The Lavender Harvest

While I've always liked the scent of lavender, I never gave it much thought. However, I now have a deeper appreciation and understanding of the plant after attending the Fall Lavender Harvest Festival at The Langham Huntington in Pasadena.

The event celebrated all things lavender and included a live lavender distillation demonstration, lavender infused desserts, educational sessions covering the history and health benefits of lavender and 15 different types of lavender essential oils to sniff.



Similar to the making of alcohol, lavender is distilled in order to capture the essential oil. As you can imagine, it smelled lovely. Take a look:


Below are some interesting lavender factoids that I learned from the team at Ajne Pure Essentials, which grows and harvests lavender on their farm in Carmel, California and offers their beauty products at the hotel:

• There are approximately 39 different lavender species and over 300 variations.
• An infusion of lavender is claimed to soothe and heal insect bites and bunches of lavender are also said to repel insects.
• If applied to the temples, lavender oil is said to soothe headaches.
• Lavender is frequently used as an aid to sleep and relaxation: Flowers buds of the plant are added to pillows.
• Lavender oil is claimed to heal acne.
• Lavender will grow in nearly any climate - with the likely exception of the arctic. It does best in Mediterranean climates though.