This may come too late, but when you trim, concentrate on getting the stems where only one or two florets have bloomed. They will last in water quite a while, and you can still make wands a few days later, when perhaps half of the florets have bloomed.

Thanks Neil :). It's not too late, I have a large coffee can filled with cut lavender (in water)!

I was hoping maybe I could freeze them or there was some other magical way to keep them pliable, but I asked several vendors and farmers at the Lavender Festival and they all said basically the same thing you did.

I bought a few plants, my favorite is the variety "Grosso." It has dark purple flowers, long stems, and it *very* fragrant!

I've made a few of the bottles, but it's a slow process for me :(. Wish there was a way to prolong the freshness other than drying---they smell soooo good!

Thanks again :o).

Linda

I'm envious of your lavender harvest; my plants were injured in an ice storm and are still recuperating.
I don't know if this will be useful to you or not, but this tip greatly reduced the amt. of time it took me to make a wand. When you are bending down the stems to make the 'cage', bring down only 1 stem at a time to start the weave. This makes the first 2 rows, which are the hardest, much easier. Let me know if it works for you.