Lavandula angustifolia ‘Hidcote’ (Polaroids)

Photo by Gayla Trail  All Rights Reserved

I’ve spent the last month steeped in lavender. I’ve photographed several different varieties, harvested and hung it to dry, and have experimented with ways to cook with it. I have spent hours carefully removing fresh and dried flowers from stalks.

My favourite variety is ‘Hidcote’, a hardy, blue, dwarf lavender with an intensely sweet, bright, and robust aroma and flavour. It smells and tastes so delicious — none of the varieties I have worked with can compare. So when I had a chance to go out to the country and visit a garden that includes a massive mounding bed of ‘Hidcote’ lavender I jumped at the chance.

Thanks to Jessica Hibbard for the crazy, out-of-date Polaroid film.

Gayla Trail
Gayla is a writer, photographer, and former graphic designer with a background in the Fine Arts, cultural criticism, and ecology. She is the author, photographer, and designer of best-selling books on gardening, cooking, and preserving.

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8 thoughts on “Lavandula angustifolia ‘Hidcote’ (Polaroids)

  1. After years of watching my lavander plant grow bigger and bigger with no blossoms, I now have something to harvest. Tomorrow I am making lavander lemonade.

  2. A month steeped in lavender sounds like bliss. I’d even settle for a morning. In the fields of Provence, if possible.

    I love ‘Hidcote’, too. I managed to snag the last 4-inch pot at the garden centre in late spring. Even a small dose of lavender is a source of delight.

    Looking forward to any tips or recipes you & commenters share with us.

    .

  3. last year I made Lavender Bumbleberry Upside-down cake with lavender I grew. very yummy! :)

  4. Elaine: I can’t share any here yet as they are all assignments but some will be published soon. Others… a long ways away yet.

    Alesia: That’s thanks to Jess, whom I thanked above. She sent me a few rolls after I cried about having used my last roll. I splashed out and stocked up on as many rolls as I could afford for our Caribbean trip, so when that was done, that was it.

  5. Well, as they say, “good things are worth waiting for.” Especially true about lavender & any of your words & images about it.

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