The End of Lavender Season

My favorite place in the garden is nestled within a circle of lavender plants, where I can watch bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds as they come to sip from the flowers. This is my favorite part of the garden and my favorite time of year—the height of summer, lavender season.

To me, the mark of the transition from summer to late summer, as the season shifts from the fire element to the earth element according to the ancient Chinese five-element medicine system, is when the lavender stops blooming.

This signals the beginning of the earth season, the time of harvest. We start picking the tomatoes that have basked in the sun all summer, pulling up onions and garlic, canning tomatoes and peppers, and savoring the last of the cucumbers and basil.

It’s a time to reflect on the seeds you’ve planted and the abundance you have to harvest.