Why Lavender?
I am often asked why lavender? but as time moved on I couldn’t actually remember apart from the obvious that is looks and smells amazing, until I found the following note on my phone dated June 2017.
The Lavender n Lemon Foundation* was set up in memory of my first rescued bunny, Treacle.
Treacle was what's called tri-coloured - in the bunny and pet insurance world as in brown, white & black coloured and she had lovely lop ears. Her previous owner could no longer keep her and a mutual friend was looking after her. Most of the time Treacle sat in her cage in the corner of my friends living room and I would take her out for a cuddle and a walk about when I visited. My friend then announced she had to find a permanent home for her and on impulse (do as I say not as I do) I said I'd have her so Treacle was duly delivered the following Saturday complete with indoor cage, food & accompanying pink food bowl much to my son's delight.
Initially she lived inside, immediately making herself at home lolling on the rug in front of the fire like a cat or dog before being moving outside to her awaiting new palace of a hutch and run I'd purchased on Ebay and she alternated between her two abodes depending on the weather.
I had kept pet rabbits as a child on our farm amongst many other animals but hadn't really paid much attention to them but now having googled 'bunny care' and other similar searches I learned they should be paired for their best emotional wellbeing. The ideal pairing being a male and female and both neutered, so after a couple of weeks having allowed Treacle to recover from said neutering op we found Fudge at our local bunny rescue charity - his name being purely coincidental. What is it about the need to name these pets after sweet brown stuff? - I suppose that answers the question. He was brown, also lop eared and too pretty to be a boy but probably a rescue bunny due to his Houdini tendencies and he lasted two weeks before Mr Fox got him. I felt awful but have since learned to bunny proof (forget fox proofing) outdoor bunny spaces. it's them getting out not him getting in that's the problem.
Her next and last boyfriend was Benny and is still with me. He is better known as the grumpy teenager. He's like a big brown fluffy Teddy bear and again has lop ears. He is brilliant with children but I do feel he merely tolerates humans. He has that Paddington Bear stare when you stroke him.
Bonding bunnies, as getting a couple together is known as, is somewhat traumatic for humans. It involves placing and swapping each bunny in their various cages, runs and carriers separably, thus letting them smell each other before allowing them to get together for increasingly longer periods of time. These meeting can include them rolling around fighting or biting each other and you if not careful when attempting to separate them, before a calmness acceptance and then love ensues, then they are inseparable and spend their time cuddling and grooming each other which is lovely and soothing for us humans to behold.
Treacle and Benny were the power couple of the bunny world for two years - enthralling the various aged cousins on the couples' away day trips to family gatherings - until I had to make the hard decision that all pet owners do. Treacle had had a successful op having had an infected tooth removed but developed arthritis and a persistent ear infection and so I made the horrid decision to have her put to sleep.
She is now buried in the front garden of Woodside Cottage, my cottage in Epsom, amongst the flowers and shrubs so I pass her regularly. I started growing lavender in her memory and formed the charity Lavender n Lemon to raise money to support the many charities who rescue unwanted pet bunnies and because she loved to eat the lavender I initially grew in my garden before progressing to the allotment. She would have loved the allotment.
Until Treacle came into my life I was unaware how many unwanted pet bunnies there are in Britain. The main reason being because adults buy them for their children thinking how cute they are, not realising 1. how high maintenance they are and 2. that they are not particularly child friendly so they then get left in their cages until eventually the lucky ones end up at a rescue centre. Pet shops also need to take responsibility and stop selling babies bunnies. Owning pet bunnies can be vary calming and rewarding if you have the time and friends to care for them when you are away but please look at a rescue centre or rescue bunnies in your local pet shop first and after answering some questions you will hopefully be paired with a couple of suitable buns.
As for Benny; after a suitable period of mourning he was bonded with Sunshine, another rescued bunny this time with sticking up ears like a real wild bunny. In fact I'm yet to be convinced she was ever a pet! She really disliked humans. She growled but gradually got to trust me and learnt to go back in her run when summoned with a firm and repeated "bed time" after their evening gad about the garden. You will notice I use the past tense when referring to Sunshine and yes she was another escapee and so also was a victim of nature. I’m not proud of having lost two of my buns due to my negligence but I share this to demonstrate the importance of checking their accommodation daily as they can break out of the most high tech home if it’s not secured properly. Benny now has a third girlfriend Amber, needless to say another rescue bunny. She is slow in trusting me and probably never will but she is there for Benny not me. I’m sure Benny remembers Treacle but he and Amber seem very content in each other’s company.
So rest in peace my sweet Treacle and may your legacy live on in the lavender I nurture and harvest.
PS Since this was written Amber has also sadly passed to bunny heaven having had a suspected stroke but Benny now has a GF called Poppy who is a Hertfordshire gal. Initially I took her down to Surrey to join him where they lived inside and out but since relocating to Mentley during lockdown, they now live permanently outside unless the weather is extreme at either end of the thermometer and they retire to the cool dry cellar away from the prying eyes of the other Mentley pets. (See our About page for more detail)
PPS I hopefully don’t need to keep adding to this but Benny passed away last year after contracting Flystrike. A horrible condition which I won’t go into in detail here. Poppy now has a new BF called Thumper. They took the longest to bond of any of my couples and still have their odd spats evidenced by chunks of Thumper’s hair lying around but generally they get on and rabbits should always be kept in pairs for their wellbeing.
*I haven’t yet set up the Foundation mentioned but as my vision 4 years ago is now becoming reality I plan to donate a percentage of any profits to various animal charities which I will identify in due course and if you look at the artwork work created by Annette, apart from depicting Treacle it also includes things she loved eating and other things that remind me of her. This note however has also answered my initial reason for Why Lavender?
