How a your oil is produced.
Winter time is the when the plants are nurtured so they give their best in season. They are weeded and dead wood is pruned out. Old plants are replaced. This is a labour intensive process but necessary. No sprays are used. The lavender plants hate to be overgrown so weeding is a must.
By early spring the plants have started to shoot away and begin to colour.
By mid Summer the lavender is at its best. The smell is amazing. It is a magnet for bees. This is when harvest first begins.
The lavender is cut by hand with a sickle. This is done first thing in the morning before the bees arrive on the plants. It is processed in the afternoon
Oil is Distilled
This is in the months from January to March
A basket of lavender flowers is lowered into the still. There is a little water at the bottom of the vessel. The still is heated with an electric element as well as a gas burner. Hot steam is carried up through the basket of flowers. It carries with it the essential oil. The condensation from this steam collects on the lid of the pot. It is then condensed to turn it back to a liquid. The liquid contains two products. Pure distilled water with a lavender scent, the hydrosol, and the lavender oil.