Lavender Fields Forever

We visited breathtaking fields of lavender today - here in the English countryside - the sight, the scent, the beauty....  This is something I have dreamt of doing for a long time - walk through fields of lavender.  

The boys couldn't believe their eyes as we approached by car and they spotted purple hazy fields.  It was really exciting for us all.

To walk amongst that purple heaven and run our fingers through the flowers, releasing the lavender scent..

So, so many bumblebees and butterflies visiting the plants.  

And this is 'blue fox with a stinger' playing in the lavender with the bumblebees.

Shades ranging from the rich deep purples through subtle blues to delicate pinks and whites.  We bought a white lavender plant home and planted it near our other lavender plants.  It's called Artic Snow and Sol chose it as he was really taken by white lavender and the name.

They are harvesting and distilling the lavender on the farm now.  We visited the distillery and learnt how they extract the precious essential oil.  

Essential oil is held in small balloon like structures at the base of the flowers where they meet the stem. At this farm they use a very simple system using rainwater to extract these oils - Steam Distillation. This is a system that was used by the Ancient Egyptians and Romans. Rainwater that has been collected, heated and made into steam causes the oil glands to erupt, and the oil evaporates into the steam.  Cold rainwater then condenses the steam back to oil and water. The water / oil mixture is then separated and the essential oil is collected from the separator.  No chemicals are used in the extraction of the oils as the rainwater is naturally softened. 

Just wonderful - we all loved it!  The boys went to sleep chatting happily about the day.  I am sure they are dreaming about it now..