The Language of Lavender: Healing from the Field

At Buds in Bloom, we grow lavender not just as a crop, but as a companion—one that speaks softly to the senses, offering calm, clarity, and connection. Across our gardens, you’ll find stems swaying gently in the wind: some rich and dusky, others soft and pastel. These aren’t just flowers—they are cultivars, carefully chosen for their beauty, their benefits, and their alignment with the land’s rhythm.

What We Grow

Each lavender cultivar we’ve welcomed to our fields has its own character and purpose. In gardening terms, “cultivar” refers to a cultivated variety—plants that have been selected and grown for specific traits like color, hardiness, scent, or flavor. Here are the friends you’ll meet when you visit our garden:

• Grosso: Our most fragrant. With tall spikes and an intense aroma, Grosso is often used in sachets, dried bundles, and essential oils. It’s not recommended for culinary use due to its high camphor content, but it excels in therapeutic and aromatic uses.

• Phenomenal: A versatile powerhouse. Cold hardy and mildew resistant, Phenomenal is lightly camphorous and beautifully balanced. It can be used for oil distillation and dried bouquets. While technically edible, its stronger flavor is better suited for infusions and potpourri than delicate culinary work.

• Melissa: This pink beauty is a true culinary lavender. Softly sweet and low in camphor, it’s lovely in teas, desserts, and baked goods. Melissa brings a whisper of elegance to lavender lemonade and shortbread cookies.

• Blue Elegance: A newer English lavender with deep blue flowers. Mild and sweet, it’s an excellent choice for culinary use, as well as fresh and dried arrangements.

• Hidcote Blue: Compact and richly colored, this cultivar is often used for edging paths and drawing bees. It’s considered edible, but its bold flavor lends itself better to infused syrups and sugars than direct seasoning.

• Munstead: A classic English variety and one of the most popular culinary lavenders. Its low camphor content and subtle floral notes make it perfect for everything from lattes to roasted vegetables.

• Provence: Known as the “culinary lavender” of southern France, Provence is soft and sweet with a mellow scent. It’s excellent for cooking and baking, and it dries beautifully for sachets.

• Pink Lavender: A visual delight, especially when planted among the purples. While less commonly used for culinary purposes, it has a delicate charm when infused into syrups or vinegars.

What Makes Lavender Healing?

The healing properties of lavender are rooted in its essential oils—specifically, the compounds linalool and linalyl acetate, known for their calming and anti-inflammatory effects. While camphor (a more stimulating compound found in some lavenders like Grosso) contributes to the plant’s antimicrobial and clearing properties, it’s actually the linalool that does the heavy lifting when it comes to anxiety relief and nervous system regulation.

Lavender isn’t a cure-all, but it’s a steady companion to the nervous system, helping ease tension, improve sleep, and support emotional balance. These effects make it a natural complement to our forest therapy walks, where scent is an invitation into presence.

Lavender, Phytoncides, and Forest Therapy

If you’ve ever stood among the lavender rows and taken a slow, deep breath, you’ve felt it—an unspoken dialogue between plant and person. This conversation is made possible in part by phytoncides, volatile organic compounds released by plants to protect themselves from insects and disease. In forests, these same compounds (often associated with pine and cedar) lower blood pressure, ease anxiety, and enhance immune function in those who breathe them in.

Lavender, though not a tree, joins this quiet medicine-making. Its aromatic compounds interact with our parasympathetic nervous system—the part of us that slows, steadies, and recovers. Walking among blooming lavender during one of our guided sessions becomes more than just pleasant—it becomes a sensory anchor, helping participants return to their breath, their bodies, and the present moment.

While lavender’s healing nature is gentler than cannabis or the robust punch of pine, it dances in the same circle. These plants remind us that medicine doesn’t always come in bottles—it often grows underfoot and waits patiently to be noticed.

In Bloom, In Balance

When we invite guests to our lavender field, we’re offering more than a bouquet. We’re offering a return. A softening. A chance to harvest not just stems, but moments of stillness.

Whether you're gathering edible bundles for tea or simply walking the rows in silence, our lavender cultivars whisper the same message: healing is a process of presence, and nature is eager to help.

Come join us in the field this summer. Walk slowly. Breathe deeply. Let the lavender meet you where you are. Field & Forest Event with u-pick and forest therapy sampler on June 21 & 28, 2025 (ticketed event). https://fieldandforestupick.eventbrite.com