Sequim, Washington USA
A short walk to the Pacific Ocean.
4236 views ~ 27 Feb 2012
The Lavender Fields of Sequim, Washington are a sight to behold. Acres and acres of Lavender Bushes. Perfectly rounded and lightly fragrant. You will never forget a sight like this. On this day, it was a bright and overcast. Seemed to be the perfect condition capture this beautiful purple colour.
Nikon D60 AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm
Featured in A GARDEN SOMEWHERE group ~ July 2009
Featured in LOVELY LAVENDER group ~ 27 August 2009
Featured in POSTCARD STYLE group ~ 30 August 2009
Featured in YOU’RE ACCEPTED group ~ 8 Sep 2009
Featured in ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING ~ 17 Feb 2010
Featured in THE BEAUTY OF NATURE 31 MARCH 2010
Featured in PACIFIC NORTHWEST group ~ July 2010; Thank you, Barbara.
The Lavenders Lavandula are a genus of 39 species of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae, native to the Mediterranean region south to tropical Africa and to the southeast regions of India. The genus includes annuals, herbaceous plants, subshrubs, and small shrubs. The native range extends across the Canary Islands, North and East Africa, south Europe and the Mediterranean, Arabia, and India. Because the cultivated forms are planted in gardens world-wide, they are occasionally found growing wild, as garden escapees, well beyond their natural range. Because Lavender cross-pollinates easily, however, there are countless variations within the species. The color of Lavender flowers has come to be called lavender.
“Lavender Fields Forever”
The most common “true” species in cultivation is the Common Lavender Lavandula angustifolia (formerly L. officinalis). A wide range of cultivars can be found. Other commonly grown ornamental species are L. stoechas, L. dentata, and L. multifida.
Lavandula x intermedia or “Lavendin” is the most cultivated species for commercial use, since its flowers are bigger and the plants are easier to harvest, but Lavendin oil is regarded to be of a lower quality.
“Come and sit among the Lavender”
Lavenders are widely grown in gardens. Flower spikes are used for dried flower arrangements. The fragrant, pale purple flowers and flower buds are used in potpourris. Dried and sealed in pouches, they are placed among stored items of clothing to give a fresh fragrance and as a deterrent to moths.
The plant is also grown commercially for extraction of lavender oil from the flowers. This oil is used as an antiseptic and for aromatherapy. Lavender is also used extensively as herbal filler inside sachets used to freshen linens and discourage moths from closets and drawers. Dried lavender flowers have become recently popular used as confetti for tossing after a wedding.
All the images and text contained herein may not be reproduced, copied, edited, published, transmitted or uploaded in any way without my express written permission. My images do not belong to the Public Domain. The removal of electronic copyright information, digital fingerprints, or embedded watermarks on any image is strictly prohibited.
© 2009 Marjorie Wallace, All Rights Reserved Worldwide.