Lavender | NancyC

I thought I’d better post a summer garden update before summer is over! 🙂 Even though we had a lot of hot, dry weather this summer, my flowers and herbs did pretty well. I have a lot of sun in my yard, so I always try to buy plants that do well in full sun. The plants I’m showing here all bloom most of the summer.

Here’s my basil, which really did great this year! I’ve enjoyed making a lot of pesto from the four small plants that I bought back in April, which have grown to be quite large. And I recently tried a new recipe with my basil, Creamy Lemon-Basil Pasta, which you may want to try…

One of my favorite bushes is my butterfly bush. It blooms most of the summer and the blooms have a light, pretty scent. They look a little like small lilacs…

Here’s a view of the entire bush–it’s so pretty when it’s in full bloom…

I have some flocks in my garden that I love seeing come up every year…

The daisies come up every year, too, and multiply like crazy! I planted a small patch of them from seeds, and now I have large clusters of them in many different places in my yard…

I have two lavender bushes–one in the front yard and one in the back. I love the smell of lavender, and I collect the buds and dry them so I can make lavender sachets and enjoy the scent all year long!

I’ve had these pretty yellow flowers in my yard for about five years…they come up every year and friends have asked me what they’re called, but I can’t remember their name! If any of you flower experts out there know, please tell me!

Last but not least, here’s a photo of a zinnia. They are such vivid, pretty flowers! I grew some from seeds that a friend gave me…

Well that concludes the “Late Summer” Garden Tour! Hope you enjoyed viewing all the summer plants!

Lavender is one of my favorite scents. I have several lavender bushes–one in the front yard and one in the back. The photo above is of my backyard bush. I started making lavender sachets because I didn’t want all that wonderfully–scented lavender to go to waste! The sachets are so easy to make, too. Start out by clipping a bunch of stems from your lavender bush. Lay these stems out on a flat surface, like a tray, and spread them out to try. You can let them dry outside or inside. You’ll need to give them at least a few days to dry.

When the lavender has fully dried, you can easily remove the lavender buds by rubbing them off the stems. Remove the buds from all the stems, and make a little mound with all the buds (the lavender smells so good when you’re rubbing them off the stems!).

Then all you need to do is fill pretty little pouches with your lavender buds. If you don’t have your own lavender bush, you can buy lavender buds at some craft stores or you can purchase them online.

I bought these pretty drawstring pouches at Wal-Mart in their craft section; you should be able to find pre-made pouches at your local craft store, too. Instead of pouches, you could also cut squares of thin material, place a mound of lavender buds in the center of the square, and then gather up the sides and tie with a bow.

These sachets are nice to use in dresser drawers to keep things smelling fresh, and you can also hang them in closets, using the ends of your drawstring ties or ribbons to loop or tie around a hanger. They make great little gifts, too! You can also attach one to an already-wrapped gift as an added adornment.

Linked to Sunday Showcase Party, Make it Yours Day, Strut Your Stuff Thursday, Creative Spirit Challenge, Pretty Packages Party, Made by You Monday, Creative Blogger’s Party & Hop.