KawaTora, 3 months ago to nature

The violets are out. According to my plant identification app, these are sweet violets. The name comes from both the smell and the flavor. They are edible and highly nutritious except for the root. They also have medicinal properties.
(viola Odorata)
#Nature #BloomScrolling #Flowers #Spring #MedicinalHerbs #Violets

Sweet Violets (viola odorata) growing in a cluster on the forest floor.

FarmerLotus, 11 months ago to random

From an afternoon picnic at a local lavender farm

#Bloomscrolling #lavender #medicinalHerbs #medicinalPlants #coloradoPhotographer

Image shows a row of blooming dark purple lavender next to another lighter variety. The lavender farm shown in the image grows over 20 varieties of this drought tolerant perennial plant. There is a tree in the background that is blurred and the rest of the landscape recedes into the distance as the edge of the farm slopes off into a valley.
Closeup of a culinary variety of lavender. Each flower spike is stiffly upright. The background is a blurry bokeh of some lighter colored cultivars which offers a nice contrast to the darker blue/purple buds in the foreground.
The rows of lavender alternate between different varieties with the darker, culinary variety in the foreground. The plants are trimmed back each year into gently rounded mounds to achieve this nice shape that also makes harvesting the blooms easier. The blooms are hand harvested at peak oil content with a sickle.