By Liz Reid – Core Factor Pilates
The waves of rolling Lavender in fields are a wondrous and breathtakingly beautiful sight to behold. With just a short seasonal window of flowering between mid-June and mid-August, you have to seize the opportunity to enjoy this miraculous plant in its full scent.
Lavender has many attributes with the essential oil being extracted and transformed into oils, sprays, and soaps as well as being used in cooking, such as cupcakes and ice cream. Lavender essential oil has many properties, which help to induce a calm state of mind, reduce anxiety levels and promote a tranquil state, allowing better sleep.
So, to have visited Cambridgeshire Lavender myself, in their opening year, after 3 years of hard work by them, in preparing their fields, it was wonderful to benefit first hand and experience the beauty and power of Lavender.
The joy of being able to pick your own Lavender, sharing with the bees as they busily and happily collected from the plants too, was quite a restful act in itself. Looking up from picking, absorbing the rows of vibrant purple, against the blue skies, was so gorgeous.
With these fields being on our doorstep, just in Bluntisham, it’s more than fantastic and feeling inspired, why not create your own little Lavender oasis and plant some in a large pot in the garden? They die back of course over the winter so make sure the plants have been cropped down so that new growth can burst forth. Giving your Lavender plants a good haircut after flowering is of course the best time, which stops the plant from becoming leggy and woody. You literally then make way for the new.
Lavender planted at path edges looks very dramatic and as you walk past, brushing the plants, you’ll be rewarded by the lovely gentle calming scent. Remember to allow adequate spacing of planting a new row, to allow the plant to grow and not be overcrowded by its neighbour. Half a metre is ideal if space allows.
It was an absolute honour to be able to run a Pilates Lavender Summer Session on 5th August at Cambridgeshire Lavender and help support a new local business. The event was sold out and everyone enjoyed a relaxing summer stretch session of Pilates, amongst the Lavender, under the big blue deep skies and fluffy clouds, as the evening sun started to set.
The waves of aroma and scent from the lavender, cascading around us, were so relaxing and I for one, slept very well that evening post Pilates! The deep saturation of light from the evening sun was quite beautiful and so serene.
Being outside is incredibly restorative for the mind, body and soul, so being within the lavender, between the rows practising Pilates and having time out to stretch, relax and be mindful, was something quite special and magical.
My enormous thanks extend to Danielle Bluff and her family for accommodating my Pilates session last month and it was a dream come true for me too to be there! Thanks also to Emma Harper Photography for her stunning photos of the event too.
More Lavender Pilates sessions are planned for next year when the season opens in mid-June 2023, so pop the date in your diary now and follow Core Factor Pilates and Cambridgeshire Lavender on our social pages for news, info and updates.
It’s great to practice Pilates outside as much as possible and so more outdoor sessions are being planned for next spring and summer.
Enjoy the harvest of Lavender in whatever form and may your sleep be restful and relaxing.
www.cambridgeshirelavender.co.uk
