Last year we had to buy in Calendula and Lavender flowers as we were not able to collect enough from the garden. This year we increased the number of plants and having just dried the first few batches of calendula flowers and collected the lavender harvest, I'm struck by how vibrant the petals and buds are compared with the bought in plants. The orange Calendula petals are so vivid they almost look fake, and the bluey purple of the Lavender is so much more beautiful than the general , nondescript grey of the bought in buds. It just goes to show the value of growing your own!
Bought Calendula on the left, Home-grown Calendula on the right
