End of Summer Reading: The Lavender Companion

Happy Friday dear readers. I hope you are enjoying the last few days of summer as much as I am. Even though it's gotten hot here again, I’m turning my thoughts towards fall gardening and homemaking. Last month, I was honored to become an ambassador for Storey Publishing, so today’s book is the first of what I hope to be many collaborations with it for them. Today's review is about the beloved herb Lavender. It's a staple in my here garden.

Lavender in my Herb Garden!

My thanks to Storey Publishing for the complimentary copy of The Lavender Companion for review. No further compensation was given and all opinions are my own.

End of Summer Reading: The Lavender Companion:

Courtesy: Storey Publishing

About The Lavender Companion by Terry Barlin Vesci with Jessica Dunham/:Hardbound,176 pages/Publisher: Storey Publishing/Genre: Cooking

According to Publisher, Storey, The Lavender Companion is a “celebration of lavender featuring stunning photographs; favorite recipes for the kitchen, pantry, and body care products; along with fascinating lore and gardening guidance from a destination lavender farm.” 

My Thoughts: Let's Discuss Chapters:

Lavender has long been a favorite in my herb garden, mainly for the beautiful flowers and scent. I’ve  dried bunches in the past, and pressed some into pages of a flower book, and made a body scrub, but that’s really the extent of my lavender use. 

Chapter one discusses how lavender has been a favorite herb through the ages. It’s a multifaceted herb that’s been grown for centuries all over the world and used in multiple ways. From wellness, beauty and perfume, cooking and more, there’s a wealth of information in this chapter.

Now that I’ve read The Lavender Companion, I want to try some of the suggested ways to layer lavender into my life. That's' the title of chapter two, which covers Body Care: Relax, Unwind, Breathe Deep and In The Home-lavender all around. I want to make my own bath bombs, shower steamers, sugar scrubs and spray cleaner.

I especially liked chapter three which is all about using lavender in the kitchen and on the table. Topics such as pantry staples, savory surprises like making my own lavender lemon pepper, lavender simple syrup, and sticky lavender honey chicken, or fall spiced lavender pumpkin bread.

Courtesy:Storey Publishing

Chapter four covers planting, harvesting and drying lavender. This is the chapter I’ve spent the most time with because I found it fascinating to learn about the variety of lavenders and how to choose a cultivar based on what you want to use the lavender for and your growing region. For instance, I learned that there’s a type of lavender called Melissa (my daughter's name) which is a lovely pinkish blooms, that would grow well in our region. 

The Takeaway:

Courtesy: Storey Publishing

I’ve loved flipping through the pages of this beautiful book and learning more about how to grow it, harvest it and ultimately enjoy the aroma, flavor and health benefits of this classic herb. I’m happy to add this to my  ever growing garden resource library. 

I invite you to learn more about The Lavender Companion by Terry Barlin Vesci with Jessica Dunham at Hachette Book Group. There, you can read the author's bio and purchase this book and more. 

As always, I hope you’ve found this book review helpful. Please be sure to read my most recent book reviews here on the blog before you leave. The next time we chat, it will officially be  fall, and I have a perfect book to share for that season up next.

Please share in comments: Do you grow lavender, or would you like to now after reading this book review?