Best Way to Create the Lavender and Rose Basket

Lavender has noted soothing properties, and is ideal for creating a mood of tranquility. Simple yet elegant, it suits both sophisticated and country-style interiors.

Lavender is one of the most pungently fragrant of all ‘ herbs and it retains its scent when dry, which is why is so often used in sachets and pot-pourri. A container filled with sweet-smelling herbs gives any room a welcoming feel. This basket, made with fresh and dried flowers and filled with fresh lavender heads, will dry in situ, retaining its scent for many months. Although all lavender is aromatic, some forms have a stronger perfume and are more brilliantly coloured than others – Lavandula angustifolia ‘Hidcote’ is particularly good in both respects and is well worth hunting out to plant in your garden. The deep colour will remain vivid even when the lavender dries. If you are not able to pick fresh flowers, you can equally well use dried lavender for this howl.

Creating the Lavender and Rose Basket

This basket is very simple to make and lasts over an exceptionally long period as the lavender will dry in situ. You will need a plentiful supply of fresh or dried lavender, and a few roses to make it.

This simple decorated basket, filled with lavender flower heads, could serve as the blueprint for many other similar baskets. You could, for example, use crossed bunches of herbs instead of lavender, and fill the middle with chopped herbs, to act as the centrepiece for a dinner party (particularly if you are serving pasta – the guests can then add their own herbs).

To make sure the final effect is neat, you will need to ensure that the crossed bunches of lavender heads are all roughly the same length. Select the stems of lavender, hold the heads upside down and tap them gently on the worksurface to level them, and then snip the stems about 6in (15cm) from the heads. This ensures the bunches are full and the heads evenly spaced and distributed.

• Bind moss to the edge of the basket using florist’s wire. This provides a base for the crossed lavender bundles and disguises the basket’s edge.

• Bind about 15 stems together for each bunch of lavender. Then arrange the bunches in crossed pairs around the rim of the container.
• Into the centre of each crossed pair of lavender bunches, insert a rose. Wire the rose into the basket to secure it.
• Fill the centre of the basket with broken stems and heads of lavender. If necessary, fill the base with moss before adding the heads.