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Is your energy in need of restoration? With winter's darker days, I often surrender to early sleep, yet wake still tired. Sometimes that sluggish feeling lasts all day, and I can use an infusion of energy to stir things up. Sally King, director of RavenCroft Garden, presents me with one herb that promotes two seemingly opposite energies: calmness and zest. Responding directly to your need of the moment, lavender can relax and evoke refreshing sleep or stir your energy and wake you up. I've long enjoyed the graceful sway of slender stalks in my neighbor's lavender patch, watching with amusement the bees that drunkenly zigzag from flower to flower. I'm thankful that I can also bring lavender's diverse energy into my winter days and nights.

Lavender, Lavandula angustifolia, derives from the Latin word lavare, to wash, and is well known for its relaxing qualities in the bath. A versatile, healing herb, lavender comes in many varieties. It prefers hot, sunny and dry places; in wet climates, choose a well-drained spot. Consider your placement, as some types, especially French lavenders, can become veritable hedges. Lavender's flowers range from white to pink to deep shades of purple. The buds open from the bottom of the stalk up. Sally harvests them from June through August, when the lowest flowers open and the rest are holding onto peak essential oil. You can purchase lavender both as dried buds and a fragrant essential oil.

Powerful preventive: Winter, often dubbed the cold and flu season, is an excellent time to take advantage of this antiseptic herb. Fill a handy spray bottle either with an infusion (see sidebar) or with a few drops of essential oil of lavender added directly to water. At home or office, spray a bit of your lavender mix directly onto your phone handset, desktop, arms of chairs — anywhere people are going to touch. Use it as a finishing wipe for kitchen countertops. Spritz the air or pour it into a small pot and simmer it on the stove.

Breathe deeply: That same pot of steaming lavender makes an excellent asthma inhalant; cover your head with a tea towel and breathe deeply. Aromatherapists reach for lavender for its amazing ability to soothe the nervous system. It also helps to relieve headaches and depression.

Bug off: Place dried lavender in small, open-weave sacks or sprinkle it inside drawers and closets to protect fabrics from moths. Toss one of those sacks into your clothes dryer and then wear its sweet scent.

Superb for skin and muscles: Use a lavender infusion or essential oil in water as a wash, spritz or soak to help heal burns and infections. Antispasmodic and pain-relieving, lavender makes excellent infused oil for massage to soothe sore or cramping muscles. Sally adds lavender to her breast-massage oil; its anticancer properties help keep breasts lump free. Try your local herbalist for infused or essential oil of lavender.

Baking bonus: Holiday baked goods benefit from a fresh taste twist: Try substituting lavender infusion or tea for the recipe's water. Adding lavender flowers directly brings a burst of flavor. Sally's family takes the lavender buds that they strain off after making lavender honey and adds them to their holiday cutout cookies. (See sidebar.)

A hands-on life: There is nothing quite like anointing your hands with lavender's sweet fragrance. Sally notices that taking the time to touch the herbs and work directly with them seems to open the doors to the almost limitless ways that they can help us. "It doesn't have to be so much about vitamins and minerals. It can be about restoration and fun, and our hands and our hearts..."

Lavender Holiday Gifts Dream pillow: Sew a pillow of any shape or size, leaving one side open. Fill with dried lavender. Finish sewing shut or add a button for ease of refilling. Tuck inside your pillowcase for deep sleep and sweet dreams. Drawer, closet or clothes-dryer sacks: Fill a small open-weave drawstring sack with dried lavender. Tension-relieving bath mix: Grind dried lavender into a powder and mix with sea or Epsom salts. Sprinkle a heaping tablespoon into your bath. Lavender infusion: Place ½ ounce of dried lavender in a 1-quart canning jar, fill with boiling water and cap. Leave overnight, strain off the flowers, then use the infusion for a bath or spritz. Lavender "sugar" cookies: See recipe here. Lavender honey: See "Ready for Roses" in issue #7 and follow the Rose Petal Honey directions. Note: Gentle heat helps the extraction process with dried herbs. If using dried lavender, a sunny windowsill works great. Common Herbs for Natural Health by Juliette de Bairacli Levy Opening our Wild Hearts to the Healing Herbs by Gail Faith Edwards

Located near Monroe, WA, RavenCroft Garden is an educational center connecting people, plants and the earth. It is home to founder EagleSong, Community Centered Herbalist (CCH) and Director Sally King, CCH, who work with herbs as a foundation for creating health: 360-794-2938 or www.ravencroftgarden.com.

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