Sweet Delicate Lavender

For over 20 years, we've had roses growing in a garden surrounding our deck. For the past 3 years, we've been overwhelmed with Japanese beetles, where all we seem to be doing is applying Sevin dust constantly to get rid of the little pests. So we decided to transplant our roses to our front island garden. We bought 12 lavender plants at the end of last season for a great price. We planted them and hoped they would last the winter, as they really weren't looking good at the store. Guess what? They did survive! We've now got to get woodchips to fill in to make our lavender garden look pretty.

I love to cook with lavender! I make lavender jelly every year as well as rose petal jelly. They are such delicate flavors to spread on bread or crackers. I even made cream scones with lavender jelly that my husband and I munched on while watching the William & Catherine Royal Wedding, and they were delightful! Of course lavender is an ingredient in one of my favorite herb blends, Herbes de Provence. I make my own blend from my herbs that I've grown. Last year was the first year I couldn't find any marjoram to grow, so I had to buy it along with savory & fennel seeds. Still looking for another plant! My recipe is:

Herbes de Provence
2 tablespoons dried, crushed lavender
2 tablespoons dried rosemary
2 tablespoons dried thyme
2 tablespoons dried oregano
2 tablespoons dried basil
2 tablespoons dried marjoram
2 tablespoons dried, crushed fennel seed
2 tablespoons dried savory

Mix the blend all together and store away in a small jar.