Not all lavender flowers are equally attractive to bees As I noticed when I visited Cambridge University Botanic Garden in July. The gardens are curated by lavender expert Dr Tim Upson (his PhD is in lavender!), and I was fascinated by his extensive collection there. Surprisingly, not all lavenders seemed equally attractive to bees, with…
Tag: essential oil
Fragrant leaf potpourri recipe
Potpourri recipe with scented leaves In my last two posts I have been drying leaves from my garden for use in potpourri and then adding essential oils to the potpourri for added fragrance. Here is the finished potpourri recipe. Choosing the leaves for this potpourri recipe This dried leaf potpourri is not as pretty as…
Fragrancing my dried leaf potpourri
Using essential oils to fragrance potpourri Last week I made some potpourri using dried leaves from my garden. This week I am boosting the fragrance of the potpourri by adding essential oils. I had hoped that my combination of lemon balm leaves, peppermint and scented leaf pelargoniums might have enough scent to fragrance my sitting…
Cedarwood moth repellent bag
Cedar is a traditional moth repellent After my post the other week, in which I discussed the use of lavender as a moth repellent, I thought I should mention cedarwood moth repellents, which traditionally take the form of blocks of wood or chips. Cedar deters adult moths, and is said to kill the larvae if…
Battling clothes moths using dried lavender
Clothes moths are a common irritation traditionally remedied using dried lavender I was watching TV the other night and saw a programme on the clothes moth. Apparently they originated in owl pellets! A human’s wardrobe can – it seems – be said to resemble an owl nest from the moth’s point of view! The larvae…