|
|
|
|
Lavender flowers
and bouquets
 |
|
Most
of the lavender and lavandin crops go to distillation. However,
there are other uses for the flowers, traditional uses in which
there is currently renewed interest: hulled flowers and bouquets.
Here, the qualities which are sought after are different than in
the production of essential oils, and colour is the number one criteria.
The plants grown for flowers have been obtained through careful
breeding techniques by generations of growers.
The hulled flowers, primarily used by herbalists and to make pot-pourri
and sachets, are machine cut in bulk, dried, destemmed and sorted.
Only the highly scented calyces are retained.
|
The
hulled flowers, primarily used by herbalists and to make pot-pourri
and sachets, are machine cut in bulk, dried, destemmed and sorted.
Only the highly scented calyces are retained.
For bouquets, the lavender is harvested with a scythe, and hung
to dry in large, well-ventilated shelters. Here, the important
criteria are long stems, uniform flowering and good strong colour.
|
|
