I love the
scent of lavender, it happens to be my favorite. In our house in Mexico, one of the things that
we had to always be cautious about were scorpions. I remember when I was a little girl I got
stung by one and it was so unpleasant I still remember the horrific experience. Lavender not only smells sublime, but functions
as a pest repellant. It’s common to keep
little bushels of the flower in places of entry, like windowsills or in drawers
and armoires to repel all types of pests including scorpions. I once read that the reason pockets were
invented was to hold lavender sachets as a type of traveling insect repellant in
addition to warding off evil. In Elizabethan
times, the flower was considered to protect against evil many wore it for
protection. According to culinary records of the time, it was also used in
cooking many recipes, main dishes and desserts called for it as a crucial ingredient. Shakespeare used the flower in “The Winter’s
Tale” to express another common use (at the time) for the flower, which was
romance. The belief at the time was that
lavender had the properties to help sexually, and was known as the fragrance of
the wedding night. It served as a type
of aphrodisiac for men. Some believe
that Cinderella’s bouquet was composed of lavender flowers to express that she
could keep a clean house and a happy husband.
In ancient
times, lavender was the herb that royalty enjoyed. Some believe that the costly perfume which
Mary used to wash the feet of Jesus was made of Lavender. Legends express that Adam and Eve took some
lavender with them when they were expelled from Eden. Furthermore, some believe that Mother Mary
put some lavender on the manger before placing Jesus in it as a form of
protection. This coincides with the
belief that lavender wards off evil and also protects against infection.
My bear in the lovely original packaging.
Of course,
it has long been used to relieve headaches, sooth tension, and calm nerves –
even to help with insomnia. I used to suffer from horrible migraines and a
little lavender under my pillow always helped.
My dream is to one day visit the fragrant lavender fields in South of
France. In the meantime, in my thrifting
expeditions I came across this bear in the most exquisite box, it comes all the
way from a lavender farm in Australia and he smells divine. Bridestowe Farms came to existence when a
gentleman migrated from France to Australia to begin a lavender farm. Since the 1920’s the farm has been in
business and currently sells these adorable bears. My Bobbie bear is a heat pack to be used to
help comfort and relieve stress. I
absolutely love it and holding it to my nose gives me so much pleasure. When I found this bear it sent me in a
lavender learning kick. I wanted to
learn more about my favorite fragrance and the details I discovered were all
too interesting not to share. What’s
your favorite flower fragrance?
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