Lavender Bottles

Day 262: It's been years since I made lavender bottles. I saw no particular need, since the one in my "dainties" drawer still had some fragrance. That said, I figured it could use refreshing, and with a sufficient supply of lavender in my garden, I parked myself on a lawn chair in the shade of the contorted filbert during the cool of the morning and set to weaving. By the time I was done, I had half a dozen, plus a vaseful of flower spikes too stiff to bend.

Also known by the rather boring name of lavender wands, lavender bottles are fairly simple to make. Pick an odd number of long stems (11 or 13 makes a nice bottle), strip them of leaves and isolated flower clusters and bunch them up. Lay the tail of a spool of 3 mm. ribbon (do not cut!) among the flower heads with three inches projecting beyond the tips of the flowers. Tie a piece of string around the flowers and ribbon tail just below the bases of the spikes. Give each stem a gentle pull to be sure the bottom flowers are snugged up against the tie-off because that is where the stems will be the most flexible. Otherwise, you risk breaking them. Now gently bend each stem down to form a "cage" around the flowers.

Weaving will be done with the ribbon coming off the spool. Set the spool on the table. You will not handle it during the weaving. The first two rows are the hardest. Hold the wand in one hand (left, if you're right-handed) and as you weave over-and-under, rotate the wand. Keep the ribbon flat as it weaves through the stems, and try not to leave any gaps between rows. Be sure to keep any string tails inside the weaving. When you have covered the flower heads entirely, cut the ribbon from the spool leaving about four inches. Wrap each ribbon tail around the wand in either direction, and tie off with a square knot topped by a bow.

The fragrance of lavender lasts for many years, even beyond the time when the stems dry and become brittle. Where does the "bottle" portion of the name originate? I haven't got a clue.