart and beautiful and that her path would emerge if she kept forging ahead. And she limped along.
But finally one day she was desperate. She wanted -- no, she needed -- to talk to someone. But the therapists she contacted couldn’t get her in for another two weeks. She couldn’t wait two weeks. She needed to talk to someone now. And maybe she would consider trying meds again. Anything had to be better than this.
So we drove to a hospital emergency room about 20 miles away that had mental health services. She got out of the car looking scared, defeated, exhausted. We walked in together and talked to a receiving attendee -- very nice, very attentive, very understanding. And he walked her through the options. If she wanted to talk to someone today, she would need to check in. But something spooked her. She hesitated and moved over to a couch to think about it. A nurse was sent over to talk with her. Yes, there was the possibility that they might admit her. Yes...even if she didn’t want to be admitted. That probably wouldn’t happen, but no guarantees.
This, understandably, terrified her. Yet another area of her life where she felt that she didn’t have control. She balked. She stepped outside of the admitting room and into the hallway, standing against a white pillar along the wall. Crying.
I went back inside to talk to the nurse and ask a few more questions. What if I took responsibility for her? Could she be released into my care instead of being admitted? Again, that’s a possibility, but no guarantees.
I stepped out of the admitting room into the hallway to see her still crying, leaning against that pillar for support. And then I saw a small woman with long dark hair in a long colorful skirt stop by her side. The woman held out a bouquet of home-grown red roses, giving them to her, along with a hug. And then the woman walked away. This was maybe a 10 second interaction. A 10 second angel sent from heaven. I’m not sure what the woman said, or if the woman said anything at all. When I walked up to her, she was still sobbing -- but not the sobbing of someone in pain. Instead, it was the sobbing of someone who had just experienced something beautiful and pure. It was the sobbing of someone who realized that there was still goodness and hope in the world.
What happened after that isn't the point of this story. The point is that some sweet soul saw a young woman crying in a hallway in a hospital and gave her hope in the form of flowers and love in the form of a hug. What caused the woman to do that? What motivated her to cut flowers from her garden and then walk through the hospital on that particular day? Does she even know the impact she had? What a generous, loving thing to do. I wish I could thank her. But since I can’t, I send up a prayer of blessing to her every time I think of this, which is often.
I've saved a Christmas card from my sister with these words inscribed on the back: “Not all of us can do great things, but we can do small things with great love” ~Mother Teresa. What that sweet woman did was a small thing, but it was done with such great love. And it made all of the difference.
So as we continue to live in these "interesting times," navigating the many changes taking place in our country, I often think about that sweet little woman with home-grown roses who made the world a better place and changed someone’s life simply because of the flowers she grew and then gave away on that one day to that one person. And I will continue to remind myself that any kindness, no matter how small it may seem to me, could be life-changing for someone else. | |
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I hope you've enjoyed our July newsletter! Feel free to forward our newsletter to any lavender-loving friends who you think might enjoy it! And follow us on Instagram for more pretty lavender pictures!
Pam
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