As the Sun grows in strength, life begins to return to the land. Shoots appear on the trees, daffodils, primroses, violets adorn the hedgerows with bright colour. Birdsong announces the coming of Spring, sweeping away Winter’s blanket of silence. The wildlife is busy collecting and gathering material for creating nests and burrows to birth their young. Time is in equilibrium on the Spring Equinox.
Here in Jersey the Luminaries Gathering was held at the ancient site of La Hougue Bie, where the rising sun illuminates the ancient stone chamber, one of the 10 oldest known buildings in the world. Farmers, smallholders, and people from the finance sector formed a community exploring how regenerative agriculture and horticulture can be supported by the business community. New ideas, moving away from old systems, were shared – people understanding that the land and local farms need tending and support to produce vibrant, healthy and nourishing produce.
New planting of Lavendula x intermedia ‘Grosso’ in the fields is rooting and finding its feet. This is a variety of French or Fringed Lavender, with mid-purple blooms. Grosso flowers, sometimes called “Lavandin,” are used in perfumes, sachets, and culinary projects, including speciality cocktails. This lavender is a hybrid cross between Lavandula augustifolia and Lavandula latifolia, bred for cold hardiness and a higher yield of oil production. It also tolerates higher temperatures. In summer its spikes of grey-green foliage and violet flowers make a striking hedge or border in the garden.
It was discovered in a deserted lavender field in the Vaucluse district of France, by longtime lavender grower, Pierre Grosso (1905-1989). Grosso took cuttings of the plant and found that resulting crops were more vigorous with higher yields than other varieties.
