So, given their excitement, we invited them to visit us for a visit the following week. The group had grown to a dozen students by then, and the weather was perfect for an outdoor gathering on our deck in the garden. 

I had gathered some rose petals, mint and lemon balm and made a quick summer tea for them. As they got settled in and curiously sipped their tea, I asked “Have any of you drunk the plants from a garden before?”. The entire idea was beyond their experience or comprehension. I had to rachet down and asked, “Have any of you even been in a garden before?" NOT ONE. Being in a garden was a completely exotic experience for ALL of them. 

I could see the look on Kate’s face when she realized what they were saying. We Canadians take having a ‘garden’ as the most natural thing in the world; she grew up amongst the plants and could tell the difference between rosemary and lavender when she was only 16 months old! But these city kids had never had such an experience. I immediately unleashed them and said “Go and explore! Look! Smell! Feel!” It was magic to watch them wandering through the lavender beds, the tall stalks of foxglove, the tumbling roses and swaths of wild mint under their feet and the humming birds and dragonflies over their heads.

We began with the whole new idea that plants actually give us things to eat and drink - and then that they could give us medicine too. Could they guess what was in the tea they were drinking? When I told them (and pointed out the plants), they were astonished. So tasty! It wasn’t long before the questions began to tumble from them: how do I make my products? how can I change a green plant into something they are putting on their skin? How do I make lavender oil? Can they come help? 

It turned into an afternoon not only of language and culture but an epiphany for these lovely youngsters. I’ve been doing this for so long, I confess the magic has become commonplace to me - but seeing it through their eyes, and the light in their faces brought it back to me. 

I’ve always said that ‘the products are the excuse for creating relationships’ - and so, I thank my new young Korean friends for giving me the gift of a rejuvination, just as the lavender season begins and I need all the energy I can muster! Such blessings!