🍂 Lavender in October: A Little History & a Lot of Comfort

When people think of lavender, summer usually comes to mind — fields in bloom, bees buzzing, and that fresh floral scent carried on the warm air. But did you know lavender has always had a place in the cooler seasons too? Here in October, as the leaves start turning in the Laurel Highlands and the mornings call for a sweater, I’ve been thinking about how this plant has been part of fall and winter traditions for centuries.

The Romans loved lavender so much they used it in their bathhouses as a way to cleanse and refresh. (In fact, the name “lavender” comes from the Latin word lavare, which means “to wash.”) Fast forward a few hundred years to the Middle Ages, and folks were hanging lavender in their homes to keep sickness away during cold, damp months. Some even scattered it in the straw on their floors just to keep the air sweet.

I love those old stories, because they show that lavender isn’t just about summertime blooms — it’s about comfort year-round. That’s why we mix it with cozy fall notes here on the farm: pumpkin, honey, turmeric, and warm spice. There’s something about pairing lavender’s calm with autumn’s richness that feels grounding, like you’re carrying a bit of history into your everyday routine.

🧼 Soapmaking in the Fall

Fall is also when the soap pot gets busy here at Trinity Ponds. While the lavender fields are resting, we turn to the kitchen to blend tallow, oils, lye, and botanicals into rustic cold-process soaps. There’s something about making soap in October — the windows fogging with steam, the scent of spices in the air — that feels like part of the season itself.

Pumpkin puree, turmeric, and clove might find their way into the pot, blending with lavender to create bars that look and smell like autumn in the Highlands. The colors are rich and golden, the scents are warm and soothing, and each loaf of soap feels like it belongs to the season.

🔥 A Homestead Tradition

Soapmaking in the fall isn’t just a modern craft — it’s part of homestead tradition. Generations ago, families set aside time after the harvest to make enough soap to last the winter. They saved tallow from butchering season and mixed it with lye made from wood ash and rainwater. The process was slow, smoky, and sometimes unpredictable, but the end result was the same: a simple bar of soap to keep families clean and healthy through the long cold months.

Here at Trinity Ponds, we honor that same tradition — just with safer methods and a gentler touch. We still use rich tallow and natural oils, but we blend them with lavender, herbs, and essential oils that those early homesteaders might never have dreamed of. Each bar carries a bit of that history forward: a reminder that caring for yourself with simple, natural things is timeless.

So even though our lavender field is resting now, you’ll still find plenty of ways to bring it into your fall. Whether it’s lighting a lavender candle on a chilly evening, using a bar of lavender soap after a long day, or tucking a sachet into your drawer for that little surprise of fragrance — lavender reminds us that some comforts never go out of season. 💜

Happy October, friends. Stay cozy, stay grounded, and maybe let a little lavender — and a bar of handmade soap — be part of your fall traditions this year.