When we moved into our current house four years ago, there was a small weedy area surrounded by pieces of slate that our landlord said we could use for a garden. So, after we unpacked the boxes, we went off to our local nursery, Greenstreet Gardens, and chose a bunch of plants, a mixture of flowers and herbs. One of my husband’s choices was some lavender, which has come back bigger and more luxurious each year. When it is blooming, it is filled with bumblebees.
Lovin’ the Lavender, watercolor, 7″ x 5″
I haven’t decided whether to call this “Lovin’ the Lavender” or “Bee Heaven”.
Ruth Bailey, artist 
16 Responses to Lovin’ the Lavender
How about do a double title ! I took a photo of some cone plants that were filled with bees. Don’t get bit! Lovely work…
Thanks, Cynthia. Looking forward to seeing your painting of cone flowers! Are you going to include the bees?
I love lavender! Once, for my birthday, I received a little cash and went to a professional herb greenhouse and bought a flat of 1″ pot-bound lavender starts for very little money. Brought them home, and since it was my birthday, one of my sons dug all 70 hole for me! They grow in a bed enclosing our circle drive and are the talk of the town. Every year I harvest far more than I could ever use, although I make lavender cookies every year. I also make Zzz Masks, which are room-darkening masks filled with lavender and rice; a neck roll; and even lavender-filled slippers.
It is just wonderful to walk past them when they are in bloom on a hot, breezy day! And if I don’t get them all harvested in time, oh, the aroma from the fading and spent blooms!
This painting of yours reminds me of so many joys! 🙂
O, Katharine! Thank you so much for this comment! Your lavender sounds wonderful, almost like visiting a lavender farm.
Yes, it is! I get just enough weeding, trimming, harvesting, drying, stripping the blossoms off, and LAVENDER, to make me think I’ve really done something, but not so much that I feel in bondage to it.
In bondage to lavender? Ha!! 🙂
this is such a cheerful summery happy piece, you can’t help but smile!! I love the softness of some of the lavender with the busy bees whizzing about!
Debi, I’m glad you like it so much! Having other people share the feeling that I was getting is what makes me want to keep painting.
it is lovely when someone else ‘gets it’ and can share in some of what you saw and felt 🙂
Beautiful work and love the colors. 💜
I was drawn to the contrast of complementary colors with the lavender flowers and the bright yellow (and black) of the bumblebees. Besides, purple is just fun!
Purple IS fun! And purple and yellow together are what songs and smiles are made of. ❤
So lovely! And you should definitely title it “Lovin’ the Lavender” because that speaks for you and the bees.
I hadn’t thought of it that way! I like the suggestion, Sandra. Thanks!
This is a lovely picture, so evocative!
Thanks for looking, and encouraging me with your comment.
I also like that some of the bloom heads are blurred. In our breezes, that is exactly how a photo would take it. But we don’t get bumble bees here; rather carpenter bees, honey bees, and some kind of skipper type of moth…still as crowded as your painting looks. 🙂