Gracious Hospitality

To make a lavender bottle:

Gather about 20 long lavender spikes with bud. It's best if the bud is just ready to bloom. Generally, once lavender has bloomed it's "too late". If that's all you have, don't worry --- just use it. I love to see the lavender on the plant and frequently harvest too late, simply because I enjoy the lavender in my garden so much!

The technique for a lavender bottle starts out much like the lavender basket. It's best to harvest lavender and then allow it to rest for a day or two before crafting. Just set the lavender spikes on a sheet or towel in a protected place without direct sunlight. Once the spikes wilt a day or two, they are more flexible and easier to use.

Bunch all the bud on spike together so that they are all together in a floral bouquet. Leave the stems as long as possible, but snip them with scissors at the bottom so they are all the same length.

Tie a piece of ribbon around stems at the very base of floral bouquet (for the basket this knot is lower on the spike). Secure tightly and snip off ends of ribbon. The knot should be small so it's easy to hide

Fold the stems backwards, up towards the lavender bouquet. Arrange each stem around the flowers in a pretty manner. Try to keep them from stacking on top of one another.

Once this is done, tie the end that's now at what was the top of the lavender bouquet with ribbon and secure tightly. Trim off ends of ribbon.

Wrap a long piece of ribbon around base of bulb several times and then wind it up and down the long stems, creating a criss-cross effect. At the base of the stems, wrap in a circle once or twice and then wind ribbon back up towards the base of the bulb. Tie off by looping through itself and then cut ribbon (attaching end with craft glue).

Add a bow with streamers at the base of the bulb. Add a ribbon loop through the other end of the bulb and tie into a pretty bow with streamers.

Allow to dry --- and enjoy! You may add another bow to the base of the stems also if you desire.

The lavender in the photo is "Melissa", a pink lavender.