Just under one month to publication and I am still musing over a title, but it will come to me, I know – in the middle of the night.

Is anyone not in love with lavender? It’s that colour we talked about earlier in spring – gorgeous purple from haze to deep saturated violet, lavender makes my toes curl. I have visited most of the places in England where lavender is grown. To see the fields of purple is really something.

The thing with lavender is it is not just a decorative plant, it’s a way of life. I eat it, nothing I like more than lavender cake and scones; I drink it – one of my favourite teas is made from pure culinary lavender; I put the cologne on my forehead, I dot lavender oil on a tissue if I am having difficulty sleeping; I have a lavender candle in my work space; it’s my favourite bath/shower cream/gel – you get the picture I am a lavender girl. That colour gets to me, that scent uplifts me.

I have been writing this book forever – but that has its advantages as always, because I have looked at, grown and written about almost 500 varieties. It’s my longest project yet because it started back in the 80′s when I visited a farm in Kent. It’s been a project that has shifted in and out of focus, but now it is finally almost finished and I have a launch date of 14 August 2010.

Discover almost 500 lavender plants plus information on how to grow, use and enjoy lavender. Find the right plant for your garden. Down to earth, honest opinions on plants. Grow your own lavender garden and find out the perfect companion plants.

As shipping rates between England and the USA, Australia and around the world are still so high, (they have quadrupled in the past 10 years) I am launching as an ebook. It makes it easier to distribute the book world-wide. The ebooks are doing well and as you know I like to do things differently – and I believe I am the first garden publisher to offer ebooks.

Photograph copyright Karen Platt 2010.