Valley Pacific Floral / Woodburn Florist Blog

During the beautiful summer months of July and August there is hardly a single place you could go in or around the city of Silverton, Oregon and not smell and see the amazing aroma and colors of the lavender fields. 

When I think of lavender the first thing that comes to mind is the beautiful, vibrant purple color.  If you are taking a country drive on the backroads of Silverton, Oregon, you will see this color all around.  

Lavender is not only a gorgeous flower to add to any bouquet or arrangement for your home:  but it is an amazing wedding flower.  Lavender has become very popular to use in wedding bouquets.  Its blooms are exquisite in bridal work.  Over the years we have made multitudes of bridal bouquets using fresh lavender clusters incorporated into the bouquets.  Not only is the color a vibrant purple but it smells heavenly.  There is nothing like a wedding with lavender sprigs adoring the designs.  Lavender blooms can also be used in the body flowers for the entire wedding party.  We often add them to flower girl halos, boutonnière’s, and the corsages.  Brides love the bright purple color that lights up their bouquets on the special day.  Couples even chose to have their wedding and reception with the rolling purple Silverton hills as their backdrop and it's no wondering why.   The hills are loaded with fields of lavender bushes, during the wedding months of late July and August.  Acres and acres of lavender plants stretch across the hillsides.  Brides come from all over the world to be married in Silverton, Oregon.  There are beautiful wedding venues such as the Oregon Garden Resort and Abiqua Country Estates.  Both venues are beautiful and highlight the natural beauty of the Willamette Valley.  The beauty of the Willamette Valley hillsides attracts couples for their wedding destinations from all over the world.  

Lavender is most commonly known as an herb that assists in calming nerves and relaxing the body.  Many bath salt, lotions and candles have lavender fragrances added to them.  Lavender can also be purchased in an oil form.  The lavender oils are used for making soaps, and candles to keep the lovely aroma of lavender going all year long. 

There are many craft projects that are not only fun to make but would be a great source of lavender use for in your home.  Some of my favorites are lavender wands, lavender sachets, dried lavender bunches tied with decorative ribbon, lavender scented bath salts, and lavender scented candles.  Not only are these craft items fun to make and useful in your home, they make wonderful hostess gifts. 

The lavender wands are made by taking an odd number of lavender blooms and stems, even up all the heads of the lavender and tie a colorful spaghetti string ribbon around the base of the blooms.  Next turn it upside down with the heads facing the floor and the stems sticking straight up.  Take each stem and gently bend it back down over top of the ribbon and flower heads.  After all odd number of stems are bent down start by weaving the ribbon in between each stem.  Once the entire head is covered by the woven ribbon, wrap the remaining stem with ribbon and tie it off at the bottom.  The wand will make a great drawer freshener or an adorable gift for someone special.

Making lavender scented bath salts is very simple.  All it takes is a few ingredients; fine grain Epsom salt found in health and beauty department at many stores, coarse all-natural sea salt which can be found with cooking spices, purple food coloring (optional) and lastly lavender essential oil for that great scent.  Mix 2 cups of the Epsom salt with 1 cup of the sea salt and 4 to 5 drops of lavender oil until thoroughly combined.  Add a few drops of purple food coloring to give it a nice lavender shade, add about ¼ cup to your bath water and you’re ready to relax in the tub.

Lavender scented candles are another great gift to have around the house.  It takes a few more supplies than the bath salts but it’s well worth it.  You will need candle wax, candle wicks, lavender oil, candle dye (optional), glass containers and of course the dried lavender buds for the added scent and beauty.  First the candle wicks need to be hot glued to the bottom of the jars so they don’t move while pouring in the wax mixture.  Make sure the wick sticks ½ inch above the top of where the wax will stop.  Use a double boiler to melt 2-3 pounds of wax over medium to medium high heat.  The wax needs to reach a temperature of 180 degrees.  Turn off the heat and let cool to 125 degrees, add .5 ounces of lavender oil.  If wanting to add a color dye, do so until you get the desired shade.  Once the wax, oil and color are all well mixed, add about 1/3 cup of lavender buds per 3 pounds of wax.  Carefully pour wax mixture into each jar.  A funnel is the best way to avoid spilling or wasting any of the mix.  Let the candles cool overnight then trim the wick down to ¼ inch above the wax.  Lastly, light the candle and enjoy the heavenly lavender aroma.  

The Lavender plant is a perennial and an easy-care plant with low maintenance.  The Lavender plant likes full sun and well-drained soil.  It’s best if a light sandy mix is used for good drainage.  There are many different varieties.  Some varieties have a continuous bloom cycle, some bloom earlier than others.  There are varieties with longer laterals and some with larger head sizes.   We are lucky to live in the Willamette Valley where growing conditions are best for lavender plants.  When pruning your lavender plant nothing should be wasted.  The leaves can be dried and placed in a silk sachet along with dried blossoms to be enjoyed long after the fresh lavender season ends.  Pruning is simply done to cut back the plant and keep its shape.  It is best if done in the Fall season of the year.  

If you get a chance in late July and August, I fully recommend taking a family drive along the country roads of Silverton, Oregon to see the wondrous purple fields of lavender.  One farm, is the Havenhill Lavender Farm located at 582 Drift Creek Rd SE, Silverton, Oregon.  Take time out to stop and smell the Lavender.