Every sip of this fragrant, 5 ingredient Lavender Lemonade will remind you of the floral beauty of Spring.
I’ve been sitting on this recipe for the better part of a year; and for good reason too! Last Spring, when we moved into our first home, we were overwhelmed by the enormity of it all, not to mention the unexpected beauty that sprung from the ground with each season. Before we could enjoy the first wave of flowers, another hit, and kept leap frogging until the cold winds of Fall came blowing. Somewhere during the summer, I got my hands on some dried lavender and made this lemonade. The very first whiff, even before the taste, reminded me of a cool Spring morning, standing in my garden before the sun rose above the tree line.
When the world was still clean and wet with dew.
But by this time, Spring was long gone, and so were most of the blooms. I needed them, if I wanted to show you exactly how this drink tastes. So I waited, patiently for the next year’s cycle. And as the first flowers opened this year, I readied myself for it to get just warm enough to warrant a lemonade. [Here’s a photo tour of my Spring garden]
And a week ago, it did. It was the perfect alignment – the blooms were still at their peak, but the weather was so much warmer. And on this day, I brewed the Lavender syrup for this incredible Lavender lemonade.
If you are wondering about the color, I must confess, that its not all from the lavender. I crushed some blueberries (from last year’s blueberry harvest, the last remnants of the frozen batch) as the syrup simmered, for that extra pop of natural color. If you don’t have blueberries on hand, don’t worry – the lemonade may not be pretty pink, but it’ll taste and smell just as good as this one.
This year, I’m focusing on adding a lot of edible florals into the landscape. With our world’s growing population and loss of forestation to habitation, it is imperative that we use as much space as possible to grow our own food, best we can, and that includes the pretty ornamental too. After tasting this lavender lemonade last year, I knew I needed a lavender bush for my own, so I planted a hardy variety this year. I cannot wait to harvest and stockpile!
But what I’m most excited about are the Saffron crocus I’ve ordered for Fall planting. It’s always been a dream of mine to grow my own saffron. I’ll save that story for another day.
The syrup can be made in advance and refrigerated for upto 3 months, although the longer it keeps, the more you loose the potency of flavor. This batch makes just enough for 3 or 4 people, so I’ve never had to make it more than a day in advance and have no leftovers. You can always make a larger batch for gifting. I bet with the right cruet, this would make such beautiful holiday gifts!
A taste of Spring – now who could ever say no to that?!
And when you make this delicious Lavender Lemonade (which I really think you SHOULD!), be sure to SHARE YOUR PHOTOS with me through Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. I’d love to see what you cook from here!
Maj-Britt says
I made this but my syrup is crystalizing, so I now have a big chunk of purple sugar. Do you know why this might have happened? It was beautiful while melted and warm but once it cooled it got hard.
Tina Dawson says
You may have reduced the syrup too much – add a little more water (2-3 tbsp, maybe) bring it back to a low simmer on low heat until it melts, cool and store. I hope that helps!
Tierney says
These pictures are gorgeous! Could you possibly us honey instead of sugar? How would that change this recipe?
Tina Dawson says
Hey Tierney, honey cannot be boiled in the way sugar can without destroying some of its amazing nutrients. While I haven’t made it with honey, here’s how I think you can tackle the problem: Follow the recipe (without the sugar. After the lavender has infused into the water for an hour or so, add honey to sweeten, making it as sweet as you would expect a simple syrup to be. Bring it to a low simmer (no boiling) and turn off heat. Strain, store. Use it to sweeten your lemonade. I hope that helps!
Margo says
What a wonderful taste! Thank you for both the lemonade recipe and the lavender syrup recipe! The lavender syrup is also very good on cottage cheese 🙂
Tina Dawson says
I would never have thought to use the syrup with cheese. Thanks so much for the tip! I’m so glad you enjoyed it.
Kanwaldeep Kaur says
This is such an unusual choice for lemonade, and I’ve just fallen in love with the way you’ve presented it. M definitely gonna give it a try!! Must say, you are super talented!!
Tina Dawson says
Thank you so very much! I hope you like it!