Overview

Lavender's beautiful purple blooms and fresh floral scent have long been admired. Lavender's many uses not only include those that are cosmetic and decorative, but also as a air freshener--particularly in sachets placed in drawers, closets or even pillows. If you are lucky enough to grow this in your own yard, or you have a friendly neighbor willing to share his or her own lavender, you can pick it fresh and easily dry it for sachets.

Step 1

Choose an area of your home that is well-ventilated, dry and warm. This may be a bedroom, kitchen or just a breezy back porch. Dry and well-ventilated areas are best for drying flowers and herbs. You should avoid drying them in direct sunlight, however. The sun will fade the color and may impact the fragrance.

Step 2

Place paper towels, a clean sheet, pillowcase or T-shirt on your table or workbench. You will lay the lavender bundles on this material. This way, you will easily contain any leaves or flowers that fall off during the bundling process.

Step 3

Cut bundles of lavender fresh from a garden--cut the stems about 3 inches down from the flowers. Bring them indoors and lay them on your work surface.

Step 4

Bundle lavender for hanging by grasping the stems, holding them together and wrapping them securely with a rubber band. Now cut string into 4-inch strands (or longer, if necessary--it depends how and where you are hanging the bundles) and tie one end to the rubber bands on each bundle. Alternatively, you can use paper clips, as suggested by Purple Haze Lavender Ltd. at purplehazelavender.com. Maneuver the end of each respective paper clip beneath the rubber bands--you can then use the other end of the paper clips as hooks for hanging the bundles. All kinds of twist ties also work well for this.

Step 5

Loop and tie the string of each bundle around a towel rod or a hanger (which you will then hang from a nail) and leave them to dry. If you are using paper clips on your bundles, you can hang them from nails in the wall, or line them up on hangers and hang them in a well-ventilated closet.

Step 6

Place a clean cloth below the bundles. As the bundles dry, some flowers may fall off. You can add these renegade flowers to your lavender sachets, rather than let them go to waste. Purplehazelavender.com recommends letting bundled lavender dry for at least a week, until the stems at the center of each bundle are completely dry. Drying may take longer, depending on the warmth and humidity of your drying area.