Lavender folklore
There is a legend that Adam & Eve took lavender with them when they were banished from the Garden of Eden. It received its distinctive perfume when Mary laid the baby Jesus’ clothes on the bush to dry.
Lavender was regarded as a safeguard against evil. A cross of lavender was hung over the door for protection.
In the Apocrypha, Judith anointed herself with lavender to seduce Holofernes, the enemy commander. Once he was under her influence she murdered him to save the city of Jerusalem.
In Tudor times a maiden would sip lavender dew on Saint Luke’s day while murmuring: "St. Luke, St. Luke, be kind to me. In my dreams, let my true love see."
Apline girls tucked lavender under their lover’s pillows to turn their thoughts to marriage. Once married, they would use lavender to ensure their husbands’ marital passion.
Lavender, rosemary and lad’s love were dried and mixed together in bags to scent linen & act as a moth repellent. Sprigs were included in posies for visitors in England and colonial America.
Women used to throw linen and clothing over bushes to absorb the scent of
lavender as they dried.