Photography

JORDAN STEAD / THE SEATTLE TIMES

Gardener and volunteer Leah Helms examines a patch of lavender Sunday, July 8, 2012, at the Interbay P-Patch in Seattle, Wash. Fifteen varieties of purple sprigs were available for picking, intended for purposes ranging from cosmetic usage to fragrance to baking. The plot - open since the late 1990s - is one of over 75 community gardens in the Seattle area.

JORDAN STEAD / THE SEATTLE TIMES

Its hind legs heavy with pollen, a bumblebee flits from sprig to sprig during a lavender sale Sunday, July 8, 2012, at the Interbay P-Patch in Seattle, Wash.

JORDAN STEAD / THE SEATTLE TIMES

Danielle Potter, of Magnolia, clips off colorful sprigs of lavender at a lavender sale Sunday, July 8, 2012, at the Interbay P-Patch in Seattle, Wash.

JORDAN STEAD / THE SEATTLE TIMES

P-Patch site coordinator Donna Kalka carefully selects healthy stalks of lavender for use at the plot's lavender sale Sunday, July 8, 2012, at the Interbay P-Patch in Seattle, Wash.

JORDAN STEAD / THE SEATTLE TIMES

One of fifteen different varieties of lavender sits wrapped up in a bouquet during a lavender sale Sunday, July 8, 2012, at the Interbay P-Patch in Seattle, Wash.

JORDAN STEAD / THE SEATTLE TIMES

Madeline McCarthy, center right, and her daughter, Sophia McCarthy, right, share their first experience picking sprigs of lavender together Sunday, July 8, 2012, at the Interbay P-Patch in Seattle, Wash.