Purple Honey

Purple Honey

There,
on the exposed slopes
of scattered isles
in the Salish Sea,
Lamiaceae lurks
beautifully
lavender.

Once native
to Africa and India,
it can be cultivated,
or as a garden escapee
it can splash purple
midst many verdant meadows
and wooded glens.

Those pale purple fragrant buds
are staples for people’s potpourris,
or can be stored
in dark drawers
or ornate wardrobes
to keep clothing smelling fresh,
and to deter the odd moth.
Their oil can be used
as antiseptic,
their nector is gathered
by honeybees—
and the purple honey
is marketed worldwide.

A lavender’s blossom
can be candied,
or just added to raw sugar,
or used as a healing herb,
or blended blithely into black,
green, or herbal teas
to add its robust and relaxing
scent and flavor.

They document
that oil of lavender
was used in hospitals
during WWII
to disinfect floors and walls.
It’s seeds and dried petals
can be added
to a pillow, promoting
deep sleep
and purple dreams.

The ancient Greeks
called the lavender herb
“Nardus”,
after the Syrian city
of Naarda,
and it was one of the holy herbs
used in the biblical Temple
to prepare “holy essence”.
Nard is mentioned
in the Song of Solomon”
“nard and saffron
Calamus and cinnamon,
And every kind of incense tree.”

The wily Romans
used “lavandavius”
in their lavish baths
to scent the water,
and the restore the skin.

Why even during the height
of the Plague,
glove makers at Grasse
would scent their leather
with lavender oil—
and this was claimed
to ward off the plague;
which it did,
for the strong lavender scent
repelled fleas.

So, gosh, when next you spy
a lovely clump of lavender,
whether in neat rows,
or dotted and mixed
into ferns and grasses,
decorating the landscape—
take a delicious moment
to stop, look, and inhale;
then tip your hat
to this winsome wildflower,
for it is always a princess
and sometimes queen
in Nature.

Glenn A. Buttkus July 2008