The Week of the Lavender

Four generations of us - my mother-in-law, my hsband and myself, our two daughters and our grand-daughter - went on holiday to North Yorkshire last week. (Our son is busy finishing his last hospital placement at the moment and he and his wife couldn't be with us). It is a lovely part of the world and we went on this train to Whitby for the beach, the Abbey and the Dracula experience, but for me, the highlight of the week was the Wolds Way Lavender Farm

I do love lavender; there are so many varieties, and the scent is so powerful - and not at all oldlady-ish - and the bees and butterflies were everywhere. It was developed on the site of a run-down pig farm, and as well as the commercial side of things, it tries to be as sustainable as possible. The distillation process is fuelled by their own wood, and the ground surrounding the display and production areas has been landscaped to encourage wildlife.

I came home with five new varieties of lavender for my garden, some tips on growing them well, and a lot of inspiration. Now I am picking up the threads of my poetry life and my garden, and looking forward to being involved in an archaeological project in our local Abbey. I'm not sure yet just what this will entail, but it sounds very promising. Watch this space as the project unfolds!