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04/07/2008


my photos

LAVENDER - Loyalty, Love, Devotion
AND BEES

Lavender's blue, dilly dilly, lavender's green;
When I am king, dilly dilly, you shall be queen.
Who told you that, dilly dilly, who told you so?
'Twas my own heart, dilly dilly, that told me so.


Call up your men, dilly dilly, set them to work;
Some to the plough, dilly dilly, some to the cart;
Some to make hay, dilly dilly, some to thresh corn;
While you and I, dilly dilly, keep ourselves warm.


If I should die, dilly dilly, as well may hap;
Bury me deep, dilly dilly, under the tap;
Under the tap, dilly dilly, I'll tell you why;
That I may drink, dilly dilly, when I am dry.

Anonymous

Lavender's green, dilly dilly, Lavender's blue;
If you love me, dilly dilly, I will love you.
Let the birds sing, dilly dilly, and the lambs play;
We shall be safe, dilly dilly, Out of harm's way.


I love to dance, dilly dilly, I love to sing;
When I am queen, dilly dilly, you'll be my king.
Who told me so, dilly dilly, who told me so?
I told myself, dilly dilly, I told me so.


An English folk song dating back to at least 1849, and is said to be connected with the festival of Twelfth Night and the choosing of the king and the queen. I am not sure if the two additional verses above were part of the original rhyme?



In Provence in France, hives are taken to the fields of lavender in order to produce Lavender honey which is pale and gold with the flavour of the flower. The bee above hasn't had to be taken to the Lavender, it has invited itself!



I often find one of these around the garden, a bee hole. A home for ground nesting bees, usually in a dry and undisturbed part of the garden.


16 comments:

Christy Amular said...

Nothing soothes and delights than lavender!

Suburbia said...

The lavender seems to have lasted well in the garden this year, must be the lack of hot weather!

walter and me said...

Beautiful photos....lavender is one of my favourites.

Barb said...

I remember this "folk song" -- your lavender photos are lovely.
I can almost smell it!!

BumbleVee said...

I've tried several times to grow lavender and no luck at all... perhaps I should go get another one and try again.... but, perhaps they just won't survive our winters...

VP said...

The lavender's doing well here too Louise with bees bumbling all around it. It's one of my favourite parts of summer.

Have a great weekend!
xx

Suzanne said...

I love that song-rhyme, used to sing it all the time when I was a child. Beautiful photos.

Lavinia said...

Bee-utiful post. Lavender is a gift from the gods....such a nice fragrance, colour, and so many uses. A friend of mine makes lavender cookies, they are delicious. I grew up in a home full of lavender sachets...

Sal said...

Lavender is one of my faves too..and the song brings back memories. Lovely! ;-)

life in red shoes said...

I absolutly love lavendar. I have Hidcote blooming in my garden,but I can't bring myself to cut it!

Anonymous said...

I intend putting some lavender on the plot for next year! xx

HAWTHORN HALL said...

The lavendar is in bloom in my garden also and I always enjoy it so much. I did not know they made lavendar flavoured honey...sounds delicious. Wonderful pictures!

Gillian

Barb said...

Hope you had an enjoyable weekend.
RE: the "Hot July...." I like your version better with the strawberries. What the heck is a "gilly" flower anyway?? !!

The Diva said...

Louise, that was truly interesting. Thanks for sharing it. Great photo of the honeybee.~~Dee

sheila said...

When I had my first child a British friend of mine gave me the Lavender's Blue nursery rhyme book. She said it was probably horribly politically incorrect but charming and my child needed to hear all the nursery rhymes. We still have it. That rhyme is seared into my brain now too.

Lovely pictures, Louise.

Wienermädel + Co said...

I fave lavender, it grows in our garden, but the winter is to hard, so I have to plant every year a new one. And the honey is very delicious!