In the past week I’ve wrote a couple of articles on the Victory Bouquets given to medal winners at the Olympics and how they were grown sustainably. Today I’m going to tell you more about the lavender that featured in the bouquets. It was supplied by Long Barn, a Hampshire based farm.
Long Barn have been growing and distilling lavender for over 12 years. As well as growing lavender they also produce a range of lavender based bath and beauty products, and original gifts for the home and garden.
Langard sourced the components for the bouquets, they contacted Long Barn and asked them to supply lavender for the Olympic Victory Bouquets. They needed 5000 bunches of lavender each containing 60 stems, one bunch of lavender was used per bouquet.
The staff were a little concerned that the wet weather would prevent them meeting their deadline to grow the vast amount of lavender required. They harvest their lavender by hand, using traditional sickles in the field. Long barn said ‘it really was an Olympic challenge! However 300,000 lavender sprigs were successfully harvested and assembled to ensure the tight deadline was met.’
All the flowers for the Olympic bouquets were required to be grown chemical free, which was no problem for Long Barn as they already grow all their lavender without the use of pesticides and herbicides. They live by a green philosophy producing their lavender naturally, their bath and beauty products are also made with entirely natural ingredients.
Lavender is particularly significant in the bouquets, as it has a historic link with London, it was grown commercially in Victorian times around the capital. Lavender was an essential part of the ‘British scent’ the designers wanted to achieve, mint, rosemary and wheat were also used.
Long Barn also has a plant nursery and newly opened café. You can find out more about them on their website.
Images:
Jane Packer
Long Barn
